Harvest a Christmas Tree for $5 in the National Forest
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- VIDEO GETS RIGHT TO THE POINT: All info about the entire process covered in the first 5 minutes.
The additional 10 minutes are my personal Christmas tree harvest adventure for anyone who wants to see more. Follow along as I trek into the mountains to harvest a Christmas tree in the national forest for the first time ever.
Christmas tree harvest is not possible in all national forests nor in all states. Check with your local ranger district for more information.
I have been doing this for years and wouldn't have it any other way. Love the adventure and story's that always come form tree hunting.
I can't believe I've gone this many years and never done this before. It was truly a pleasure.
Was awesome to meet you. Seems we could talk video making for days. Short and long version? Interesting.
Likewise sir, I look forward to next time!
If I spend 15 minutes disseminating practical information, UA-cam seeths, LOL. Look, there's already one thumbs down on this one and I was pretty dang quick with the goods. I did the same thing with my tire plugging video...covered all the necessary info in the first 2 minutes and then went on to indulge myself over-producing the whole overwrought story. :-)
@@softroadingthewest Don't be looking @ the thumbs down... Look at the 200+ thumbs up!
I love this video! I’m going to have to see if there’s anywhere in California I can cut a Xmas tree.
I've done it in Plumas National Forest but that's a heck of a drive for you.
It's funny, when I go to the Forest Service website for tree permits, I see mostly Oregon and Washington forests, plus Wyoming and Colorado. But maybe that's just what's available through their online system, and there is more availability going directly to local ranger stations? Several commenters have mentioned doing this in places other than WA, OR, WY an CO.
I go to the usfs office, or ranger station. $10 for a permit for Lassen and Shasta-Trinity Nat'l forests.
I really like the new "SoftRoading the West" window graphics. Looks sharp!
I bought one for $80 😒 at home Depot. This video made me consider my life choices.
I always thought that wild trees were ugly but the one you picked up was pretty cool in its own way. Maybe next year.
Well, that was my first time ever. Most of my life, I've cut trees from nearby cultivated tree farms (pretty common in western Oregon) but these days those are nearly as expensive as buying them from a lot or a store. Which I've done plenty of times too. :-)
Awesome vid. Thanks for bringing awareness to the regulations. Went up to Mt Hood last weekend and cut one down. The best way to do it in my opinion. Cheers.
Very informative vid. May do this in the future. How ever, your subaru is missing it's front bar! And those zip ties..... bent was better! 😎
Haha, that skewed front end bugged me too much, I had to take it off to bend it back into shape. I don't think I'm going to put it back on though. Time to move this in another direction. :-) Thanks for watching!
Wow, you're paying that much for trees in Eugene?!! I buy a tree off neigborhood lots in Portland for $10-15 total, no charges per foot.
It's crazy, given we live in tree country here. Even going out to u-cut farms in the country, the prices are about the same.
Your forester looks better without the bar on front! Also, if your saw is not cutting quickly, you might have installed the chain backwards haha. Very cool and informative video.
Yeah, I'm kinda liking how clean it looks actually. I gotta figure something out to get some lights back onto this though...man the trails get dark quickly this time of year. The long term plan has always been to come up with a custom front bumper to handle a winch and improve approach angle. As I had to remove the light bar to repair the damage from certain, um, unwise offroad challenges, LOL, I think I'm just going to leave it off and move towards that bumper solution.
The chain is still the factory-installed chain so, presumably, on there correctly. It cuts fine. It took a little while to fell the tree because I made multiple cuts in the tree trunk to direct the fall away from me. #loggerfantasies 8^D
You found a great looking tree! Our trees have always been a little disappointing when we got them home. Might be time to revisit this idea. I love your window graphics. Gonna head right over to your web page to see if I can buy one.
Awe...you make me proud! Well done video and nice freakin tree.
BTW you did this a time or two with the family when you were a young kid!
Merry Christmas to you, the kids, and all of your followers!
The Dad
Aaaahhh...now that you mention it, I can vaguely picture that. Well, I've never done it in my adult life in any case. :-)
9:19 Chainsaw... is battery powered?!
Can you do a video about the pros and cons of it?
Yes, 20V battery. I have an AC converter in the car so I can recharge the battery while I drive (though it lasts through an impressive amount of cutting). With the ability to recharge on the go, I never have to worry about running out of fuel, or even needing to carry a second dedicated fuel/oil gas can.
That's a good idea for a video. There are plenty of reviews of this saw out there but it would be an interesting topic to approach from the perspective of the backcountry explorer. I've added that idea to my (really really long) list. :-)
@@softroadingthewest would also love a video of the chainsaw. Been considering one myself since I have a handful of the DeWalt batteries already
Light Bar... is missing from your Forester?
BTW: Great informative video and epic footage!
Yeah, if you watch the Shasta Part 2 video, you'll see what happened to it. Once I got home from that trip, I took it off to straighten out the unseen mounting bar that got bent when I unwisely tackled an offroad obstacle. I've fixed it and am in the process of repainting it - the underside was pretty beat up after over 2 years of trails - but I've decided I'm not going to put it back on. Time to think about a new, better solution for my front end. ;-)
“Yes I picked up my tabs” for the retentive viewers.. 😎 great vid, production et al. P.s. I learned to ski at Willamette Pass, luv your vids from your area.. i’m just up the road in beaverton.
who would not want to watch the whole video? your videos are always great! was slightly disappointed though in not seeing the finished product of the Xmas tree set up.
I did think about trying to include the decorated tree actually, but I wanted to get this video posted before the weekend and the tree probably won't be trimmed for a few more days.
Oh and there are plenty of people who get very annoyed when they are just looking for information and not some random dude's self-indulgent 15-minute story, LOL. I mean, I get that. When I search UA-cam looking for info rather than entertainment, I'm always pleased when I find concise and to-the-point presentations. This way, best of both worlds (I hope!) :-) Thanks for watching the whole video!
The best part is looking around for the tree that grabs you. Another good fun video dear sir..
Always loved tree hunting with the family.
Usually did it at a farm
C'est super cette possibilité d'aller chercher votre sapin! Ca permet de mêler off road et tradition!
Aqui no Brasil fazemos com um pinheiro ou palmeira mesmo.
Does anyone in the Bend, OR area want to do some wheeling?
$5.00 tree,
hmm
20 bucks in gas
5 hrs at min wage
tree cost 1 billion
but a great experience
Well, for me, I drive up into the mountains every couple of weeks anyway, so the time & gas would've been consumed either way. Getting a tree was just like stopping for milk on the way home from work. :-) Thanks for watching!
Thanks and Merry Christmas.
Would love to do this...however there is nowhere near Southern CA that allows this. All the National Forests that allow harvesting are way up north.
Yeah, unfortunately doing this isn't available in a lot of areas. And probably not worth the drive to NorCal just for a tree, heh. :-) Thanks for watching!
Good video. But gas and time of work. It is not work for me. ha ha
Haha, I hear you. Though even with the gas expense, I still came out ahead. :-) Thanks for watching!
So disappointed....I wanted to see it decorated 😀 Great vid.
Haha, I know...that would have been the perfect conclusion. I admittedly got on this whole project a couple weeks later than I should have and there was no chance of the tree actually being trimmed quick enough. I really enjoyed getting the tree this way, so maybe next year I'll do it again and make another video...get an earlier start on it and actually include the finished product next time! Thanks for watching!
Also Google maps will work if you pre download maps when on WiFi.
If you're in the wilderness it's worthwhile to just switch to airplane mode. GPS can still be enabled.
The wife and I have backpacked for 4 days on a single charge and used our phones for maps.
10:33 ...upper left corner.
I would consider pre-downloading maps in Google a form of using legit navigation equipment. I suspect most people don't know you can do that or wouldn't necessarily think to do that. I really just wanted to nudge people into thinking about and planning for navigation before traipsing off into the woods, regardless of what tools they use.
@@softroadingthewest Good call fam.
I cannot stop being amazed by your national parks and what you can do there. As I wrote you already you cannot enter national park here by a car, some places even by foot. You cannot go there by car even when forest is yours without permittion, and to get permit you have to have good reason.
And you telling me that you can by a permit to cut a tree for 5 bucks and go for it? WHAT?!
And these limitation seems perfectly legit to me. That is just amazing how things can go. Still can take it.
To clarify, these are national forests, not national parks. National parks are usually somewhat limited in size and surround some particularly unique and interesting natural features, and the rules are very restrictive. You definitely can't cut trees, you can't camp wherever you want, and you have to pay to enter them...not cheap either.
National forests, which is where you usually see me poking around and camping, are vast publicly-owned swaths of wilderness area, but far less restrictive. There can even be logging and cattle grazing in national forests, and anyone can drive into them, hike around pretty much anywhere you want, and wildcamp for free (abiding by certain guidelines). There are exceptions but that's a general overview. We are fortunate here in the western half of the U.S. to have massive amounts of public lands. There are far fewer national forest areas in the eastern half of the U.S, but most of the western states actually contain more public than private land.
@@softroadingthewest Oh, now I see! Okay, I was mistaken by this. Didn't get that national forests is not national park.
Still I dont know where to go here to get experience like yours. Maybe Its because I live litteraly on the border of national park so lot of things is litle more difficult than in other places.
Thank you for making this clear. :)
Ok we needed a picture of the tree decorated in the house! We use to do this when our kids where young. It made for a great family outing. Now we have a 18" artificial tree on the mantel. Oh how times change. Yes, it is good to have alternates routes when out in the back country. Saved my bacon many times. Merry Christmas, George
Haha! I can see the appeal of the artificial tree! I had to help my mom set up what turned out to be a very uncooperative tree this year and I was making that very suggestion, LOL. Enjoy the holidays!
How often do you get a tire alignment?
Anytime I make changes to the suspension, which, so far, is just once since I've owned the car (2½ years). I have the tires rotated regularly and am assured each time that wear is looking good and even.
Great video, incredibly timely. Will probably be doing exactly this, in very likely the same forest, using my battery electric chainsaw, also in my Subaru Forester.
Nice, have fun up there! :-) Thanks for watching!
Well done, sir! Very relatable video as I was doing this on the very same day in the Toiyabe National Forest in the Sierra Nevada mountains with my SJ Forester! The cost was $10 and an equal amount of panting :p
Oh interesting, I didn't realize the fee varied from forest to forest. Hope you had a good day out there! Thanks for watching!
Thank you very much. I was just watching some political bs so i needed this video to get back on the light side. How can you stand that chainsaw, no spilt gas on your carpet to smell for years. They are cool i am looking at getting one.
Haha! Though it oozes bar oil like any other chainsaw, I have to keep it on a tray to keep it from soiling the car. :-) Still, love it! So easy and never any worries about getting it to fire up!
This is great, thanks for the time and effort to put this together. Oh, good to see you picked up your tabs hahah...classic..
haha, that was an angry comment waiting to happen if I didn't make it clear I didn't just drop them on the ground. :-)
$50 in gas + $5 permit 😂
Actually under $20 in gas, and I went much further than I actually needed to...I bypassed a lot of lower elevation national forest lands because I wanted a higher elevation variety. In any case, I drive up into the mountains for fun every few weeks anyway, so I would've spent the money on gas regardless. :-) Still, $25 for a tree that would cost $60 in town AND I had a fun little excursion in the process...that's a win in my book! :-) Thanks for watching!
You need a dog to keep you company on these adventures 🐶
Maybe one day!
@VE2XIP ALNSM Overland had a full-time adventure cat (which sadly recently passed away). I've always had cats, not dogs...who knows, maybe I will give that a try one day! :-)
I love this Channel!! I'm in Wa state and love that we share the PNW vibes!
Thanks for watching! :-) Looking forward to one day exploring Washington the way I explore Oregon. Some incredible places up there!
Fun adventure, even if you seem a bit "side arm" prejudice. 😅😅
LOL. Seeing a conifer with three trunks is like seeing a dog with three legs. It'll survive, but it's still kinda sad because that's just not the life it was meant to have. :-)
@@softroadingthewest Hahaha... Nice analogy.
Aaaaadorbs
Yeah, but will Lucie watch it? Nope.
We started this tradition this year and had blast!
And your new Decals are AWESOME!
I can't believe I've never done this before! It was so fun! Even with the burden of filming at the same time, LOL.
First comment
First indeed. Thanks for watching & commenting. :-)
Thanks for this informative video. Going into the forest to harvest a tree is a great idea. Happy holidays and I can’t wait for all the adventures in 2020
What app are you using @1:29? P.S. What navigation equipment do you recommend? Thanks so much, love your channel!
The app is Gaia GPS. Works very well, as you can plan out routes and waypoints on your desktop computer, and it automatically propagates to your mobile devices. They have many many map layers available to choose from, and you can download the areas you're planning to explore into your device, so the lack of cell service is not an issue...GPS still works and shows you where you are on the map. I also run an older but perfectly functional Garmin GPS in the car which still comes in handy. I keep a detailed atlas of Oregon in the car at all times, and also acquire and carry more detailed Forest Service maps whenever possible. I also carry a compass in the car at all times in case I'm ever in a situation where the devices (and the car) have all died. Thanks for watching!
@@softroadingthewestThanks for the info, I had the same question. I think I could benefit a lot from a video on this subject.
@@randys3010 There are quite a few Gaia GPS videos out there, it's very widely used among people adventuring in the wilderness, but I will likely cover it somewhat in an upcoming video I have planned. :-)