This is where I will get my wood

[BrianN]

I took the quad out yesterday looking for some easy to get to wood. Around here, when they finish logging an area they will decommission the road (dig up the culverts and make big trenches) making it a little more difficult to get a truck in. Plus, they pile the wood about 50' off the road, so you have to either drag it, or carry it to the road.
This little spot looked perfect. When I went here earlier in the spring, my truck started to sink in the wet, mushy road and I didn't get too far in. Then, I didn't want to struggle getting in and load my truck down with wood, which would make it sink more.
Anyways, I figure I should be able to drive right in and back up to this pile. On this road alone, there are probably another 20 piles like this, just a bit harder to get into, but, with a little work, should be able to back the truck up to it.
This is mostly all "beetle" kill jack pine. So, it is very dry, probably in the 18 - 22% range, and will be ready to burn this year, if I get it home soon. But then again, it is just sitting out there drying right now.

 

[Blue2ndaries]

Nice, relatively easy pickings!

 

[USMC80]

very nice

 

[clemsonfor]

The must of hauled several hundred like 300+ loads off that dock to get a pile of junk butts that big!!

 

[BrianN]

This is only half of the pile. Plus, there are literally hundreds more just like it, and that is only in this one area.
The sad thing is, they just burn these piles. So, have to get to them before they put the fire to it.

 

[Locust Post]

Not a darn thing wrong with that Brian. Just be careful cutting in piles like that, easy to get some kick back.

 

[BrianN]

Not a darn thing wrong with that Brian. Just be careful cutting in piles like that, easy to get some kick back.

Thanks Locust. I have lots of saw time in piles like this, plus blowdown. But, can never hear "be careful" enough.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Brian, if you can't get the truck to these piles, it is very simple to build a dray that can be used behind an atv. That way you can haul out many logs to a load and cut them after you get them out thereby saving a lot of time and work.

Here are a couple pictures of a small dray we put together pretty fast and easy. Our cost was less than $10 for this one. We could have loaded more logs than was on this load for sure and it pulled super easy. Actually, with snow, even the little bit in this picture, the dray can pull as easy as a wheeled trailer.

 

[bogydave]

Looks to be a liftime of wood there.
To bad it gets burned.

Get it while you can & get all you can.
No felling & liming will save loads of time.

Look like you can be a little picky & get good size, straight grain stuff.

Estimate of how much time you have before it gets burned?

You'll show many here that "burning pine is fine"
Erase many myths about pine

Worked a few piles like that, Used the P/U , a rope & chain to pull out several good logs then bucked & loaded up pretty quick .

Have fun!

 

[BrianN]

Well, finally made it out for a couple loads. Got some split and stacked. Just off loaded the truck tonight, and ready to be split and stacked this weekend, then, off for another load, or two, or ten , what ever I can fit in my yard.

Oh, and found another spot where they hauled it to the side of the road, but didn't have enough for a full truck load, so, it was left there. Only thing is, the road has been decommissioned, so, there are about 4 culverts taken out of the road. Makes for a little bit of excitement getting out. Plus, the wood is a bit dirty. Pretty hard on the chain.

 

[Plow Boy]

Nice find. Nothing wrong with pine!

 

[paul bunion]

Looks like easy pickings.

 

[BrianN]

Nope, I have never had a problem with pine. Even the standing trees are dead and almost ready to burn. Thanks to the beetles.
Every where you go around here, there are burn piles. Not quite as easy to get to as this. Usually about 50' from the road. We either hump it to the road, or build a pathway so we can drive the truck right up to the pile.

 

[Seanm]

Looks easy to get. We have Pine beetle here as well but for some reason it hasn't over run our area. I can still go out and find beetle kill lodgepole easily though. I was done getting wood in April but I have a hard time passing up easy finds. 2 minutes from my house there are 6 good size lodgepole pines that were dropped last summer and are lined up and ready to buck up. I can back my truck right up to them but Im having trouble finding room on my .13 acre lot. Im sure I will go get some of it as its been bugging me leaving them there.

 

[BrianN]

Wife and I went out to get some wood today. What a wonderful surprise to find out that some one had made a bit of a road into where the wood is. So, no backing up through a ditch, driving over sticks and stumps. Just a nice 50' back up to the wood pile. Still tons of wood to get from there, and, it doesn't look like many people have been out there.
Last weekend, when we were there, we noticed that there was a bobcat/skid steer parked out behind the pile. I guess it was there to build a road there.
Makes getting wood more of a pleasure.
From leaving the house, loading the truck and back home, took about 2 hours.

 

[Plow Boy]

wow, now that's a pile of wood. Get what u can while u can, great job!!

 

[BrianN]

Well, I thought that the last pile had all the good wood and easily accessible. We found this pile about 500' down the road and much easier to get to. We can get to pretty much anywhere on the pile.
The wife and I can leave the house, fill the truck (I figure about 1/2 to 3/4 cord after split) and be back home within 2 hours. That's with stopping for breaks and have a bite to eat.
So that will make it only 4 more loads this year to get our 10 cords.

 

[BuckthornBonnie]

That is pretty sweet, man! Love the fact that your wife is game to help out... I suppose we both lucked out in that department.

 

[BrianN]

Yes, really lucked out there. She loves going to get fire wood, and, a great stacker and log fetcher to boot.
But, both her and I will love having a nice, warm house this winter. It is well worth it.

 

[clemsonfor]

Dang!! Nice

 

[teutonicking]

I took the quad out yesterday looking for some easy to get to wood. Around here, when they finish logging an area they will decommission the road (dig up the culverts and make big trenches) making it a little more difficult to get a truck in. Plus, they pile the wood about 50' off the road, so you have to either drag it, or carry it to the road.
This little spot looked perfect. When I went here earlier in the spring, my truck started to sink in the wet, mushy road and I didn't get too far in. Then, I didn't want to struggle getting in and load my truck down with wood, which would make it sink more.
Anyways, I figure I should be able to drive right in and back up to this pile. On this road alone, there are probably another 20 piles like this, just a bit harder to get into, but, with a little work, should be able to back the truck up to it.
This is mostly all "beetle" kill jack pine. So, it is very dry, probably in the 18 - 22% range, and will be ready to burn this year, if I get it home soon. But then again, it is just sitting out there drying right now.
View attachment 104738

Beautiful. Thanks for posting those beautiful pics. I love getting wood like that. Its half the fun of the hobby. The other half will be starting really soon...

 

[Foragefarmer]

Looking good! Those are some huge piles of wood!

 

[teutonicking]

I took the quad out yesterday looking for some easy to get to wood. Around here, when they finish logging an area they will decommission the road (dig up the culverts and make big trenches) making it a little more difficult to get a truck in. Plus, they pile the wood about 50' off the road, so you have to either drag it, or carry it to the road.
This little spot looked perfect. When I went here earlier in the spring, my truck started to sink in the wet, mushy road and I didn't get too far in. Then, I didn't want to struggle getting in and load my truck down with wood, which would make it sink more.
Anyways, I figure I should be able to drive right in and back up to this pile. On this road alone, there are probably another 20 piles like this, just a bit harder to get into, but, with a little work, should be able to back the truck up to it.
This is mostly all "beetle" kill jack pine. So, it is very dry, probably in the 18 - 22% range, and will be ready to burn this year, if I get it home soon. But then again, it is just sitting out there drying right now.
View attachment 104738

Just noticed your stove. I think those piles would burn in a Blaze King until the end of the century!

 

[clemsonfor]

Do they not use pulp wood out there or is that stuff so dead when they cut it, that it can't be used? Or are they so short they can't be used?

We don't have piles around. Here like that. As a forester I would gtrak out if I saw that waste on one of my jobs. That's a merchandising nightmare

 

[wazzu]

I hate it when they make that stuff inaccessible to the average guy. They should put those piles right near the road so folks can get to them. What a waste. On a side note, whenever I get in a situation like that I like to just get log length pieces in the pickup. Then I can cut them up at home. I get more loads that way without wondering if today is the day they put a match to my firewood piles. Jeez it just makes me sick to see so many BTU's wasted. Wish I was there. Ha