Dev Emch
11-17-2005, 4:40 AM
Talk about insanity.... I think I have lost it in my quest to snag wood.:eek:
Its now November and its been relatively warm at low altitudes. But the National Park finally puts this year's firewood permits up for sale. The add was in the local paper and they said that only six permits will be sold this year. They do wild fire mitigation projects and pile up the wood in these wood dumps scattered throughout the park. So the permits go on sale 8:00 AM on the 14th which was a Monday.
So I set the old alarm clock and get up early to get this permit. I set the clock for 4:00 AM but I over sleep anyway. I fly out of bed at 6:00 and race down to the back country office. Not totally awake, I take a wrong turn and have to go about a mile to turn around and come back. Not a sole is in the local town. But now I am following two pick up trucks. And they appear to be going the same place I am. I am thinking to myself... "Dont you guys have a life? What the heck are you doing at 6:45 AM chasing down wood permits? Oh ya, that includes me too I guess."
And of course, the wind was howling the night before and its now a comfortable 15 degrees F. It was 10 degrees most of the night. But the wind brought in some clouds and the mountains are gone in a huge cotton ball. Then it begins to snow. Horizontally and not vertically. By this time I am wondering if I should just go home.
So we all get to the office parking lot and get out. Of course, there are others who have been waiting outside this deep freeze since 6:00 AM. Every one begins to rattle off their position in line. When my turn shows up, I see that I am number FIVE. COOL! Got there with one slot to spare. Just then, a hunter in an orange jacket is walking up the stairs and we all yell to him in unison.... DUDE, YOUR NUMBER SIX! About that time, a whole bunch of folks begin to trickle in only to find that the six permits are already sold. Its now 7:00 AM and the snow is blowing and its cold.
So at 8:00 AM, Ranger Rick lets us in and we all fill out the standard government paperwork jazz. This year, we need to go to Lily Lake. What a thrill!:( That place is about 11,000 feet MSL and if its cold here, I can imagine what its like up there.
So today, I hauled home my first load of several. The weather improved a bit and the temperature was a balmy 22 degrees F. Man, I love these heat spells! So before today, I spent a little time doing the standard work on the chain saw. Poured the old gas out on the driveway, got new gas and mixed up a fresh batch of 50:1 saw gas. I cleaned my chainsaw with a rag until it looked brand new. Actually, its almost new. It has only one season on the clock. My weapon of choice? The Stil MS 460 Magnum with a 25 inch man eater bar. Its the standard tool used by hotshots in this area. The most powerful saw Stil makes that is still considered portable. Filled up the chain oiler and readjusted the bar and chain tension. Pushed in the compression release and pulled the starter. Got the beastie running in no time. Of course, I am on my deck and now I am looking for a chunk of wood to test this saw on. Only deck railing posts. Nope, those gotta stay so I shut off the saw and packed it into the truck.
So I get up there and begin to scope out the situation. In years past, the Lodge Pole and Ponderosa logs were dumped there with log lengths of 10 or more feet. You have to have a chain saw! All I can say is that someone was rather bored this summer! All the logs were cut in firewood lengths and then dumped. They are still heavy. One ponderosa log was 3 feet long and 2 feet in diameter. Some of the other guys must of thought I was insane... I rolled this pig over to the truck and then heaved this monster into my truck. I am not going home without this log!
So I spent the day cherry picking the various piles for huge logs. Others were chain sawing logs into smaller, more manageable lengths. But I dont understand some them. They were cutting logs of about 6 inches in diameter into smaller lengths. Why waste time with the smaller logs right now? The race is on to get the best firewood and that means to snarf all those pig logs before anyone else gets them. As the volume dwindles down, then we can focus on the 6 and 8 inch logs which were cut to 6 foot lengths. Needless to say, I dont think I will need to use the old chain saw up there this year. The federal employees have already done this for us.
So its crazy what some of us will do to get our hands on wood for whatever its final purpose. Boy is this stuff nice. The price is not the best at 35 dollars per cord but it beats the 190 dollars for cord that the firewood dealers are selling it for.
Its now November and its been relatively warm at low altitudes. But the National Park finally puts this year's firewood permits up for sale. The add was in the local paper and they said that only six permits will be sold this year. They do wild fire mitigation projects and pile up the wood in these wood dumps scattered throughout the park. So the permits go on sale 8:00 AM on the 14th which was a Monday.
So I set the old alarm clock and get up early to get this permit. I set the clock for 4:00 AM but I over sleep anyway. I fly out of bed at 6:00 and race down to the back country office. Not totally awake, I take a wrong turn and have to go about a mile to turn around and come back. Not a sole is in the local town. But now I am following two pick up trucks. And they appear to be going the same place I am. I am thinking to myself... "Dont you guys have a life? What the heck are you doing at 6:45 AM chasing down wood permits? Oh ya, that includes me too I guess."
And of course, the wind was howling the night before and its now a comfortable 15 degrees F. It was 10 degrees most of the night. But the wind brought in some clouds and the mountains are gone in a huge cotton ball. Then it begins to snow. Horizontally and not vertically. By this time I am wondering if I should just go home.
So we all get to the office parking lot and get out. Of course, there are others who have been waiting outside this deep freeze since 6:00 AM. Every one begins to rattle off their position in line. When my turn shows up, I see that I am number FIVE. COOL! Got there with one slot to spare. Just then, a hunter in an orange jacket is walking up the stairs and we all yell to him in unison.... DUDE, YOUR NUMBER SIX! About that time, a whole bunch of folks begin to trickle in only to find that the six permits are already sold. Its now 7:00 AM and the snow is blowing and its cold.
So at 8:00 AM, Ranger Rick lets us in and we all fill out the standard government paperwork jazz. This year, we need to go to Lily Lake. What a thrill!:( That place is about 11,000 feet MSL and if its cold here, I can imagine what its like up there.
So today, I hauled home my first load of several. The weather improved a bit and the temperature was a balmy 22 degrees F. Man, I love these heat spells! So before today, I spent a little time doing the standard work on the chain saw. Poured the old gas out on the driveway, got new gas and mixed up a fresh batch of 50:1 saw gas. I cleaned my chainsaw with a rag until it looked brand new. Actually, its almost new. It has only one season on the clock. My weapon of choice? The Stil MS 460 Magnum with a 25 inch man eater bar. Its the standard tool used by hotshots in this area. The most powerful saw Stil makes that is still considered portable. Filled up the chain oiler and readjusted the bar and chain tension. Pushed in the compression release and pulled the starter. Got the beastie running in no time. Of course, I am on my deck and now I am looking for a chunk of wood to test this saw on. Only deck railing posts. Nope, those gotta stay so I shut off the saw and packed it into the truck.
So I get up there and begin to scope out the situation. In years past, the Lodge Pole and Ponderosa logs were dumped there with log lengths of 10 or more feet. You have to have a chain saw! All I can say is that someone was rather bored this summer! All the logs were cut in firewood lengths and then dumped. They are still heavy. One ponderosa log was 3 feet long and 2 feet in diameter. Some of the other guys must of thought I was insane... I rolled this pig over to the truck and then heaved this monster into my truck. I am not going home without this log!
So I spent the day cherry picking the various piles for huge logs. Others were chain sawing logs into smaller, more manageable lengths. But I dont understand some them. They were cutting logs of about 6 inches in diameter into smaller lengths. Why waste time with the smaller logs right now? The race is on to get the best firewood and that means to snarf all those pig logs before anyone else gets them. As the volume dwindles down, then we can focus on the 6 and 8 inch logs which were cut to 6 foot lengths. Needless to say, I dont think I will need to use the old chain saw up there this year. The federal employees have already done this for us.
So its crazy what some of us will do to get our hands on wood for whatever its final purpose. Boy is this stuff nice. The price is not the best at 35 dollars per cord but it beats the 190 dollars for cord that the firewood dealers are selling it for.