Went out cutting last weekend :)

[quercus_kelloggii]

Went out into the Nat'l Forest last weekend. Cut a load of mostly CA Black Oak (hence my user name). Generally only found some smaller broken off branches, 8" max probably. A lot of bending over and cutting to size w/ my 20# saw makes for a workout on the back. I think I'll build me a folding cross buck to take along. This is for next year or the year after depending on the burn rate this winter.

Was a cold day cutting but it was good to get out again. Permit expires here in a couple weeks or so. Probably won't cut out there again till Spring.

 

[Gasifier]

Nice work QK! Thanks for the pics. Looks like you had some fun. How much are you allowed to take with the permit? Thanks for sharing.

 

[quercus_kelloggii]

It is $15 a cord with a 2 cord minimum, 10 cord maximum. I go for the minimum as that is hard enough for me to fit in. This is for home use. I mainly go for the oak, but will also usually get some Douglas-fir and maybe some incense-cedar if it's handy and dry.

 

[stejus]

And I thought I was the only one transporting wood in an SUV. I was out today removing a downed tree that fell over three weeks ago. I looked at it long enough and the owner didn't want it so I removed it today. Took two trips (about 500 ft from house) to get it, but it's free heat for 2013/2014!

 

[bogydave]

Nice pictures
Love the "truck"
I'm doing same, cutting on state land. Birch $10/cord.
Time for snow in your area yet?

 

[stejus]

We had a freak storm on Oct 30th here in the NE. 10 to 30 inches depending on where you live. Nothing since then. Most of our snow is mid Dec through late Feb here in MA USA.

 

[quercus_kelloggii]

Supposed to snow tonight here. Won't be much probably. Had a little bit a week or two ago. Last Nov. we had about 1.5', oak leaves hadn't fallen and that meant a ton of trees came down on houses etc. Don't want a repeat of that.

Want a truck bad, but you make do...

 

[Kenster]

A lot of bending over and cutting to size w/ my 20# saw makes for a workout on the back. I think I’ll build me a folding cross buck to take along.

Wondering if you'll really gain anything with the portable saw buck. You'll have to bend down with the saw to cut the pieces that are too big to lift up onto the saw buck. Then, you'll be bending down to pick up the wood and lift it onto the saw buck. You'll have to set the saw down to do that, then pick it up again. You'll still have to pick up the cut rounds to put them in your vehicle.

Seems like the extra steps... extra bending, stooping, and lifting, will be even worse.

 

[bogydave]

Supposed to snow tonight here. Won't be much probably. Had a little bit a week or two ago. Last Nov. we had about 1.5', oak leaves hadn't fallen and that meant a ton of trees came down on houses etc. Don't want a repeat of that.

Want a truck bad, but you make do...

I saw some cooler weather was head your way.
Truck is nice but I found my trailer more useful for wood hauling & other big stuff, holds more & I can unload later if I want too.
But yea, I like & use my truck allot too. But I made do for years, which pays off in the long run.

 

[4fire]

Way to go. The biggest, baddest pickup in the world isn't required to cut wood. And cutting wood is another good excuse to play outside.
The USFS changed their wood permit rules up here recently. They're a bit easier to work with now, but my one complaint is that the permit is only good for 2 weeks from the time of purchase. They used to only be good for a very specific area. Now they're good in the whole district where purchased.

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

Our national forest permits cost $25 for the 4-cord min. ($5/cord + a $5 fee for something or another), & then $5 for every cord after that with a 12-cord max., & they're good from April 1st though March 31st of the next year. And of course, there's a bunch of rules about not cutting near campgrounds, parkinglots, hiking trails, waterways, etc... but still, a pretty good deal.

 

[quercus_kelloggii]

Kenster - you're probably right, be more work haha. Didn't think of it that way. Maybe I'm just getting old and feeling it more! Haha. I'll quit my whining

BogyDave - at some point I hope to get a truck or a slightly larger SUV, a trailer would be very nice to have as well for sure. Maybe some day!

Jamie - 2 weeks? Wow, that would bother me too Here, the wood permit is good from around May through Nov, but it varies by ranger district slightly (timing of leaf drop in one area cuts it shorter). Otherwise, no felling near roads, they do supply maps of where you can and can't cut, and you're supposed to call the day you go cut to make sure there aren't any other restrictions. Only one time did a ranger ask for my permit, and that was because I was cutting right off a road to a campground. And I mean, right off the road, just parked on the side of the road and started in on a 4 limbed big oak that had fallen down I got some nice big rounds off that oak. Ranger was nice. Oh, also have to have a long handled shovel and a 3lb or so fire extinguisher.

Ski Bum - a good deal for sure!

Thanks for the replies

 

[firefighterjake]

A trailer would be much nicer . . . could haul more wood and not make the inside quite so messy.

Nice score though.

 

[tuco1963]

great pics im envious of the scenery

 

[Ken S]

I have never cut on any kind of permit.How does that work?Can you only cut certain species? only cut down stuff?

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

I have never cut on any kind of permit.How does that work?Can you only cut certain species? only cut down stuff?

up here in the Gallatin National Forest, we're allowed to take any species except cedar (I don't think there's any cedar around here anyways- it mainly grows in the temperate rainforest up in the NW corner of the state), we can onbly take down-fall or dead-standing (aka no live trees), we have to take everything greater than 4" diamater, either widely scatter the remaining branches or put them in slash piles measuring at least 4'x4'x4' (if I remember the dimensions correctly, that is... I have the permit out in my truck, but I'm too lazy to put my coat on & go out & get it.), build slash piles only out in the open- not underneath other trees (common sense, so the forest crews don't start a forest fire when they burn the slash piles), no cutting within a certain distance of "developed" areas (i.e. campgrounds, trailheads, parking lots, roads, etc...), & no cutting within a certain distance of a waterway (one of the rangers I talked to said the fisheries crew would have a heart attack if a chainsaw spilt fuel or oil into the water. And as a fisheries worker myself [for the state, not the feds], I understand their concern). The permit is only good within the ranger district you bought it in (each national forest is made up of multiple ranger districts)
Oh, & no driving your vehicle more than one vehicle length off the road.

 

[bogydave]

Here are the rules for my area. Called & ATV are allowed, simple & basic stuff.
The permit is issued subject to the following conditions:
1. This permit may be cancelled at any time by the Department of Natural Resources.
2. Cut and operate only in areas noted on map.
3. No cutting of trees within 300 feet of any water-body or 100 feet of any wetland or muskeg.
4. Anything cut by the permittee greater than 5 inches in diameter must be removed by the permittee.
5. Stumps should be no more than 12 inches high.
6. Remove all cut timber down to a 5" diameter.
7. Be considerate to other people using the logging roads.
9. Observe posted signs.
10. Firewood cutting areas are marked with ribbons. DO NOT CUT BEYOND THE RIBBONS.
11. Cuts made in the Willow Firewood Area must be 500 ft. off Willer Kash Rd. (WILLOW FIREWOOD AREA ONLY)
12. The use of heavy equipment including, but not limited to: skidders, log trucks, back hoes, dozers, front end loaders or excavators is prohibited.

 

[quercus_kelloggii]

Here it is the Tahoe National Forest of the Yuba River National Forest districts. Yuba cuts the season shorter due to leaf drop.

Going off memory:

* Supposed to call the day you go cut to see if there are any special restrictions
* Nothing longer than 6' lengths can you take out
* Fire extinguisher and shovel w/in so many feet of where cutting
* Can cut standing dead and dead down wood (I remember in AZ many years ago, oak had to be dead and down...)
* Can't fell w/in 150' of roads/campgrounds/water or something like that - not a big issue where i cut
* Can't cut within certain areas on map, but pretty broad areas are open to cutting
* Tag your wood and fill out permit log before moving out w/ the wood.

That's about it in a nutshell. I pretty much cut down wood, easily away from restricted areas. I have cut some dead standing doug-firs and incense-cedars before, yet to find a dead standing oak but I'd cut it if I ever did.

It's fun out there. Sometimes a bit eerie if I'm alone, especially if when I see bears when I head in haha. I know there are mt. lions about too. I'm armed but not overly worried about it honestly!

Here was a nice downed oak piece, although I had to carry the rounds out a good way to the road.

and I borrowed my dad's truck a few times, though my SUV seems to carry a load better: