Goodbye, Octo-tree

[speelyei]

Picea sitchensis with interesting structure, I don't think this could have been saved. Neither did the USFS, who asked us to remove it:

we tied into a tree across the trail. As we removed the long tips and tops, the balance point would change. The tree groaned and creaked and made creepy spitting and popping sounds at the base.

This looks like an "action" photo, but here's the truth: I am only about 15 feet off the ground. I walked up the trunk to this point, no spurs, no hip-thrusting, no nuthin'. There's not a thing in the world on the ground to hit, and I didn't even carry the saw up with me, somebody handed it up to me. My kinda climbing

! Plus, I was good and covered with sawdust after this cut, so anybody who saw me would have thought I was a real live workin' man.... only I knew the truth!

Look at that limb I am standing on... you can imagine the cross section, about 3" of tension wood and about 40" of compression wood:

Ashes to ashes... goodbye, Octo-tree!

 

[Waldo]

is this at the oregon coast? Also, arn't there many trees with structure just like this all around oregon?

 

[speelyei]

Question 1. Yes.

Question 2. No, I wouldn't say that. Would you say that? I would say this would not be an uncommon growth habit to find on the west side of the Coast Range between Astoria and Port Orford.

 

[Winch]

Nice pics, speelyei! Thanks for sharing. Did you count the rings on that old man? Why did you cut it up so much - access? Did you have to remove all the chunks you created?

 

[Toparboring]

To bad that was an interesting tree to have seen standing. yeah how old was that one btw.