There was a tree, a huge and handsome, old maple tree. It was at least 100 feet tall, and likely closer to 120 feet tall. It was in a large, open, green space in between eight or ten homes where I live. The home I own is in a “community”. This particular tree was on community owned land. And this tree was not well. So we asked to have the tree assessed. Three separate professionals each/all said the tree had rot inside the limbs and the trunk, due to root rot … a fungus in the ground that can damage trees. And they said “the tree needs to come down before it falls over and destroys homes and kills people.”
That made me sad. But it also made me feel good that none of us who live around that tree would have to die, or have our homes destroyed during a strong winter wind. But, it made me sad.
So the homeowners’ association requested bids. A decision was made. And the tree was taken down. Lots of us got firewood from that tree (me too). And the wood chips from the smaller limbs were piled in an area where gardeners in our community could avail themselves of that resource. And some neighbors took some of the “rounds” of wood for patio seating, or to make a table by adding legs. And some of the big chunks of branches and trunk were sold to wood carvers who valued the color/design of the interior rot (photos coming). So the tree would continue to “live” in other forms. That felt good.
I could see this 120-foot tall tree from my back patio. It was only about 30 feet from my back patio. So I had a great view of the huge tree while it was still here, and I had a great view of the work done on the day that tree was taken down. Neighbors said “oh it will take a week or more to take this tree down.” Other neighbors said, “nope, it will be down in one day.”
One man got the bid to take down the tree. One guy! He did have three men helping on the ground to hold the ropes attached to the limbs as that one fellow cut the limbs and trunks, to carry off the limbs and trunks after they fell, stuff like that. So he wasn’t alone doing the work, but he was alone as he climbed that 120-foot tall tree and carefully cut it down. He was the only person up in that tree. And he took that tree down in one day.
This guy (his name is Will) is about 6 feet tall. Keep that in mind when estimating the height of the tree in these photos.
Safety is a huge issue for “tree climbers”. That’s what they call themselves … “tree climbers”.
And then it was time to start climbing … and thinking about the best way to proceed.
And then more climbing …
And more climbing …
He got most of the way up before he started cutting branches. Later, Will told me that he studies how the branches grow to determine which direction each branch “pulls” (they don’t always pull away from the main trunk, sometimes the grain pulls them towards the trunk). He also determines early on which trunk or main branch will be the last one to take down, that will be the strongest one in his mind and so can support him after all the others are down. You’ll see in a bit that the one trunk he left was off to one side of the tree … it wasn’t the main trunk. He told me that’s often the case with these types of trees. He knows. His life depends on it.
The video below shows how a rope was tied off to the branch being cut so the branch didn’t just drop with full force into the ground. The men on the ground were pulling on the rope to slow the descent of the branch.
Eventually, Will gets most of the upper branches/trunks cut off.
And then there’s just that one really tall trunk/branch left. You can see in the photo below that it certainly isn’t the center one! The RED ARROW points to the top of all the other trunks in this tree; they’ve all been cut back to that level or lower. The other trunks/branches you see in the background belong to a tree close behind this one.
I thought he would climb higher and cut this one last trunk in sections. Nope. He tied off the control rope right where he was in the photo above … and he then climbed down LOWER to cut that trunk.
He climbed quite a ways further down from that point before he started cutting. Yikes, he’s going to cut off an entire 60+ foot trunk in one piece. Each home here is 40-feet long, that trunk is WAY longer than one home. What if it lands on a home?! [Note: click on the small square in the lower right corner of the video below in order to enlarge it … or click on “YouTube” to play it there, and then click on the small square in the lower right corner.]
He paused, determined the angle that he wanted it to fall, then he tied it off, then he directed the people on the ground to pull in a certain direction, and then he just stood up there and thought about it a bit longer, and then he revved up the chainsaw and he cut the trunk.
How amazing was that! He chose it, tied it, had the men on the ground pull in a certain direction, and then he cut the trunk at such an angle that, when it eventually fell, it landed in open space, parallel to the ground, not diving straight into the ground or into anyone’s home.
And then he rested a bit. 🙂 And climbed further down to cut more.
And he kept on cutting.
And then, in the photo below, I was surprised that he started cutting the very bottom of the trunk while leaving so much wood up above.
In the video below, notice the large, long piece of trunk on the ground in the foreground. It’s there for a reason!
Finally the tree is down. The “tree climber” (Will) told me it was easier to cut those remaining trunks into smaller pieces with that whole big section on the ground, rather than doing that while up in the tree.
And now the pieces needed to be cleared away.
This maple wood was dense, heavy wood. The piece that the fellow in the photo below was carrying didn’t look all that big, so I decided to pick up another that was similar in size … ooof!! I did pick it up, but I put it back down! I’m in excellent physical health, although I’m not as strong as I used be. I used to lift 120-pound Ford C6 transmissions from the shop floor up onto the work bench. But that was quite a few years ago. Today I decided to leave the lifting and carrying to these younger folks.
The tree climber then chainsawed off more of the base trunk so it was one flat surface.
The root rot in the tree was obvious, and well-developed, and parts of the trunk were starting to split along the lines of the rot. But the coloring was interesting too.
Every trunk and every branch had rot in it.
Since the entire job took most of the day, and since my patio had a front row seat to the action, LOTS of neighbors stopped by to watch. I put out extra chairs and welcomed everyone to sit as long as they liked.
I chatted with the tree climber, too, but only when he wanted to talk, which he did. He was a really nice guy who liked to share and teach. One thing Will shared with us was that the large base trunk, where it was huge in diameter, was not very tall (see very first photo above). To him, that meant the root rot had started early on in this tree’s life such that the trunk stopped growing and, instead, split into many upright branches. He also talked about this particular type of hardwood maple being especially susceptible to root rot here in the Pacific Northwest and that this tree never should have been planted here. He reminded all of the neighbors listening that only native trees should be planted unless you have a professional arborist to take care of non-native trees.
That evening, I posted all of my photos and videos from the day onto a website. Then I sent a link to those photos/videos to Will so he could download/copy any of them he wanted. He thanked me profusely. Need tree care? Willard’s Tree Care, Olympia, WA.
I learned a lot today. I had a great time with my neighbors, with Will the “tree climber”, and with the other fellows working on the ground with him. Another fun day in the neighborhood. 🙂
That’s great that you learned something new that day.
I can drop my own trees, but know when to call “my expert.”
Just last month I had one with root rot, it was at least 120′ and if it fell the wrong way houses or people (me) could have gotten skooshed.
I paid $500. for that one and another to hit the dirt. Well worth it!
No kidding, $500 is a fraction of what we paid for our fellow to take just this one tree down. It must be satisfying to know you can do a lot of that yourself, tho. Good on you!
I did some tree cutting when I was a younger lad. But I was always scared. I quit soon after starting. There isn’t a tree cutter I know who hasn’t fallen, at least once, and they all have scars and permanently damaged joints to show for it. That’s no job for wimps! You put together a really good explanation of the process.
I’m terrified of heights, so would never be any good at tree cutting and I sure understand the fear of the height and of getting seriously hurt. “No job for wimps” is sure true! Thanks Tim.
Fascinating. Impressive work.
Indeed!
A friend of mine, a woman, is a licensed tree cutter or tree climber. She owns her own business and has three others working for her and with her, one other woman and two men. And yes, they have scars! And they are the kindest people on earth, maybe because they have to be slow and steady and careful and thoughtful in their work, but maybe sorta kinda just because they love trees.
I know a woman like that near Seattle, WA, similar business and employees and her own personal history of tree cutting. I like what you say about their thoughtfulness and kindness and carefulness and how they must love trees. Even though they cut trees down (sometimes … but other times they cut them back so the trees can be more healthy) … still, they care. Thanks Cindy.
Learned more than I ever knew that I didn’t know about tree cutting. 🙂 Great info and really fun to watch videos. thanks.
You’re welcome Bill. Me too, I learned stuff I didn’t know that I didn’t know. 🙂
Wow. One guy and that huge tree! But at least with being the only one up there he didn’t have to guess what the other guy up there was doing. Probably safer to be the only one in the tree. But those big logs were heavy, so the guys on the ground were working hard too. And yes the rot in the center is really interesting. I hate seeing trees taken down, but at least your tree turned into a lot of useful things. Great images, I can see why Will was glad to get them. He can use them to promote his business.
I hadn’t thought of that, Dawn, that maybe he was safer up there alone than if other people had been up there too. Hmm, interesting, I bet you’re right. I’ve looked at Will’s website and don’t see any of my photos there yet … hope he uses some of them, and the videos, they are impressive. He has been hired by our community association twice since taking down this tree … for another maple tree and an oak tree, both with root rot. It rains here in the Pacific Northwest! Too much, I guess, for these types of trees.
We’ve had smaller trees taken down here and then, nothing this big! He sure must trust how he cut that trunk to then be on his knees in front of it with an axe chopping on the rest of the wood in there. Obviously it didn’t fall on him because then he got up and chainsawed the rest from behind. This whole deal was great.
Oh gosh yes! When I first saw him kneeling there, I wanted to rush out and haul him away from the danger, but I figured he knew a whole lot more than I did. And he sure did, because that tree/trunk never even wobbled after he got that wood chunked out of there … not until he chainsawed from the other side. He sure knows wood.
Thanks for sharing how he decides which limbs to cut, and fascinating how the last limb/trunk was way off to one side. I’ve never watched something like this, makes me really appreciate those folks!
I hated to see that tree come down, but it was absolutely fascinating to watch him work. And yes, me too, I’m sure glad there are people in the world who know this stuff and are willing to do this work.
This is beautiful wood! I do a bit of wood carving, have most of my life, mostly small things but have done some small wood burl tables and then some larger tables with just really beautiful wood grain, but then small tables made of wood with this very same root rot in the wood. They can be gorgeous. I’d love to have that piece of the trunk with that huge convoluted dark scrumptious rot in the middle, where it looks like a little devil is playing on the right side of the rot. That would be really fun to make into something!
Some folks will tell you that tree is oak since it’s tall and skinny, but your tree climber guy is right, it’s maple. Maple wood is whiter than oak wood … this is maple.
You used to own a wood boat so I bet you have a deep appreciation of wood. That seems true too because of how you talk about this tree that was taken down. I’ve always thought (and felt) that wood that was cut was still alive, still had life. Even an old stick of wood, an odd type of wood maybe, if stuck in the ground, they often sprout. This was fun, thank you!
A wood worker! Do you have a website, Ruth? Or a blog? I’d love to see your work. Wood is so beautiful.
Thank you for confirming that the tree was maple. A couple of neighbors claimed it was an oak, but the color of the wood was definitely maple (like you say), and the leaves were maple.
Ah, yes, I always felt the wood in my boat (the whole boat except for the engines and such) had been alive, and was still alive in some sense, with a memory of life if nothing else. I took excellent care of that boat, and I swear she knew that, had an awareness of that, and took excellent care of me.
I really liked that little devil off to the side in that one piece of trunk too. 🙂
Root rot! Bad stuff except it makes wood carvers happy. It can be caused by soil that’s too damp (either poorly draining soil or over watering) or by soil fungus (there are several varieties that cause root rot). The fungus is often in the soil anyway but doesn’t do any harm unless it too is too wet, and then the weakened roots of the plants/trees are susceptible to the fungus. That’s the quick explanation. 🙂
Root rot can happen in houseplants, too, that are over watered. This time of year, lots of folks buy Poinsettia plants and then wonder why they wilt so fast. Lots of folks over water Poinsettias. Then the plant wilts and drops its leaves, and people think the plants don’t have enough water so they pour yet more water on them. I water mine once every two weeks; I wait for the dirt to dry out completely, then water lightly. I have three Poinsettia plants (now huge) that are over 20 years old, almost unheard of in northern climates where the plant lives indoors 24×7.
Fascinating photos and videos and story of the tree removal. I’m glad it went to other good uses.
Yes! Thank you Ruby! I sometimes buy small Poinsettias around Christmas time, and then give some to friends, and they often over water them. But wow, 20 years for a Poinsettia grown indoors is amazing. You have the touch! I usually water mine once a week, but I’m changing that to ten days and will see how they do with that.
And thank you for the info about over watering trees outdoors … and the info about in-ground fungus. Fungus/fungi is/are in the ground, everywhere in the world. How we treat the ground, what we plant, and then what we add to the ground (including how much water) makes a world of difference. So many of us seem to “need” lawn that there’s lots of over watering done which damages surrounding plants and trees. And then there are the commercial crop fields … sigh. Ok, let’s not get into that.
Thanks Ruby. Always appreciate your input. 🙂
Wonderful! Such magnificence in the tree and your arborist’s work!
I love this as I worked with an arborist for about 6 years running the chipper, pulling ropes & the skill of Will is very evident! A far cry from my professional experience as an Accountant! 🙂🌲Brought back fun memories!
Thanks for sharing Ann!
Wow, another thing I didn’t know you did! How cool. 🙂 Seems to be a thing in our family … women who do all sorts of different things throughout our lives and love every minute. Ok, you have more stories to tell me, Melly. 🙂 Thank you!
This is so interesting. Makes me wish that I had paid more attention when they took down the huge apple tree in my backyard a couple of years ago. I don’t think they did it quite like what you saw, but it might have been rather interesting just the same.
Gave the wood to someone who used it for charity. No rot, so no colors or patterns. But it should have been good for smoking. Didn’t find anyone who was interested. Glad you found people who wanted the wood
You must have read my mind, Fritzi. One of my concerns before this tree was taken down was “what will happen to the wood?” But lots of good things happened to lots of this maple tree. That felt good.
Oh my but apple wood! It’s a hardwood and, as you say, it’s great as smoking wood or for firewood and for carving projects, but some varieties split easily so are used only for smaller carving projects and inlay work, stuff like that. Depending on the particular variety of apple wood, it is sometimes used to build furniture. But (you will love this), it is also used for musical instruments. I didn’t know that until a friend of mine who was a professional musician told me that. Musicians (and people who love music) are the best. 🙂