Rough Sketch of the back forty and areas worked
Hover mouse over each area to see a photo
Road to the temporary crossing to Unit 3
Temporary creek crossing using cedar butts parallel
to water flow
This was the main reason to log in July/August due to low water flow in
the creek and minimal disturbance to creek bottom and edges.
Original creek crossing utility bridge
DNR didn't like it
View photo of Earl Ingebright directing its construction in August
2013
It looks horrible but this is good loggers wisdom.
The cedar butts shredded into long intact splinters and were picked out
cleanly by the shovel on the way out.
View shot of shredded fibers just before it was all
grabbed
First foray into Unit 3
All of the thinning in the old stands was hand cut
This unit held some of the highest value timber on the property
Same shot a day later
Note the bluff rising sharply to the right
Hart minimized damage to the soils by using logging debris to drive over.
This was a 30-40% thin and loggers were impressed with the high quality
Western red cedar and Red Alder in this grove. It had everything you
need to grow tall straight trees.
A little wet, a little rocky and high quality black
soil
Skidder and shovel working together along the bottom of the
bluff
This end was littered with even more large broken
rocks.
There was a "big corner" at the far end of the unit 3 work area.
These are exciting due to they are the original corners surveyed when
the wild west was divided up into sections, ranges and townships.
Here, two 100 yr old stumps are found marked.
The stump in the picture on the left is about 30 ft away and is just
left of center.
More on
the public land survey system
All merchantable logs were moved to a
convenient loading area for final sort and loading onto trucks.
Note: In background, 2018 thin of huckleberry hill and understory
recovering nicely.
Telephone Poles (65') brought top dollar
Note Justin's new pup learning to go with the program
Poles were separated and treated with extra care.
Our loads went to a specialty mill called
Bell Lumber
and Pole
These fir logs were a part of two extremely
high quality stands in both units.
They went in several loads to Everett specialty mill
Canyon Lumber
Alder Veneer logs were separated and went to another
specialty mill.
The end use for Alder veneer is typically door skins, cabinet skins,
and furniture skins. This allows the builders to use a lower grade wood
for framework, and then glue on a clear, clean, thin Alder Veneer on the
outside and sell it as more of high end.
This alder went to a specialty mill north of here called
pacific rim tonewoods
The Alder veneer is picked out as 40yr+, 14+ dbh in
multiples of 9' and 10'.
The minimum diameter is 12" for the market.
Straight, clean small or no heart stain and basically knot-free.
Alder veneer logs usually go back east to Indiana, Ohio, or Kentucky.
Pacific Rim has milled Alder in the past for electric guitars but the margins
were said to be thin.
Here's Eric Feiro tightening up the straps on a load
going to Hampton
Tim hart running the shovel. They talk via CB as the truck nears
capacity.
Another load of Fir
Loading a truck load of Hemlock to the
Hampton Mill in
Darrington.
Tim Hart could quote you the current prices of logs at any of five local
mills.
Summer afternoon sun illuminates another nice load heading out the
gate
Building the road back to Unit 4
Road had to be wide enough for logging equipment, trucks and to bring the flatcar
bridge to its final resting place.
We got a great deal on this 3" mixed
asphalt and concrete at
Menzel Lake Gravel.
Looking back toward Popcorn Pond
This road parallels Jordan Creek and was a huge upgrade to the original
1901 logging road.
Because we had maintained the original road over the years, state DNR
allowed us to use it.
Heading off to the Hampton Mill in Darrington
Telephone poles off to Bell mills
RR Flatcar Bridge
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09/24/19 F