Report to Hikers: week of Oct 30-Nov 5

Hello Hikers!

Tuesday Oct 31

Special event — visit to Collins Sawmill, Alpine Junction

We periodically come upon scenes of logging activity out in the woods on our walks, and over time this caused me to wonder what it’s like in a sawmill

It so happens we have a regular hiker, Casey, who’s widely known in the sawmill industry — he’s a specialist who smooths, straightens and tensions the big saws used in mills, which take a terrific beating from the cutting operation. In addition, Casey used to be a partner in a mill when he was young. On Tuesday he took us to a traditional, old-style mill SW of town in Cayuta

I didn’t know what to expect but the mill was even more picturesque and colorful than I hoped — missing outer walls on several sides, dimly lit — the saw is powered by a tractor and it uses 1940’s technology — above you can see the sophisticated mechanical apparatus that adjusts the width of each succeeding cut of a log to one inch wide

Three men make up the crew — you can see them in the shadows inside — the operation produces rough-cut softwood like that in the photo. There’s also an adjacent building where the men produce more-finished lumber like moldings and shingles (it was too dark inside for me to get a shot).

You can’t see much in the gloom but this is a view of the machine that adjusts the log for each succeeding cut.

The building on the right s where they finish and sell the finished lumber.

This guy is a customer who arrived while we were in the finished lumber building.

I loved everything about this visit. I thought it was really interesting that the mill can compete and make a profit using such an old technology and a bare-bones plant.

Wednesday Nov 1

Shindagin Hollow SF, bike trails

Official head count: 18H, four D

More photos:

Annie

Jack V

Saturday Nov 4

Mineah Road from Mt Pleasant Road north toward Route 13, Freeville

I’d hoped this would be a relatively dry hike despite all the recent rain — didn’t work out that way — some muddy area and the grass in the fields, while not high, was soaking wet — most people ended up with very wet feet