Monday, December 12, 2005

Morning folks. Well, once again I'm drilling a dry hole, so it's back to the well for a post I put up on Feb 13th. Someone had asked me to talk about log-hauling and this was what I wrote of the time I spent logging in the North:


Most heavy-duty logging, up here in my part of the world, does'nt really get going till freeze-up. In order to get all the equipment in; loaders, skidders, trucks etc., the ground has got to be frozen as hard as a certain part of the male anatomy in order to get any production. Hmm, kinda like another application but let's don't go there. It makes for a short season, about 5 months, so it's head down, ass up, because when you have 200,000+ dollars tied up in your logging truck and trailer(s), you don't want to miss a step. So, jump in, let's head for the bush.

Up at 2:30 am, run outside, fire up the truck, set the throttle and make sure all pressures are ok, and while it's banging away warming up, back inside, fill a thermos or two and throw something in your garbage pail, tell the dog to be good or you'll nut him, and off you go. On the road at 3 am, and if all goes real well you'll get two loads into the mill and be back home at 8:30 or 9 pm. First few miles fairly slow, then when temps start to come up, pound on it. Up the Alaska Highway about an hour like a cyclone with a trail of fresh snow behind you, then off the big road, stop, get out, do a walk around the truck ensuring all is ok, water your mule, back into the truck, grab the mike and let everyone know you're on the way in, and give 'er. Because it's a bush road and narrow, with very limited visibilty, it is extremely important to call your miles. Two trucks cannot meet at speed, so the incoming empty bows to the loaded coming out, in other words slow up or stop and get out of his way. He's weighing 100,000+ lbs., looking at a hill so he's got a helluva fire lit and if he has to slow up for you, well, let's just say that after the conversation you're definitely going to have with him, you'll probably look like a raccoon for a week or so. This is serious business, so pay attention to where you are, call your miles, be courteous, and you'll get along fine, because these are great guys. Once in awhile a "super-trucker" shows up, but it usually only takes a day or so for an attitude adjustment, or just run his ass off. Like I said, this is extremely serious work.

Takes about an hour and a half to get in, so just before you get there call the loader operator and he'll tell you which landing he's loading from. A landing is simply where the logs are piled after being skidded from where the fallers knocked them down and the buckers have cut them to length for transport and limbed them. Pull up, turn around, the loader will pick your trailer straight up off your truck, pull ahead, he'll set your trailer down, back into it, and while he goes to get a grapple of logs, get your hitch done up, hook up your air lines and light cord, and stand well back. Once he's got it loaded, put your wrappers(steel cables) on, tighten the snot out of them, jump up in the truck, release the brakes, grab a whole armful of gears, and head for the mill.

Most trucks, and loaders, these days have their own electronic scales. You'd better hope your's are accurate, because when you get to government weigh scale on the big road, if you're a little heavy, it's going to cost you. The ticket is usually big enough to erase everything you'll make on the load, so if you want to be able to pay for your rigging and make at least some wages for yourself, hard work is not enough. You've simply got to pay attention to every detail.

Into the mill, pull up under the crane, undo your wrappers, stand back while he picks your load off, pull ahead to the self-loader, put your trailer back up on your truck, scale out, because you're paid by weight, fuel up, look at your watch(8 1/2 hrs, not bad), and do it all over again. Do this 5 days a week, then on Saturday you can take a break as you work on the truck. Hopefully you did'nt bust anything expensive, or the whole week was for nothing. Being a bachelor, Sunday all I had to do was my shopping, laundry, re-introduction to the dog, and other leisures.

So next time you go to your local lumber yard to pick up some 2x4s, or as I call them, 2xslabs, you'll know some of what it takes to get that piece of wood from a growing 50 or 60 foot living thing to the back of your come-and-pick-me-up truck.

See ya later today.

Trucker Bob blogged at 2:58 AM

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