East Pole Journal March 16, 2020 The gift that keeps on giving

From the main trail, the new one curves off downhill, past the cut tree with its stump sticking up at far right.

Today the assault on the forest to collect firewood began. I had picked out on old, huge birch, big enough probably to hold sufficient wood for a winter, sharpened the chainsaw and replenished its precious bodily fluids and headed down the trail intent on mayhem.

About half way to the tree I noticed the new trail where it came out onto the downhill end. My neighbor who helped make trail and unstick my snowmachine and help haul stuff had put it in a couple of days previous. Rather than block my way coming behind him, when he got to a flat spot near the cabin he turned off and skied his machine downhill through deep snow until he connected with the main one. 

As I looked up the trail I noticed a tree as good as the one I was heading for with one big difference. This one was within arm's reach from a packed trail. One step and I could be in position to cut rather than having to slog through a couple dozen yards of deep snow. At the other tree the slogging would continue too, when the sections had to be hauled to wherever I could get to with the snowmachine and sled. I could drive right up to this one and not only that, it was tall enough to fall across both trails so I would have two access points. Not even a contest. 

I made my peace with the forest spirits and within half an hour had it on the ground and began cutting into woodstove lengths. First though I cut where it cleared the two trails, then went along for a while cutting the rest. By the time it exhausted me I had cut about 15 feet into 18-20-inch chunks plus one shorter chunk that held a burl I hope to make into something, cleared a bunch of extraneous branches and had a nice little stack piled next to each of the trails ready to split. Tomorrow I will finish it off and then the hauling and splitting begins. As I thought that through I realized the new trail was within two rope hauls of the house. So I am going to take my splitting tools down there tomorrow split wood into a smaller sled and I can haul it in one load all the way to the wood pile. In the past I usually have hauled the rounds to a level spot below the house and split there, then load the splits into another sled for the ride to the woodpile under the house. This will save a step (one of those five or so ways wood warms you despite what Thoreau said about two). 

        All in all a pretty satisfying day, with only one little casualty: I managed to saw through a glove, fortunately it didn't have a hand in it because it is destroyed. I carry an extra set because as soon as they get wet the cold soaks through to my hands very quickly. This spare must have fallen out of my bag on the far side of the wood I had been cutting. So it goes, in the myriad of things that could happen cutting down trees, this is minor.
     Oh, and I do have to remember to thank Keith for one more thing he did for me while he and James were me helping over the weekend.

I don't like to repeat myself, but here goes anyway. On my way to gathering the wood that will keep me warm next winter so I can be warm and comfortable while I cut wood for the year after that. Is this a rut?

The East Pole Journal