Stuff
A beautiful, clear and cold night and the stars are shining brightly. Not the best time to view the heavens, but some of my favorites are up tonight. The Pleiades is high in the sky and Orion The Hunter is just starting to climb over the trees. Time to get the telescope out again.
First Sunday off in over a month and we spent it in the woods hunting down logging railroads. Our friend and guide Ken joined us for the final weekend behind Stimson Lumber Company gates. Ken convinced us to try to find a logging camp above an incline (think — railroad down a steep slope, lowering rail cars of logs with a steam donkey). We had visited the area last year and found the remains of the the donkey and the bases of a support building, but no camp.
This year, due to logging in the area, we were able to drive to about 1/2 mile from the incline and with Ken’s help found the logging camp. One of the best preserved remains we have found so far. Oregon State Forestry Department has worked to conserve the area by preventing logging the site and it’s far enough off the beaten path the it hasn’t been disturbed much.
The area was burned in a forest fire in about 1932 and the camp was abandoned at that time. We found the remains of 10 bunkhouses with 8 bunks/building and a cook house. When the fire came through, everything but the log foundations burned and the bunks dropped down on the logs.
Here’s a pair of bunks, set end-to-end laying on the bunkhouse log foundation.
And a pair of ‘Misery Whips’ - two man cross-cut saws - bent into twisted shapes.
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Chery wrote:
Looks like you had a fun day.
Posted on 21-Nov-05 at 5:44 am | Permalink
Patti wrote:
I pointed my older son at your blog today. He’s really into sustainable (ible?) transit issues, and light rail and all. He mentioned that you probably were looking at some of the place my grandfather used to work - he was an old railroad guy (and logger). He was missing an eye and some toes, and there were different stories about them - some toes were lost to frostbite in Alaska, the eye was when he worked on the trains, and maybe a toe from two cars coupling. Keep your eyes peeled for some toe bones.
Posted on 21-Nov-05 at 4:56 pm | Permalink