Hello and a Road Trip...

[Motorhead X]

3 hours ago, Pete M said:

awesome! 

 

does estwing still make their 3/4 ax?  my buddy still has his from like 20 years ago.  good size and seems indestructible.  or are you looking for more of a hatchet?

Hatchet might work good. Mainly something to split wood while camping and needs to be reasonably easy to pack. Currently looking at these:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Estwing-Sportsmans-Axe-Camping-Construction/dp/B00BNQR4SG/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=axe&qid=1573839294&sr=8-5

 

https://www.amazon.com/Council-Tool-20HB18P01-Hudson-Curved/dp/B01C57EVD2/ref=sr_1_14?crid=609P1PNLDTVP&keywords=council+tool+axe&qid=1573839361&sprefix=council+to%2Caps%2C215&sr=8-14

 

or maybe this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CZ9UY4/ref=psdc_554566_t1_B01C57EVD2

 

[Pete M]

unless I plan on chopping all day long, I prefer the all steel varieties.  I've ruined too many wooden handles. 

 

Unless I'm backpacking.  then lightweight is better. 

[fiatslug87]

I've had that Estwing one for decades, mine came with a leather sheath.

[Motorhead X]

Sounds like the Estwing is the one, and it's made in the USA. Good 'ole Rockford, IL. Home of one of my favorite bands, Cheap Trick.

[FrankTheDog]

Council Tools Hudson Bay axe or find an old Collins or Nordlund Hudson Bay axe on ebay or somewhere else.

They are a light fast axe with a decent size cutting edge.

 

My brother still has our fathers collins from the 30’s and I picked one up from the 40’s in beautiful shape.

[Manche757]

Your camp site looks devoid of trees and available fire wood to gather.  When I backpack, any ax or hatch is too heavy to carry.  A trick I use, is to find limbs up to 3 inches thick and swing them like a baseball bat and smack them hard against a tree. The end will come flying off.  Makes lots of great noise too.  Scares the bears and cats away too.  For bigger logs, I drag them across a fire and as they burn down, pull more of it across the fire.  

[rylee144]

Heard these are nice while backpacking. Wire saw. 

[Pete M]

1 hour ago, Manche757 said:

Your camp site looks devoid of trees and available fire wood to gather.  When I backpack, any ax or hatch is too heavy to carry.  A trick I use, is to find limbs up to 3 inches thick and swing them like a baseball bat and smack them hard against a tree. The end will come flying off.  Makes lots of great noise too.  Scares the bears and cats away too.  For bigger logs, I drag them across a fire and as they burn down, pull more of it across the fire.  

 

In the grand scheme of things it likely doesn't matter one way or the other, but I've found that you can damage the tree by doing that.    the tree closest to our fire pit has a giant scar on the one side where I used to hit limbs to break them.  I'm guessing the impacts collapsed the capillaries inside?  The bark there eventually fell off and exposed the inner wood which in theory would allow insects to get inside.  I've put several layers of poly on it to protect it because, well, it's our tree and I like our trees (I've also thrown poly on some of the other trees in the forest where the previous home owner seems to have been prepping trees to fell the next year by slicing off large chunks of bark around the base).  Eventually I imagine it'll close the scar back up (same way it'll eventually close over a cut limb) but it's been years now and it's still there.  I use it as an example for my nephews that your actions can have unintended consequences that don't show up 'til long after you've left the area. 

[Manche757]

1 hour ago, Pete M said:

 

In the grand scheme of things it likely doesn't matter one way or the other, but I've found that you can damage the tree by doing that.    the tree closest to our fire pit has a giant scar on the one side where I used to hit limbs to break them.  I'm guessing the impacts collapsed the capillaries inside?  The bark there eventually fell off and exposed the inner wood which in theory would allow insects to get inside.  I've put several layers of poly on it to protect it because, well, it's our tree and I like our trees (I've also thrown poly on some of the other trees in the forest where the previous home owner seems to have been prepping trees to fell the next year by slicing off large chunks of bark around the base).  Eventually I imagine it'll close the scar back up (same way it'll eventually close over a cut limb) but it's been years now and it's still there.  I use it as an example for my nephews that your actions can have unintended consequences that don't show up 'til long after you've left the area. 

All of the nutriants that feed the entire height of a tree travel in the "cambium layer" which is just below the bark. A thin layer. If you cut that layer all the way around the tree, the tree can no longer feed or hydrate itself and will die. The process is referred to as girdling the tree and is used in forrest management to kill undesireable trees. For example, to kill hardwood trees in cultivated pine forrest that are grown for timber. I girdled a  40 foot sweetgum tree a couple years ago to kill it. It might take a few years because some trees can store starches. If cut all the way around , that is not survivable. If you are concerned about the tree in your yard, pull loose bark away because it gives insects, like bark beetles or borers, a place to hide. The exposed wood is subject to rot. If rain water becomes trapped in the damaged area, cut a channel so the water can drain away.

[Motorhead X]

Also... It's best to purchase firewood in a local town before entering this type of area. The Mojave averages around 2 inches of rain per year (usually in Jan or Feb) so it feels like you are on Mars. I am totally mesmerized by plants growing out of rock crevasses and other inhospitable locations. In a lot of the forested areas of CA the burn risk is increasingly very high, so during much of the year fires are a real bad idea. Had a nice fire though and managed to eat three hot dogs, a full bag of Sea Salt and Vinegar chips and a 40 of Coors light before drifting off to stare at the Milky Way galaxy... and the commercial air traffic heading into LAX.

 

[Manche757]

Bringing firewood is the right thing to do.  I assume you meant 40oz and not 40 Coors. . Looks like you had a great night out under the stars. Spend a night at Guitar Lake on a hike to the top of Mt Whitney, if you haven't already. 12,000 ft I think

[Pete M]

28 minutes ago, Manche757 said:

All of the nutrients that feed the entire height of a tree travel in the "cambium layer" which is just below the bark. A thin layer. If you cut that layer all the way around the tree, the tree can no longer feed or hydrate itself and will die. The process is referred to as girdling the tree and is used in forest management to kill undesirable trees. For example, to kill hardwood trees in cultivated pine forest that are grown for timber. I girdled a  40 foot sweetgum tree a couple years ago to kill it. It might take a few years because some trees can store starches. If cut all the way around , that is not survivable. If you are concerned about the tree in your yard, pull loose bark away because it gives insects, like bark beetles or borers, a place to hide. The exposed wood is subject to rot. If rain water becomes trapped in the damaged area, cut a channel so the water can drain away.

 

that's the weird thing though, he didn't girdle it completely, just like 50-75% on a few 80ft sweetgums.   and it was years ago because the trees have clearly been healing from it for a while.  it's just... weird.    I guess it's possible that he did a crappy job and the trees have found a way to recover.  whatever went down, they are doing fine now and are far from the house so if they are inherently weaker than they should be, a fall in a storm won't matter much.  

[Motorhead X]

4 minutes ago, Manche757 said:

Bringing firewood is the right thing to do.  I assume you meant 40oz and not 40 Coors. . Looks like you had a great night out under the stars. Spend a night at Guitar Lake on a hike to the top of Mt Whitney, if you haven't already. 12,000 ft I think

Camping at Guitar Lake must be incredible for night sky viewing. It's on my radar now, thanks.

 

 

[Manche757]

16 minutes ago, Pete M said:

 

that's the weird thing though, he didn't girdle it completely, just like 50-75% on a few 80ft sweetgums.   and it was years ago because the trees have clearly been healing from it for a while.  it's just... weird.    I guess it's possible that he did a crappy job and the trees have found a way to recover.  whatever went down, they are doing fine now and are far from the house so if they are inherently weaker than they should be, a fall in a storm won't matter much.  

If the tree recovered, that is only possible if the girdling was not complete. Decades ago, a girdling device was made to strap on a man's back. It had a gas engine about the size of a small lawn mower motor. A cable was hooked to it. The other end had a fat metal doughnut with notches in it. The man would go through the woods girdling undesireable trees. Poison can be poured in the gash to speed up the process. Obviously you don't want to kill a tree that will eventually fall on a house

[Gjeep]

Nice MJ. Looks good!