Getting started on the winter logging

[Stephen1]

remember guys, Where the Quebecnewf lives is beyound civilization, no local utility company, no roads to the next town, except in the village and I doubt they are paved.
What we find and have acess to, we take for granted. 
My daughter lives 3 hrs west of the end of the hwy (Sept Isle) and then its still a journey.  She talks about people coming to her town in the winter by snowmobile, 2 day journeys for some, to shop. They can't get there in the summer except by boat. 
It is quite the world where He lives!!

[John Mc]

I don't know as I'd be comfortable with a log of any significant size on all but the stoutest of ropes used s a zipline. When pulled tight enough to minimize sag, supporting a load puts a tremendous strain on a cable or rope.

A 2 foot sag under a load in the middle of a 100 ft run is causing a strain on the cable of 25 times the weight of the load supported (a 200# load would be 5000# kg strain in the cable). The more sag you allow, the less the multiplier is for the strain in the cable.

[upnut]

I would look at amsteel and the cheaper clones that are sold as winch line.  Very low stretch and they pull jeeps up vertical ledges.  

How long do you need?

"Ranger" and "X-bull" look like two of the cheapest im seeing right now.  100ft of 3/8 is around $90 and in the 20-23k pound rating.  

We replaced the steel cable on my #3500 lb utv winch with knock-off similar to amsteel blue winch rope. It solved the spooling issues we encountered with steel, is much lighter, and you could wad it up and stuff it in a bag if needed. I have broken other equipment trying to dislodge stuck leaners, the winch rope has held tough. 
Scott B.

[Quebecnewf]

 

 Sitting out a snowstorm at home today. Can't see any more than 200 ft . Supposed to clear out tonight . 

Logging going good made 500 logs cut yesterday which is good for us at this time of the winter.

Conditions in the woods will be a bit more challenging after this dump of snow .

Winter logging. That's how it goes

Quebecnewf

[curved-wood]

Impressive!

[roger 4400]

Paul if you have the same amount of snow we had yesterday (it is going your way )  At all, over 16 inches  and some banks pushed by the wind over 2 and 3 feet, I had fun with the tractor . Stay safe at home  :D 
How many logs is your goal this year ?
Keep going. Roger

[Quebecnewf]

One snow storm rolled through here yesterday and another one moving in  tonight and tomorrow .

We will go in the woods today . Break down our paths again . Maybe move some logs from the woods to the landing . Come back home this afternoon and wait out the storm . 

Supposed to be good stretch of weather after that . Might get some more logs during that period . We need snow to work but depending on conditions it can be both good and bad . We're going through a bad stretch right now 

Quebecnewf

[mike_belben]

Well, hang in there and stay safe.

[starmac]

My only sled is slow, but sure works to break trail with, an old twin track alpine. I am sure you have much more effecient rigs, but this old thing will sure pull a load too.

[Quebecnewf]

My only sled is slow, but sure works to break trail with, an old twin track alpine. I am sure you have much more effecient rigs, but this old thing will sure pull a load too.

The double tracks never caught on here. Too slow for long travel .

 

  
Two loads ready for tow to the mill and 300 at the water edge ready for spring 

Quebecnewf

[thecfarm]

Is that the one with one ski? I have not seen them for 40 years. Those was big sleds.

[Quebecnewf]

Is that the one with one ski? I have not seen them for 40 years. Those was big sleds.

Yes they only had one ski and were a b"""" to turn . They tried some here a few years back pulling trail groomers . These double tracks were made in Italy . They were big but useless . Never saw them before and never seen them since .
Quebecnewf 

[starmac]

They were popular here right way past the point where they quit building them. Built to haul a barrel of fuel or oil on the back of the sled itself and drag whatever you want to.

They do not turn the best, but that is what those angled bumpers is for, just slide them along a tree. lol

Mine seldom ever gets used, they are gas hogs compared to newer sleds.

[Southside]

Quebecnewf,  Just curious to get a perspective to how things grow down this way - what is the age range and size of the trees you are harvesting?

Thanks

[Quebecnewf]

That's a good question . I have done a bit of ring counting and such . All the areas I have cut were cut before . There are no areas within reach that have not had some cutting in them . No clear cutting though just small paths through the woods and the bigger logs removed . I think a balsam fir in our region that would give a butt log to saw 4 pcs of 2x6 out of is around 50 to 60 years old . This can vary but is most likely the average . 

A few days ago I was in an area looking for new cutting spot . There were two stumps sticking up through the snow about five ft apart . Both stumps were cut of with a saw and by their size would have made 2x6 . In between those two stumps was a nice big fir that would give a butt log to make 2x8's . From what I know of the area it was cut maybe 50 years ago . There were lots of nice fir logs in the area. I am thinking given its location the area was all cut fifty to sixty years ago and all the nice logs I'm looking at now are young trees that were to small then but grew well once the bigger trees were removed.

Now these are just my thoughts I have no firm dates . I have had my mill for 26 years and my plan is this spring to go back to the area where me and my BIL cut logs that winter and just see how the area looks with regard to regrowth . This will give me a good indication if my thoughts are correct .

Quebecnewf 

[mike_belben]

How many miles are you cutting from camp and how many miles is camp from your mill?

[OntarioAl]

Mike and  any others go to Google Earth
Type in Harrington Harbour Quebec
You will readily see how remote and isolated his home is
I think  he is logging in the timbered areas to the north
Cheers
Al

[Quebecnewf]

How many miles are you cutting from camp and how many miles is camp from your mill?

Home to mill is 1 kl. Mill to the camp is 13 kl. Camp to cutting area is 8 kl. 
80 per cent of this travel is on sea ice . Conditions on the ice now are so so . Very bumpy on certain sections . We have two days of " winter storm" forcast then a one day blizzard so not likely to improve . We have just over 600 logs cut so that's good cutting for our set up .
Quebecnewf 

[starmac]

I hauled the skidder in to the first river crossing saturday and another guy hauled the loader in, the feller buncher was already in and started dropping trees thursday.

It looks like I will haul the first load out in the morning on this sale, it has taken a while this winter to get ice bridges across the two rivers, so we will have 3 weeks at the most before weight restrictions goes on, depending on weather.

[Quebecnewf]

A pic at the mill yesterday . Lots of snow around . We're dumping a few logs here when we return home from the cabin . Most of them are snow covered now 




We have over 600 cut now so a good cutting season .

Quebecnewf 

[petefrom bearswamp]

All I can say is brrrr.

[dustintheblood]

All I can say is brrrr.

All I can say is ---- whoo hooo no mosquitoes!
I love winter up here in our north.

[gaproperty]

 Well it's winter and the Christmas holidays are past .

Went to winter cabin

All was pristine at the cabin . Took the bucket of the chimney . Lit the fire . Warmed up the camp . Cooked a meal of seal meat for supper . Then turned in early for a good nights sleep .

Next day was a major snow storm so spent the day doing a bit of prep work at the cabin and a lot of laying around feeding the fire and reading . Not to bad a way to spend a .day  .


Next day still blowing very hard but snow had stopped. Went in and put up small bush camp



Takes about an hour to turn this







Into this.

Lit the fire and had a small lunch . Will start cutting paths tomorrow.

Best time of the year . Cold and lots of snow .Gotta love it

Quebecnewf

Awesome.  A man after my own heart.  

[gaproperty]

I grew up in massachusetts and spent a decade doing 12hr outdoor shifts in winter.  After a while it was just too much.  The truck wont start, its gelled up. Gotta open the garage but the lock is frozen.  Go back to the truck for the bottle torch but the torch bottle is too cold for any pressure.  Okay ill drive the other car.  Oh, that battery drained overnight and it wont start.   Id just start punching things.


I moved south and split firewood with sweat pouring off my knees some days.  i dont love that or always watching for snakes but everything starts and i can manage easier.  Just no energy left in me to endure real winters anymore.  At 2000ft we still have the freezeups here but theyre a few days long instead of months.  Traded snow for rain that i dont have to shovel.

The older I get the less I like winter. I still do enjoy it down to -15 or -20 C.  Where I live in east coast Canada it usually doesn't get any colder than that.  I like logging in that weather but when it turns warm and rains then a quick deep freeze that is a different story.  Locks freeze and you contending with slippery walking and driving not to mention it is very hard on the animals.  It seems you have to fight with everything, frozen doors,  machinery won't start etc....So far this season has been mostly just cold which is a good thing.  

Ray
lostcaper.ca

[Quebecnewf]

Cut a nice birch today . Should square 10" clean. Not the best or the biggest of these that I've cut but a nice one none the less

Quebecnewf