Walking up to our work site on the first day I looked and saw many dead lodgepole pines. From what we leaned in our chainsaw training dead trees were more unpredictable and you needed to make a good cuts in order for them to come down smoothly. Halfway through the day I found a tree near the road to fell. Building up the nerve to bring that big sucker down, I assessed the tree and the area, applying all I had learned the few days before. I looked for cracks and cleared my cutting area, then sounded the tree with my ax to make sure it was not rotten. Finally ready to start the saw, my heart rate increased and my mouth went a bit dry, but I knew I needed to focus and it would all work out.
I started my chainsaw and stood next to the tree looking up. Pointing my gunning sites in the direction I wanted the tree to fall, I yelled, "Face cut, tree falling across the road!" and began my horizontal cut. I checked my sites the whole time to see my aim. Then I came in with my sloping cut and took a nice pie piece out of the tree. I assessed my aim one more time and took a step back, yelling "Back cut! Tree coming down across the road!" Making sure the wind was calm and looking up I started to saw into the tree, hoping I hadn't made any mistakes. Halfway through I paused to see my cut on the opposite side and kept going until I came close to my face cut. I got the thumbs up from my crew leader standing near me and I quickly inserted a wedge into the opening and pulled my saw out. I turned my off and set it down, grabbing my ax and hoping the tree didn't break off. Tapping the wedge I heard the wood crack. Another tap and I saw the tree start to lean heavily. Three or four more taps and the holding wood gave way, bringing the tall lodgepole pine down with a crash across the dirt road. It took many years for it to grow that high and in a few seconds it made its journey back down. Stepping back into my escape route I yelled, "Tree falling!", with a smile on my face. After the dust settled I gave an all clear and looked at the stump. I felt a rush of satisfaction and confidence, proud that it all went well and eager to fell another.
By: Quentin Pearson
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