Short winter!!

Woodhauler · December 05, 2012, 05:52:52 AM

Had a nice freeze up for a week or so! 50 degrees and rain now! Went ice fishing last weekend! Would need a boat now. Only good thing is the mills will use up more inventory . They still got wood from last winter in the yards.

Maineloggerkid · December 05, 2012, 06:32:57 AM

This stinks doesn't it? I havent gone to jay in over a month and havent even had a stick of wood on my trailer in three days now! Im gettin sick of doing nothing but short hauls... ::)As long as we get lucky and our winter doesnt end up like last year, but its heading that way fast.

grassfed · December 05, 2012, 07:00:33 AM

I just got a trail frozen and pulled wood for half a day and now my landing by the road is too soft and the trail is way to wet after last night's rain.

thecfarm · December 05, 2012, 08:06:46 AM

Maineloggerkid,what's a round trip take you to get from where you are trucking from to Jay? I realize you don't work in the same spot all the time. ;D Just an about time will do. I'm only 20 minutes from there. I use to live in Jay about 5 minutes from the mill.

Maineloggerkid · December 05, 2012, 08:22:20 AM

If i leave around 2 a.m., i can be back in the woods around 9-9:30, so about 7 hours back to the wood piles. usually I do one every morning, followed by 1-2 short hauls and then load up, but sometimes ill do mulitiple jay runs. ive done three before. We have a few other long runs that get hrown in too.

thecfarm · December 05, 2012, 08:24:51 AM

WOW!!! 3 trips in one day??? That must make for a looooong day.

Maineloggerkid · December 05, 2012, 08:37:30 AM

Ya, its uncommon, but I've done it. Usually start at 2, make 2 trips, come home and eat a quick supper and head to jay with a third. get home around midnight, sleep til 5, and then go work again til dinner. we do it once in a while when we get swamped with 8'. A usual day for me though is 2:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

g_man · December 05, 2012, 09:31:32 AM

I just got back in. Nothing is going to happen in the woods here today. It is as close to a spring morning as it can get. Mist rising from the field. Even a rainbow. Humped up frozen trails colapsing. Mud.
I was pretty happy how things were going in Nov. compared to last year. But now the trails that were frozen and starting to freeze have broken down. Hopefully it turns around quick.

lumberjack48 · December 05, 2012, 11:57:07 AM

We had 7"s of snow a week ago, now its bare ground again. This is good if we get a good freeze before it snows. But logging season is getting short, theres only 13 weeks before road restrictions go on.

When i was logging and trucking after the first of the year my semi ran 24 hrs a day. I was logging 10 miles from home one winter in a big Spruce swamp. There was one month i didn't sleep in my bed. The mill in International Falls was open 24 hrs a day and the one in Sartell, MN. I couldn't see giving the trucking away to somebody else.

blackfoot griz · December 05, 2012, 12:44:34 PM

Same thing here in Western MT. It's soup.
This year may be a first...not having a white Christmas.

lumberjack48 · December 05, 2012, 02:23:46 PM

blackfoot griz what part of Western MT. ?

blackfoot griz · December 05, 2012, 02:39:10 PM

Potomac, MT in the Blackfoot Valley about 25 miles east of Missoula.

Bobus2003 · December 05, 2012, 02:51:35 PM

If our trucks not out by 8 am, hes not coming out without help from the skidder.. Freezes at night, but its quick to thaw

lumberjack48 · December 05, 2012, 02:58:12 PM

Quote from: blackfoot griz on December 05, 2012, 02:39:10 PM
Potomac, MT in the Blackfoot Valley about 25 miles east of Missoula.

I logged out of Swan Lake, Big Fork, Kalispell, Libby, and Troy MT back in 66 and 67, beautiful country.

HiTech · December 06, 2012, 04:54:18 AM

Hot!!! Cold!!! What weather! One day it looks like spring breakup and the next it is froze up. Yesterday it was almost 70 and now it is 10 above. No snow. The climate/weather is definitely changing. Won't be long and we will be logging palm trees. lol

shelbycharger400 · December 07, 2012, 08:49:37 PM

lumberjack,
this wave comming through will set you up with a few inches .

Been a nice winter, and guess what, farmer just gave me a go on another tree line.
Said start thinnin it out, this is the same place I was at in feb/ march. I have another one to do about a mile away from it too ,havent even started it yet on his property too. Only 250 + red cedars at 20-30 in dia will have to wait, I have to thin out all the other junk between first. Snow isnt going to help me at all!
Last week I was inquiring about 3 -4 cedars on the way north side that would be easy pickings, Power line company has been the holdup on this big north line cince feb... I think something happened in the last few days.