Axe or chainsaw?

[oO_Rogue_Oo]

Wow I can’t believe some of the responses I’ve read in this thread. A chainsaw for camping purposes; seriously? Oh even better; chainsaw and leave no trace used in the same sentence? The saddest part, those responses weren’t jokes they were serious.

I carry an axe, a bowsaw and a small hatchet; I haven’t had the need to use the axe in years. I carry it more out of habit than need. I can’t imagine using a chainsaw for fire building purposes and as far as trail clearing goes; use a winch. If you’re blazing new trail then you’re NOT leaving no trace, if you’re building your fire with wood any thicker than your wrist then you’re probably leaving a trace. I mean really, just how big a fire does it take?

This thread has been very educational for me; not in terms of the information in it, in terms of learning some things about the membership here. Some of these responses really surprised me.

If you're carrying a chainsaw into the wilderness you're probably no Eagle Scout thats for sure. LOL

 

[RR1]

I can't imagine using a chainsaw for fire building purposes and as far as trail clearing goes; use a winch. If you're blazing new trail then you're NOT leaving no trace,

You don't get outside much do you?

Forest Service uses chainsaws and motorcycles to clear trail all of the time. Chainsaws can be quicker and safer than a winch line. Need to use chainsaws on hiking trails to clear trail, which is low impact because if you didn't clear blow downs from trails hikers tend to go around them causing the trail to widen or to reroute. I don't know what part of the country you're in, but here some of the trees are quite large in diameter, need a chainsaw to speed things up to move on to the next blow down. This season is going to a mess since we had a lot of heavy snow fall.

We have worked directly with the Forest Service to create new multiuser trails, as with any tool such as chainsaws... they'll even use dynamite in some cases to clear rock. Every summer I do volunteer trail work, a chainsaw is just another tool for trail work.

if you're building your fire with wood any thicker than your wrist then you're probably leaving a trace. I mean really, just how big a fire does it take?

If you camp with 20 or more people at a time, yes you need a big fire. We usually camp in disperse camping. Where camp fires are legal.

If you're carrying a chainsaw into the wilderness you're probably no Eagle Scout thats for sure. LOL

Not allowed to have motorized vehicles or tools in the Wilderness. That includes Expedition Land Cruisers.

 

[freeze]

It really boils down to time and place. Depends on the location and what you have around you. Depends on the temperature outside and if your clothes are wet from snow... etc. etc. etc. Location, weather and temperature will dictate how large a fire needs to be. Given that, this becomes a matter of how much fuel (wood in this case) will need to be burnt. Especially if you have boots, sox or jackets that need to be dried in -20C.

Use the proper tool and the ethical and responsible discretion when it comes to using it. Just like your 4WD.

It's time and place when it comes to using a saw, hatchet, machete, axe, or chainsaw.

Also again in the backcountry you want to use as little energy as possible especially if you're burning your energy on better things like skiing or iceclimbing etc. -20 using a handsaw then having to buck the remaining pieces will work up a sweat. Then to warm and dry out, you'll burn all that wood that took 2 hrs to prepare with a hand saw and axe in 30min - 1hr.

Sure in the summertime couple of dead branches and twigs will work great. Just need the backside of the machete or the hatchet... simple!

 

[Lucky j]

This is great! Thanks!

 

[Eventhough]

Are you out of your mind? ... Hmmm a few bugs or an entire forest??? you do the math.

A few bugs, after reproduction, can kill an entire forest. Take the hemlock wooly adelgid for example...

 

[pb_beaker]

It really boils down to time and place. Depends on the location and what you have around you. Depends on the temperature outside and if your clothes are wet from snow... etc. etc. etc. Location, weather and temperature will dictate how large a fire needs to be. Given that, this becomes a matter of how much fuel (wood in this case) will need to be burnt. Especially if you have boots, sox or jackets that need to be dried in -20C.

Use the proper tool and the ethical and responsible discretion when it comes to using it. Just like your 4WD.

It's time and place when it comes to using a saw, hatchet, machete, axe, or chainsaw.

Also again in the backcountry you want to use as little energy as possible especially if you're burning your energy on better things like skiing or iceclimbing etc. -20 using a handsaw then having to buck the remaining pieces will work up a sweat. Then to warm and dry out, you'll burn all that wood that took 2 hrs to prepare with a hand saw and axe in 30min - 1hr.

Sure in the summertime couple of dead branches and twigs will work great. Just need the backside of the machete or the hatchet... simple!

Well said, all I intended this thread for was to see which of the two you carry and what kind. There is always a time and a place and most of the time its the axe's place. Having a chain saw seems to me like an insurance policy. Its better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it. Besides Im fat and lazy and its faster! :victory:

 

[john101477]

A few bugs, after reproduction, can kill an entire forest. Take the hemlock wooly adelgid for example...

True :campfire: I do not know what exact bug that is lol but I have lost whole gardens to bugs and have friends in the orchard business that have lost several trees at a time to bigs and fungus, so I assume the same can be said of some bugs in the forest if they get out of hand

 

[john101477]

Reading the many post I can see the folks that have spent lots of time in the woods and the ones that have not.

yep lots of people like to take "expeditions" along the scenic route on there way to marine world. :elkgrin: definitely not very many woodsmen in the forum but the ones that are, are pretty cool and thats what keeps me around.

Anyone ever notice that the elkgrin smilie looks more like a moose than an elk?

 

[Tucson T4R]

Anyone ever notice that the elkgrin smilie looks more like a moose than an elk?

That's because the elk had a chainsaw accident and the moose antlers were the only thing available when the transplant was done.

 

[RR1]

True :campfire: I do not know what exact bug that is lol but I have lost whole gardens to bugs and have friends in the orchard business that have lost several trees at a time to bigs and fungus, so I assume the same can be said of some bugs in the forest if they get out of hand

It is the Bark Beetle. One of many ways of that Mother Nature "cleans house".

 

[freeze]

We've got the same problem here with the mountain pine beatle

If it's red it's dead... makes for a very fast burn.

 

[john101477]

That's because the elk had a chainsaw accident and the moose antlers were the only thing available when the transplant was done.

Oh lord I am glad someone had a smart A** remark for that. :bowdown:

RR1 - Freeze - Holy crap i have not seen any dead forest land like that near me thank god. Thats almost sickening. Are they attempting to manage it in any way?

our biggest worries here have been the fires. Last year we lost a lot of land. Some trails have been close because if it but will reopen next year I believe after the replanting this year.

 

[freeze]

This came up from the states into Canada. There was an expert on the subject a time ago that said to control burn the infected area which at the time seemed like a massive amount of trees. But now in hindsight, control burn of those trees would have saved a whole lot more! Government maybe should have listen to that fellow back in the day!

It's getting pretty bad up here.. we need a good solid month of -30 to -40 to get rid of the problem. We just don't see cold snaps for that long anymore.

So far it's been controlled burns in the Parks but other than that I'm not educated enough on the subject.

 

[RR1]

We've got the same problem here with the mountain pine beatle

If it's red it's dead... makes for a very fast burn.

Looks to be one and the same.

Drought weakens the trees the beetles take over. Survival of the fittest if you may.

I view it as the Earth cleansing itself, as the Earth has done long before humans crawled out of the muck.

 

[RR1]

:elkgrin: definitely not very many woodsmen in the forum but the ones that are, are pretty cool and thats what keeps me around.

An old woodsman once said to me, "The only good tree is a stump"...:elkgrin: