Christmas Tree Cutting Patrol Day 5 December 13, 2024

[LCPilot]

Meet at the Divide Philips 66 at 7:45 am. Leave at 8:15 and go to the Rule Ridge parking lot at 8:30. That is where we air down and get a briefing on the latest conditions, areas to patrol, maps etc.

Remember to bring a GMRS radio (we use channel 15-0), recovery gear, winter clothes, tire chains, coffee and lunch.

We do a debrief at 3:00 pm back at Rule Ridge, air up and go home.

If you volunteer the FS Rangers will allow you to cut a tree without buying a permit.

Please reply to this thread if you plan on going on this day.

Attached is a PDF of the Tree cutting area and the FS roads that we patrol.

 

[Goslow]

I plan to be there.

 

[LCPilot]

I'll be there with my copilot.

 

[LCPilot]

Anthony, Red F150 will be there with a co-pilot.

 

[LCPilot]

It turned out to be a pretty uneventful day. There was a low turnout compared to past years. It was a slow but steady flow of people that were out on a strangely warm and sunny day. The snow drifts from last week were getting packed down. Even the water holes and crossings are all passable. The big water crossing at FR363/364 is covered with a thin layer of ice in the morning that easily broken through. I went through on the first weekend and guess that it over 2 feet deep. The bow wave deposited chunks of ice on my front bumper. The bypass used to be about 5 feet wide last year, but is now about 7 feet wide since so many vehicles are using it instead of going through the legacy crossing. This was the Ellsworth family picnic. Their family has graciously extended an invitation to the members of our group to join them. There were excellent dishes and our contributions were welcomed. It was good to catch up on their family and see how they are still supporting our club.

David