“I graduated high school on a Friday, and by Monday I was working in the woods. Where I’m from, you either become a fisherman or a logger.”
“I graduated high school on a Friday, and by Monday I was working in the woods. Where I’m from, you either become a fisherman or a logger.”
Jim Holt drives to a logging site in Oregon’s Coast Range, near Summit, to start his work day.
"My wife put that there to remind me that I used to have hair," Holt said.
Holt talks to the yarder operator. These two men, plus one engineer, are the only personnel on site.
Chainsaw fuel, oil and water hang from a tree.
Holt inspects a tree while he clears a slope.
Holt falls a 40-year-old Douglas fir.
Holt measures a log into lanks, ensuring each uniform section can be drawn up the slope by the yarder.
Holt reaches for the lunch cooler in his truck cab.
Holt has a midday lunch break.
Holt refuels his chainsaw, which he does roughly every 45 minutes while cutting.
Holt removes the roots of a Douglas fir so the log can be cut into shorter lanks.
Cleated boots called "corks" help Holt keep a footing on uneven, busy terrain.
Holt prefers not to wear safety glasses; he says they block his peripheral vision and put him at greater risk from falling limbs.