Chainsaw Training 2013

There was a fair bit of snow on the ridge above Natural Bridge

 

 

Four of ODATC’s sawyers were due for recertification by March of 2013. ATC had scheduled a class at Sherando in December 2012, but none of us were able to make it that weekend. Luckily, we were able to work with Laura Belleville with ATC and “Slick,” one of the trainers, to arrange for another class on March 9, 2013.

 

We had made all the preparations and were set for the Saturday class, when a winter storm dumped 20 inches of snow on Sherando Lake Campground, closing it. In a flurry of email and phone calls, a quick change was made and we agreed to drive an extra hour and a half to Natural Bridge instead.

Since I live in Gloucester, on the Chesapeake Bay, I traveled to Richmond Friday where Jim was kind enough to put me up for the night. Bright and early, at 6am, we hit the road and drove straight to the Natural Bridge Ranger Station where Slick and Tim were waiting for us. Since this was our third or fourth session with Slick and at least our second with Tim, we caught up on felling stories while waiting for Ed and Chris to arrive, as they had stopped for the Everyday Café breakfast special in Charlottesville.

Once we were all there, Slick reviewed the job hazards analysis form, the chainsaw certification forms, and the tailgate safety materials. We covered everything from watching your footing to how to get to the local hospital. This was a recertification class, so we were able to skip the inside instruction and get right to work. We headed out, following Slick and Tim in their USFS trucks. Tim, Ed & Chris had to make a pit stop in town, but Jim and I followed Slick to Hopper Creek Campground, nestled along a beautiful creek and in the shadow of Thunder Ridge. That shade soon proved troublesome as we hit more and more snow on the FS road and eventually had to retreat to Slick’s second choice - Cave Mountain Lake Recreation Area.

At the Recreation Area, Slick took Ed and Chris up the road and left Jim and me with Tim. We immediately began to scout for a reasonable tree to fell. The first one that caught our eye was a black locust, about 14 inches in diameter and just 10 to 20 feet below the road. Jim reviewed the tree carefully and pointed out a large limb high in the tree that would make it hard to predict how the tree was leaning. In addition, the escape routes that he would use after felling were steeply uphill and through large boulders. So he recommended leaving it. The second tree he considered was a dead hemlock, but it was also rejected since it had significant rot and large woodpecker cavities high on the trunk could cause a large section to break off unexpectedly and seriously injure the sawyer. Finally, a red maple was selected.

Left: Jim takes a look at the punky hemlock

Right: Lots of dead & rotted wood. Jim decided to leave this tree alone.

Tim the USFS instructor checks out a maple to cut with Jim

 

 

Jim assessed the tree carefully, measured the height, and determined the direction the tree was leaning. He selected a slightly downhill direction to fell the tree and planned his two escape routes – each 45 degrees off the back of the tree. We spent a fair bit of time clearing the debris out of the paths and making sure that he could safely and quickly get away from the tree when he cut it. Jim used a cutting technique that Slick had shown us that is very safe and provides the maximum amount of control over how and when the tree falls. He started by sighting the saw in the direction he wanted the tree to fall and made a wide face cut about a third of the way into the tree or about 80% of the diameter, viewed from the front. Then he bored the saw bar into the tree behind the apex of the front cut and removed all but a small hinge of “holding wood,” about 10% of the diameter of the tree right behind the front cut. He also left a strap of “trigger wood” on the back side of the tree. At that point, the tree was fully supported by the trigger wood and Tim was able to review Jim’s work without any worry of the tree falling. When he was ready and we were a safe distance away, Jim gave a warning and snipped the trigger wood with the saw to fell the tree.

Left: Jim finishes up the face cut

Right: Boring in to trim up the holding wood

Tim takes notes

 

 

Left: Jim has left a hinge of holding wood in the front & a strap of trigger wood in the back. The tree is safe until the trigger wood is cut & then it'll fall.

Right: A wedge in the side for added insurance

Felling trees is an interesting challenge and actually a lot of fun, but it’s really not something we do very much maintaining the Trail. Almost all the work we do involves clearing trees that have already come down. There are very few cases where it makes sense to try to fell a hazard tree. In most situations it makes more sense to simply allow the wind to bring it down since felling the tree involves far higher risk than the risk associated with a hiker being unlucky enough to be under the tree when it comes down. For this reason, ATC is transitioning the emphasis of their chainsaw training away from felling trees to spend more time on safely bucking up trees that have already fallen. Since I am very happy to let Jim or one of our other sawyers take care of any rare trees that need to be cut down, this year I opted to reduce my chainsaw certification from felling to just bucking.

Clearing a tree that has fallen on the Trail can be quite simple, but also can be very dangerous and complicated. As with felling, it is important to know your limitations and be ready to flag a hazardous tree and leave it if necessary. I had noticed a nice big red oak that had fallen below where we were working and suggested to Tim that I give that a try. He gave it a good look and pointed me at the middle of the tree where the two stems were split and twisted - “Make the trail go through there.”

I sized it up and quickly realized that the trees had been there for a good while. It was most likely a victim of the June derecho. So, while it was still under quite a bit of pressure, some of the tension had been released. I cleared out all the small, free limbs that were in my way and released a few “spring poles” – trees that had been bent over by the fallen oak that might release violently when cut. When I was down to the two stems of the trunk, I carefully assessed the forces on the wood and what “binds” there might be. It had slid down another tree and therefore was somewhat bent to the left. In addition, the root ball was massive and providing a good bit of counterbalance to the long stem and limbs suspended in the air. I carefully cut the upper limb, releasing the pressure a bit at a time while it popped and cracked. Moving slowly, I could keep an eye out for any movement in the tree and make sure that “kerf” (the saw cut) didn’t close down, trapping the saw. As I finished the cut, the branch fell safely away from me and hit the ground with a nice thud. As I cut the remaining stem, Tim showed me another technique of boring about a 1/3 of the wood out all the way around the core, leaving a chunk of holding wood in the center. That permits you to carefully evaluate the pressure on the wood fibers and put a wedge in the best spot to make sure the kerf doesn’t close up as the cut is completed. One more angled cut, designed to let the log easily roll out, finished up the job.

We located one more tree for Jim to fell and he made fairly quick work of that. We hauled all the gear up the hill to the vehicles where Ed, Chris, and Slick were waiting. It was a wonderful day to be in the woods and after saying our goodbyes, Jim and I climbed back in his car for a scenic, but long ride back to Richmond – and then back to Gloucester for me, very pleased that we won’t have to return for another three years!

~ Dave Wilcox
 

 

(All Photos & Captions: Dave W.)

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

 
Three ways to 'follow' the RtoR Blog so you don't miss a post:
Email (sign up directly under the pageview number in the right sidebar)
Readers (subscribe directly under the email signup)
Facebook ("Like" the RtoR FB Page - see tabs at top of blog for FB link)