Cutting Christmas Trees in the WMNF

[MadRiver]

A follow up question if you please. Say you are hiking out and come upon a family with a freshly cut tree who are struggling, do you help them haul out the tree. Discuss.

 

[marty]

A follow up question if you please. Say you are hiking out and come upon a family with a freshly cut tree who are struggling, do you help them haul out the tree. Discuss.

Only if they let you have the tree

 

[Brambor]

Why? It's their combined experience they sought out when they ventured into the woods. Worse case scenario - they laugh about how they failed to haul a tree home and go buy one for under $20 at local lot. Later they can reminisce and laugh about their experience to their children and grandchildren.

It probably cost them more than $20 just to drive and get the tree from the woods.




When I was around 8 years old I remember my grandma telling me about a family hike they did to the local mountain, the snow was so deep they not only post holed all the time but on several occasions completely fell through the snow up to and above their waist to a point where they could not even get out. On one occasion my grandma fell through up to her shoulders and laughed so hard she actually peed her pants. They never made the summit but the stories inspired me to go winter hiking and remember that it is not just about achieving the summit but to have a good time outdoors.

A follow up question if you please. Say you are hiking out and come upon a family with a freshly cut tree who are struggling, do you help them haul out the tree. Discuss.

 

[freighttrain48]

When I was around 8 years old I remember my grandma telling me about a family hike they did to the local mountain, the snow was so deep they not only post holed all the time but on several occasions completely fell through the snow up to and above their waist to a point where they could not even get out. On one occasion my grandma fell through up to her shoulders and laughed so hard she actually peed her pants. They never made the summit but the stories inspired me to go winter hiking and remember that it is not just about achieving the summit but to have a good time outdoors.

Brambor, I hope your 8 year old self give your grandma a stern lecture about hiking in the winter without snowshoes and how postholing doesn't help anybody out

 

[Brambor]

that was in Eastern Europe (Beskydy Mountains). We've seen snowshoes in books from Jack London and E.T.Seton but that was about it. )

Brambor, I hope your 8 year old self give your grandma a stern lecture about hiking in the winter without snowshoes and how postholing doesn't help anybody out

 

[freighttrain48]

that was in Eastern Europe (Beskydy Mountains).

You should have mentioned this before It changes the mental image of your story

 

[WhiteMTHike]

In my state we're supposed to call it a Holiday Tree.

Anyway, it is too bad they didn't pull out a permit to show this guy and end the discussion right there. It sounds to me like they followed the rules. If they didn't have a permit then they simply need to get one next time.

I would have simply informed them of that then wished them a Merry Christmas.

 

[Little Rickie]

A follow up question if you please. Say you are hiking out and come upon a family with a freshly cut tree who are struggling, do you help them haul out the tree. Discuss.

Sure what the heck, I didn't cut down the tree. It would be fun to share the family experience.

 

[griffin]

As hikers in the WMNF, do you know the rules? What would you have done?

A-HA! A use for PEPPER SPRAY!

I didn't know you could buy/take a WMNF tree - sounds like a potentially fun outing.

A follow up question if you please. Say you are hiking out and come upon a family with a freshly cut tree who are struggling, do you help them haul out the tree. Discuss.

Having just pepper-sprayed them, I think it would be the least I could do.

 

[TrishandAlex]

A follow up question if you please. Say you are hiking out and come upon a family with a freshly cut tree who are struggling, do you help them haul out the tree. Discuss.

Sure, why not? It's your good deed for the day.

 

[una_dogger]

A-HA! A use for PEPPER SPRAY!

I didn't know you could buy/take a WMNF tree - sounds like a potentially fun outing.



Having just pepper-sprayed them, I think it would be the least I could do.

Too funny! Besides, it will help you balance out your pepper spraying bad kharma

 

[MichaelJ]

A follow up question if you please. Say you are hiking out and come upon a family with a freshly cut tree who are struggling, do you help them haul out the tree. Discuss.

I'll help make sure that if they're going to abandon it, that it's not on a trail.

 

[Onesong]

A question for anyone that has gotten a tree from WMNF - how was the health and particularly the fragrance of the tree?

I ask because I love a good smelling tree but haven't been able to find one for years and recently talked to a woman at a tree farm and she confirmed that trees just don't smell like they used too.

Maybe a "wild" one would be better?

 

[DSettahr]

A question for anyone that has gotten a tree from WMNF - how was the health and particularly the fragrance of the tree?

I ask because I love a good smelling tree but haven't been able to find one for years and recently talked to a woman at a tree farm and she confirmed that trees just don't smell like they used too.

Maybe a "wild" one would be better?

I would surmise that fragrance and the amount of resin in the tree are probably linked. With firs, you often have lots of resin pockets on the trunk of the tree (it serves as a defense mechanism against insects). As anyone who has ever popped one of these pockets knows, the resin is a really pain in the butt to get rid of- it sticks to everything! Skin, clothes, etc.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the genetic stock from which christmas trees are grown had been selectively bred to produce trees with less resin, since they are less likely to cause messes in people's homes. With less resin, comes less scent.

Complete speculation on my part, of course. If it is true, then yes, a wild balsam fir would probably have more of a scent... and more of a mess!

 

[bikehikeskifish]

My in-laws have a Christmas Tree farm on the west side of the WMNF. Balsams are still the best smelling tree there. The downfall of a balsam is that the needles don't hang on as long as they do for other varieties. Frasers are their top seller followed by Canaans.

Tim
p.s. I would be in trouble if I cut my own tree anywhere but their farm

 

[MadRiver]

Each year we cut our own tree at Rock Estates in Bethlehem, NH. This year the tree we cut was a lot heavier than previous years, even though it was the same size. Its fragrance is also a lot stronger than previous as well. The whole house smells like a forest, which we love.

 

[una_dogger]

Each year we cut our own tree at Rock Estates in Bethlehem, NH. This year the tree we cut was a lot heavier than previous years, even though it was the same size. Its fragrance is also a lot stronger than previous as well. The whole house smells like a forest, which we love.

I, too, love that fragrance....wish I could bottle it up and carry it wherever I go!

 

[dug]

I, too, love that fragrance....wish I could bottle it up and carry it wherever I go!

You can!!

http://www.yankeecandle.com/fragrance/balsam-fir

(Might be a bit dangerous walking around with a lit candle all the time, though.)

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Is there an app for that?

Tim

 

[Kevin Rooney]

If you have the land, there's something to be said for buying a live tree at the HD, Lowes, supermarket, etc.

There's satisfaction in watching a growing stand of trees which helped commemorate a Christmas over the years, as it brings back the individual memories of each Christmas if you have a system where you know which tree was planted when.

I realize this is only feasible where the climate permits. Where I live now it gets below freezing nearly every night for a few months, but the ground itself doesn't freeze.