Wood Id / Hill Advice

[Levantou]

I had a few trees blow over this winter and I am wondering what type of trees these are as well as advice on how to harvest this wood. The issue I am having is these huge trees are at the bottom of a hill. I live on a river and there is a decently steep slope from my backyard down to the river. These trees pulled out of the ground and fell away from my backyard and towards the river. The trees are probably 2-2 1/2 feet across at the base so I will have to cut them into smaller sections to be able to get them up the hill. It is impossible for me to carry anything of size or roll these up the hill due to how steep the hill is. Anywho, my questions for you guys are, a) what type of trees am I dealing with? b) how can I get this wood up the hill? When I first moved into this house I tried pulling some red oak up the hill but I had problems with the log digging into the ground and not wanting to move. Am I going to have to try and rig a pulley of some sort? I need your help. Below are some pictures of the trees and an illustration of my problem.

Thanks

 

[TreePointer]

My guess = northern red oak.

Aside: twigs with buds and/or leaf scars almost always confirm ID.

 

[Jeff S]

Seems I find myself in a similar situation a couple times each year.I would buck and split the wood right there at the bottom of the hill so could either load it into a trailer pulled by my tractor or if I couldn't get a tractor down there I would get my family together to have a wood hauling party ,a arm full to a time.Now mind you I do all my splitting by hand which should be a dream with Red Oak but perhaps you could get a hydraulic splitter down there if that's what you use.

I have access to a 100 acres across the road from me were the owner allows me to cut dead or blown over trees.2 weeks ago I found 3 large Ash trees about the size of your Red Oak,First thing I did was was look over the situation to find the least evasive way to get my tractor to it, after taking out a few saplings and cleaning up some old debris I was able to get a zigzag path from a main trail to my trees.

I'm definitely a wood addict ,I actually look forward to these little projects.

 

[nrford]

no guessing, Red Oak.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

no guessing, Red Oak.

yuppers

 

[NH_Wood]

Red oak. Going to be a lot of work. If it were me, I'd view this as a side wood project - bucking and splitting on site when I had time and hauling small loads at a time (small wheel barrow loads?) - I'd have other easier wood projects to get enough wood for the current and later seasons - this stuff would be the icing on the cake. Awesome BTU's - I'd definitely get it, just wouldn't bust my rump over a short period of time on this one. Cheers!

 

[basod]

To get them up the hill I'd lash a snatch block up in one of the sturdier trees at the top of the hill.
I use a small length of chain around the tree and then shackle to rope through the block, keeps the rope from getting torn up.
Don't let anyone in the line of fire when pulling and for extra safety tie some form old duffle bag or whatever to the rope near the shackle point it'll act like a wind sock if the chain/rope breaks .

 

[Ralphie Boy]

To get them up the hill I'd lash a snatch block up in one of the sturdier trees at the top of the hill.
I use a small length of chain around the tree and then shackle to rope through the block, keeps the rope from getting torn up.
Don't let anyone in the line of fire when pulling and for extra safety tie some form old duffle bag or whatever to the rope near the shackle point it'll act like a wind sock if the chain/rope breaks .

Be careful wit dem chains ane ropes. See my post: Bad Day Defined UPDATE PAGE 1

 

[basod]

I did say don't let anyone in the line of fire.
The bag thing tied to the rope portion will slow it down if the chain/schackle come free.

I had a chain break pulling tractor that got burried trying to pull a irrigation pump from a ponds edge.
My boss was on the tractor I was in the 3/4t chevy, he instructed me to jerk/snatch it with some slack. Good thing the tailgate was up and the chain was short enough to not hit the back window.
I was young and stupid once - lived to tell about it

 

[Woody Stover]

When I first moved into this house I tried pulling some red oak up the hill but I had problems with the log digging into the ground and not wanting to move. Am I going to have to try and rig a pulley of some sort?

What have you got to pull with? Tractor, ATV?

 

[Bocefus78]

u got some more red oak there. U also have a buttload of work there too. One of the heaviest woods out there when green. I'd cut, split, and then haul it up. Dont even try getting them up the hill in round form. If it were me, I'd buck it all, fire up the grill, get a keg, call the buddies, have lots of gloves, mauls, and wheelbarrows....even rent a splitter that day. Oak splits easy. Thats about the only way I'd screw with that mess. Those rootballs can do funny things too so definetly watch 'em close and have an extra set of eyes on ya while cutting anywhere near the bottom half of those logs. The can and will stand themselves back up, roll over on you, etc...

 

[smokinj]

u got some more red oak there. U also have a buttload of work there too. One of the heaviest woods out there when green. I'd cut, split, and then haul it up. Dont even try getting them up the hill in round form. If it were me, I'd buck it all, fire up the grill, get a keg, call the buddies, have lots of gloves, mauls, and wheelbarrows....even rent a splitter that day. Oak splits easy. Thats about the only way I'd screw with that mess. Those rootballs can do funny things too so definetly watch 'em close and have an extra set of eyes on ya while cutting anywhere near the bottom half of those logs. The can and will stand themselves back up, roll over on you, etc...

You must still feel the mighty oak of yesterdays.... :lol:

 

[Bocefus78]

You must still feel the mighty oak of yesterdays.... :lol:[/quote]

Those big ones suck on flat ground with the truck and trailer backed up to 'em! Mix in about 30% grade and my a$$ is looking for another scrounge! lmao

 

[Jags]

Red Oak.

Rig high on one of the trees that are located on the top of the hill. Rigging high will tend to lift the leading edge of the log. You will probably need to buck them into shorter lengths. On the butt end, maybe 6 ft and as it tappers down, 8-10 ft.

 

[smokinj]

You must still feel the mighty oak of yesterdays.... :lol:

Those big ones suck on flat ground with the truck and trailer backed up to 'em! Mix in about 30% grade and my a$$ is looking for another scrounge! lmao[/quote]

Yea that crap smarts real quick...Even with an 880, new 660 and and baby 460 back up by 2-361's........ :lol:

 

[oldspark]

A kegger and cutting wood-anybody up for a game of dueling chainsaws? ;-)

 

[Thistle]

I'm used to steep slopes.Still sucks though. One reason I try to get all cutting/hauling done when ground is fairly dry and/or frozen without snow cover.Took advantage of the drought from July to November last year,got 90% caught up finally.

 

[rideau]

If you have enough flat area and some sun you could split and stack to dry at the bottom of the hill. Bring the wood up when it's dry. If you have any trees standing at the bottom of the slope, could you rig something like a clothesline or sea rescue line, hang a log carrier from the line, and haul the split wood up a bit at a time? Be easier than doing the hike...If you have someone at the top to haul and someone at the bottom to load...Just a thought. Chairlift idea...

 

[osagebow]

Any chance you could float bucked sections down to another landing area?

 

[smokinj]

Any chance you could float bucked sections down to another landing area?

I want video's of that Please........

 

[Stephen in SoKY]

That close to the water on my river would mean it would wash away during the next serious flood. If you have any kind of tractor at all I'd think you could cut to manageable lengths and pull it up and over the bank. I've toyed with getting a log cone, but the expense outweighs the rare use I'd have for it.

ETA: This one is less expensive than the ones I've considered in the past: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200452219_200452219?cm_mmc=Aggregates-_-Nextag-_-Winches>Winch Accessories-_-14781

 

[Flatbedford]

Can you float those big Red Oaks down stream somewhere that it would be easier to load em up? How about a boat ramp?

 

[smokinj]

That close to the water on my river would mean it would wash away during the next serious flood. If you have any kind of tractor at all I'd think you could cut to manageable lengths and pull it up and over the bank. I've toyed with getting a log cone, but the expense outweighs the rare use I'd have for it.

ETA: This one is less expensive than the ones I've considered in the past: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200452219_200452219?cm_mmc=Aggregates-_-Nextag-_-Winches>Winch Accessories-_-14781

lol, just cut the crap off and run 6ft lenks with a toe strap......Keep it simple or it will get out of hand in a hurry. If you lose one to the river so what! ;-) (Keep your tractor claulk up and a knife to cut the strap if need be)

 

[Stephen in SoKY]

That's exactly how I would (And have) handle them.

 

[Levantou]

Thanks for the responses. I'm glad to hear its red oak. I have time to wait for it to season properly. The one tree I had down by the before was red oak. The difference is that tree was much smaller than these and it was an absolute pain to get up the hill. There is actually more trees down there that I didn't mention in my previous post. I only picked the two biggest trees to post. There are 4-5 total. With the grade of the hill it would be nearly if not impossible to use a wheelbarrow. I also don't think I could get a splitter down there so I would need to use a maul on all of these trees. I was thinking about attaching a pulley high on a large tree towards the top of the hill that will allow me to get it 95% of the way up the hill (with a cable and truck) and then release the tension allowing me to pull it the rest of the way with another chain or rope. Does that make any sense? I've just never done something like this before. I was wondering if any of you have done something like this before and had success.