Cut down two trees yesterday to start refilling my wood shed.

[Nick Mystic]

Lightning hit a 12" poplar tree on our property a couple of years ago and shredded the bark off of about a third of the tree. The tree survived, but was slowly dying, so I figured it was time to bring it down. Nearby was a dead oak that must have died several years ago, but was still standing. At least the bottom half of the trunk was standing while the top half was on the ground from a recent storm. It too was about a foot in diameter. Both came down nicely and I manged to get them cut into rounds. I hauled five wheelbarrows of the poplar out of the woods today and split and stacked it. I used a 7 ton electric splitter that worked well. The poplar was really wet and stringy - would have been a bear to tackle by hand. Both trees were about 500 yards from the house and I had to traverse hilly terrain, so it's a bit of a tough job.

 

[CenterTree]

500 yards with a wheelbarrow! ?

You mean 500 feet right? Right?

 

[Matt93eg]

500 yards with a wheelbarrow! ?

You mean 500 feet right? Right?

I sure hope he was meaning FEET!

 

[Nick Mystic]

No, 500 yards up and down ravines. I live in the foothills of western NC. We're only at 1400 ft. but our 11 acres is a lot of ravines. Fortunately, these trees were about 200 ft. higher up than the house, but I had 500 yards to make the climb. It was a bit of work pushing the empty wheelbarrow up to the wood, but it was rougher bringing it back down. I had to keep sliding the barrow to slow it down! You got to be a real mountain man to work these hills!

 

[STIHLY DAN]

You spent more BTU's getting that poplar than it has in it. I'm a wood snob so I would have let it rot.

 

[Nick Mystic]

I've never had any problems burning poplar. This stuff was wet and stringy and as I said would have been tough to split by hand, but it wasn't that bad with the electric splitter. Once it is good and dry it burns fine in shoulder season.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

You spent more BTU's getting that poplar than it has in it. I'm a wood snob so I would have let it rot.

Hey, that is only a little over a quarter of a mile!

 

[Nick Mystic]

I have a confession to make. I exaggerated on Sunday when I said the trees were 500 yards from the house. I walked it off today while I was hauling more wood down the mountain and it was only 300 yards. I guess it just felt like 500 yards since I haven't been logging in a few months. I know this is a rough crowd here at the Wood Shed and that things don't really happen if there aren't photos, so I took a few pictures today.



Here is where I am working up this load of wood. I have a shed roof that will cover a stack two rows deep and about seven feet long and eight feet high here behind a retainer wall. That little 7 ton electric log splitter does a nice job with this size wood.



This photo shows a path across the small bridge off to the left. When I use the wheelbarrow I take this path because it is a bit flatter than my alternate path.



This is further along on the wheelbarrow path. In the distance where you see the mountain laurel the path turns to the right and heads up toward the ridge. It's about 300 yards to the trees I cut down.



This is the path I usually bring the dogs down on from the ridge on our daily hike. The photo doesn't show it well, but this trail is much steeper. I couldn't get a wheelbarrow up or down this path.



This shot is from about 50 yards up the trail. You can see the roof of my two story home is already about 50 feet below where I am standing.



A little further up the trail.



Here is some of the oak I'm working up. Those rounds are about a foot in diameter and 20" long.

Today I hauled all the wood out using the sling you can see on the ground with a log in it in the very first photo. When I go up the steep path I can cut my distance by more than half since I am going straight up the hill rather than circling around on the less steep path where I can use the wheelbarrow. I did ten trips today carrying one round out in the sling on my right shoulder while I carried a second log with my arms. It was perfect wood processing weather with 40 degrees and overcast skies. I've got most of the poplar hauled out now and am just starting on the oak. It looks like I should be able to just about complete the first row with these two trees.

 

[blazincajun]

Great work - nice country.

 

[bigbarf48]

That sound like some rough hauling

Nice looking stack though

 

[muncybob]

Good exercise for sure, but I would put that splitter up on a table/platform of some sort. Sorta strange to see the ground in the woods...all I see here is white stuff!

 

[Nick Mystic]

I'm not that big a guy, just 5'8", so being close to the ground works okay for me. If I was splitting all day long I'd want a better set up, but when I haul a couple logs at a time I just split them as I go and the stooping doesn't bother me. It takes my mind off the hike back up the mountain!

 

[gandrimp]

In your first pic, with the wheelbarrow and you stack of wood,,,, is that a chimney? Whats the doors, looks to be 3 of them?

 

[gandrimp]

300 yds with a wheelbarrow .
300 yds 2 sticks at a time .
And you don't use an axe .


Just funning w/ya,,, it'll keep you young.

 

[Nick Mystic]

It is a huge outdoor barbecue built by the original home owner, probably with the left over bricks from the fireplace since they look the same. The big top door measures about 24" square and has a rack inside where you can cook an entire hog at one time (so I was told). Down below the top door is where you load firewood and the lower door is where you remove ashes. What you can't see in the photo is the actual chimney for this structure that is behind the cooking portion. It is another huge brick cavity that is about 4' square and 4' deep. We don't use it to barbecue, but from time to time I will fire it up to burn trash. My wife just did a major clean up of our files last weekend and she informed me she wants me to fire up the crematorium
(what we call it) soon to burn them!

 

[Nick Mystic]

Actually, I did all my splitting with a 16 lb. maul until this year when I bought the electric splitter. I started having some rotator cuff problems about six months ago and thought my splitting might be aggravating the problem and since I'm not getting any younger I thought I'd spring for the electric splitter. I'll turn 63 in April.

 

[Mark Richards]

Actually, I dd all my splitting with a 16 lb. maul until this year when I bought the electric splitter. I started having some rotator cuff problems about six months ago and thought my splitting might be aggravating the problem and since I'm not getting any younger I thought I'd spring for the electric splitter. I'll turn 63 in April.

You sir, are now my hero! I hope to be kicking it that hard at 63 when I get there. God Bless and good health to you.

 

[GENECOP]

Nice job, I would have went after it also....