Milling Trip 2: Day 10

Published by Rhett Stous on

I nearly died today, or at least mangled a limb, but I didn’t get a single scratch, which is pretty neat!

So you recall that gravy train tree I was talking about in our last post?

The gravy train tree even looks like a train

Well the bottom of it (which is lying on the top of the hill) was way too wide for us to mill, so we figured we would get to it later when we had come up with a solution. That solution came today when we stabbed it with the biggest chainsaw we had!

36 inches of wood chopping power, and it still isn’t enough

Even then, we had to pry open the crack and stab, stab some more. Eventually we lopped off the side of the log, which by itself was enough wood to be worth a smaller tree.

But, as the saying goes, the lopped off lobe doesn’t fall far from the tree and before any work could be done I’d have to get them separated.

So I hopped up on the log and set about levering with all my might. Unfortunately, that lobe did not want to move.

But do you know what did want to move? The rest of the log, which I was standing on. In fact, it leaped down that mountain with such enthusiasm that the previously immobile lobe decided to come along with us.

I, for one, did not want to go down the mountain. I had managed to scramble off the log, but rather than finding a firm footing, I only managed to get onto the the lobe. At that point I was resigned to riding a two ton toboggan as it clunked along with it’s many, many more ton log alongside.

I may have lost control, but of course God hadn’t! My toboggan might have flipped on me, or I might have gotten an arm caught between it and the log, but none of that happened. After only about 15 yards the log got tangled with another and my ride crashed into it, bring us all to a safe stop!

It was a little fun, if I’m honest

The Kovol guys, who normally think it’s hilarious when someone gets hurt, just kept staring at me with a look of horror, and I don’t even have any bruises to show for it.

I think we can thank God that He was looking out for me on my trip, and while we’re at it we can thank Him for the beautiful weather we’ve been having the past few days.

Please keep praying for our safety, I’m sure you have been so far!

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