This is our last night for this milling trip, the chopper should be coming to pick us up tomorrow morning. I would say that this trip has been mostly successful as there have been some setbacks.
The pile of wood we have is modest, but it includes the most difficult pieces of wood to cut. The ridge beams, for example, are each over 10 meters (32 feet) long and it took nearly a full day just to prepare the log for those cuts. But, once things were ready, they came one after the next (though the cut was so long we would have to refuel midway).
Health has been good as well and there have been no injuries to us four. There was however the boy, about 12, who got a nasty cut while they guys were clearing the bush around a tree. We patched it up though and it seems to be healing well. I’ll spare you the gory initial picture and include instead a more recent photo…
What really puts a damper on the trip though is that both of our large, Stihl Magnum 880, chainsaws broke down over the trip, which leaves us with just our small chainsaw. The repair is easy, but the question is when we will be able to get the replacement parts before the next trip? Both broke in the same manner, the piece which pushes the bar out to make the chain tight snapped. I guess we’ve been tightening the chains too much, but as it is I’d rather the chains be tighter than how we have had them.
Our plans now are to head back home for two weeks to spend some time with the family and get ready for the next trip. The next trip will be three and a half weeks long.
You can be praying that we can find what we need to get our saws running in that time, and of course for Nathan’s finger to heal well and without infection! While you’re at it, we can thank God for the house posts and other lumber milled on this trip, and also for the good times spent working with the Kovol guys!
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