Manitoba Wood Pics - Rated E for Everyone

[cjcocn]

Finally got out today and brought home some wood. The surprising part is, I actually took a camera and, even more surprising, actually took a couple of pics.

In truth I almost forgot the pics, but remembered and stopped when I was out of the snow. It was that perfect combination of snow and poor light that makes trails disappear so it was a fun ride out. My tracks from the morning were snowed over so I was constantly trying to find where the trail was.

Here is my truck, my trailer, and my helper (by the front tire - his name is Bones).

Here is a closer shot of the trailer (16' x 6 1/2' x 3 1/2' high) and my Jonsered 2186. After using an MS290 and then the Husky 455 Rancher, it sure is nice to have some larger cc's to work with.

The truck is usually filled to the top of the rack, but I had my spare in there (spare tire winch broke) and after a few crooked logs it didn't seem like such a good idea. I might have tried it if I hadn't left my ratchet straps at home.

The trailer has 6000# braked axles and I could have put more on the trailer, but my 2x4 uprights are not strong enough (broke one) so I will have to buy some 2x3 metal posts and get rid of the 2x4 uprights.

The logs in the trailer are cut to 8'. I was going to load them up as 16'ers, but some of them are about 22" in diameter and I didn't want to have too much fun! I was glad that they were only 8' when I was unloading them, btw!

For those of you (most of you) who deal with oak, this is jack pine and is a lot lighter. Some of the wood was only partly seasoned, but overall the load was easily handled by my truck, trailer, and their brakes.

It certainly isn't a big production (my helper always takes off to investigate something or other), but I like doing it and the jack pine keeps us warm.

I also burn birch at night since it will last longer, but so far have not taken a camera out for those trips.

Hope you enjoyed this little bit of Manitoba!

 

[Metals406]

Finally got out today and brought home some wood. The surprising part is, I actually took a camera and, even more surprising, actually took a couple of pics.

In truth I almost forgot the pics, but remembered and stopped when I was out of the snow. It was that perfect combination of snow and poor light that makes trails disappear so it was a fun ride out. My tracks from the morning were snowed over so I was constantly trying to find where the trail was.

Here is my truck, my trailer, and my helper (by the front tire - his name is Bones).

Here is a closer shot of the trailer (16' x 6 1/2' x 3 1/2' high) and my Jonsered 2186. After using an MS290 and then the Husky 455 Rancher, it sure is nice to have some larger cc's to work with.

The truck is usually filled to the top of the rack, but I had my spare in there (spare tire winch broke) and after a few crooked logs it didn't seem like such a good idea. I might have tried it if I hadn't left my ratchet straps at home.

The trailer has 6000# braked axles and I could have put more on the trailer, but my 2x4 uprights are not strong enough (broke one) so I will have to buy some 2x3 metal posts and get rid of the 2x4 uprights.

The logs in the trailer are cut to 8'. I was going to load them up as 16'ers, but some of them are about 22" in diameter and I didn't want to have too much fun! I was glad that they were only 8' when I was unloading them, btw!

For those of you (most of you) who deal with oak, this is jack pine and is a lot lighter. Some of the wood was only partly seasoned, but overall the load was easily handled by my truck, trailer, and their brakes.

It certainly isn't a big production (my helper always takes off to investigate something or other), but I like doing it and the jack pine keeps us warm.

I also burn birch at night since it will last longer, but so far have not taken a camera out for those trips.

Hope you enjoyed this little bit of Manitoba!

Nice thread and pictures!

 

[HuskyMike]

great pics! thanks. Nice gear and nice helper. Can you just cut on public lands or are you on private land.

We cannot cut on public land here

So all my scrounging has to be from people I know land or a top secret covert operation!

thanks again

 

[cjcocn]

Nice thread and pictures!

Thanks!

I like checking out everyone else's pics and figured that I'd try and contribute a few of my own from time to time.

 

[cjcocn]

great pics! thanks. Nice gear and nice helper. Can you just cut on public lands or are you on private land.

We cannot cut on public land here

So all my scrounging has to be from people I know land or a top secret covert operation!

thanks again

It's all public land that I cut on, but if I knew someone with wooded property I'd certainly go for that too!

I am actually on the edge of a Provincial Park in that pic. Our provincial government (state gov't in the USA) recently put a stop to all logging in Provincial Parks and the guy who is cutting there is just finishing up his contract. After all existing contracts are complete, there will be no more logging in Parks.

If they don't close the roads off I will try and salvage what's left behind, but I haven't checked with the Conservation Dept. to see if that will be allowed.

Tomorrow there may be too much snow on the ground for my trailer to make it in there, but I will take my truck for at least one more load after I am done plowing in town.

 

[savageactor7]

You did all that wood under those conditions by your lonesome self? Pretty incredible if you ask me.

 

[cjcocn]

You did all that wood under those conditions by your lonesome self? Pretty incredible if you ask me.

I don't know if I qualify for the "incredible" tag, but thanks!

Besides, I had Bones there to talk to so if I thought I was getting tired I'd tell him, "These logs won't load themselves!"

Many of the good areas are only accessible in the winter when the trails are frozen, so I guess I'm just used to it. If the snow gets too deep then I just tow strap the logs to the road in tree length and cut them up right by the truck and trailer.

I'd like to make a full day of it and buck them up out there, but I get more wood in my yard this way (I'm not always the only one out there). It works out well since bucking them up at home gives me something to do later on when the days get longer and it's not dark when I get home from work.

Thanks for all the comments, folks!

 

[Austin1]

Great pics! And of course a fine looking hound and Jred!
I need a trailer like that.

 

[JONSEREDFAN6069]

wow, thats a nice set up you have there, wish i had a 2186 now i'm the jealous one. lol.

 

[husky455rancher]

nice pics man, me and my buddy are goin cuttin tomorrow. i think everything we have to cut tomorrow needs to be cabled away from the house. should be interesting.

 

[cjcocn]

Great pics! And of course a fine looking hound and Jred!
I need a trailer like that.

Thanks!

Bones is a good buddy and I'm glad that he is around.

I got lucky on that trailer. 16'L x 6 1/2' wide with 2 - 6000# braked axles for $1300 + taxes (a shade under $1500 total). All it needed was a new deck and lumber was fairly cheap over the summer.

buysell had it listed. I found more trailers at that site then craigslist and kijiji combined. LOL ... I still get on there sometimes and look at trailers. Maybe someday I'll have enough extra cash for a dump trailer (yeah right!).

 

[cjcocn]

wow, thats a nice set up you have there, wish i had a 2186 now i'm the jealous one. lol.

I gotta tell you - it's been so long since I had my 820 that I forgot what cc's were like! I put a 24" bar on it with an 8 tooth sprocket and capped it off with some Stihl chain. It goes through wood like a hot knife through butter!

Tomorrow I want to head back out with the truck to see if the skidder has started clearing the trail and to get a truck load, but I like that 2186 so much that I will probably start bucking this wood when I get home.

 

[cjcocn]

nice pics man, me and my buddy are goin cuttin tomorrow. i think everything we have to cut tomorrow needs to be cabled away from the house. should be interesting.

Thanks!

"cabled away?"

Standing tree near a house, cabled away to ensure proper felling direction?

Am I close?

I know that you are good for taking pics .... are you going to post them up?

Did you get that bar sprocket issue resolved on your 372?

I sense another good pic thread from you.

 

[MotorSeven]

Chris, man that looked like fun. Glad to see you out & about in Jan! My wood pile is looking pretty slim, so i am gonna have to do the same minus the snow. So far for us, this has been a pretty cold winter...chalk it up to global warming............

RD

 

[Dok]

That looks cold but fun, thanks for posting! Today was in the 60's and I hauled a cord of wood up to the house, split another cord and ran out of daylight before I got that stacked, all in short sleeves. I hope we get some more snow soon.

That's a nice setup you have there. I'm starting to look at trailers and can say with certainty you got a deal.
Dok

 

[RuralCruiser007]

WOW!

Makes me think of back home. I was 3/4 hour south of Riding Mountain National Park. I know you are a lot further North than that, but just thinking of snow and cold sure brings me back. Different pace and attitude back home.

Thanks,
Glenn

 

[cjcocn]

Chris, man that looked like fun. Glad to see you out & about in Jan! My wood pile is looking pretty slim, so i am gonna have to do the same minus the snow. So far for us, this has been a pretty cold winter...chalk it up to global warming............

RD

Yes, it certainly was fun! Being stuck in an office all week really gets me geared up and I try to stay busy on the weekends doing what I'd rather be doing.

That looks cold but fun, thanks for posting! Today was in the 60's and I hauled a cord of wood up to the house, split another cord and ran out of daylight before I got that stacked, all in short sleeves. I hope we get some more snow soon.

That's a nice setup you have there. I'm starting to look at trailers and can say with certainty you got a deal.
Dok

The snow was melting onto my neck for a while, but I have a ..... a neck sweater??? .... lol ... it's like a sweater, but only has the neck part and two flaps that fit under my shirt/jacket so that it stays in place. After that I was toasty warm and sweating quite a bit.

Short sleeves in CA? My middle daughter would love to hear that. She is moving to one of the southern states as she doesn't like the cold. She is plenty smart and willing to work for what she wants so is already implementing her plan to get south.

WOW!

Makes me think of back home. I was 3/4 hour south of Riding Mountain National Park. I know you are a lot further North than that, but just thinking of snow and cold sure brings me back. Different pace and attitude back home.

Thanks,
Glenn

From what I hear, you folks in Alberta got a bit of the cold this winter as well!

Glad you likes the pics!

 

[bigoak00]

Surprised you don't have more snow?

Great pics, thanks for posting, I am surprised that there seems to not be a lot of snow around, I thought Manitoba was noted for high snow amounts?

 

[cjcocn]

Great pics, thanks for posting, I am surprised that there seems to not be a lot of snow around, I thought Manitoba was noted for high snow amounts?

Thanks!

You are right about the snow. Our snow amounts are not like those you'll find in (for example) the Colorado mountains, but we usually get a fair amount.

This year we seem to be in a pocket as far as snow is concerned. It has snowed quite a bit all around us and a 2-3 hour drive in any direction will put me in an area where there is a lot more snow. Yesterday's snow is tapering off now and the resulting snow level will still be overall lower than normal.

The snow machines will like it though. There hasn't really been enough snow around here to provide a good cushion from the logs, rocks, etc., but I imagine that I will see a lot more of them out today when I am plowing snow.