Champion Trees

[Burnham]

Great Far Side, Jim...I remember that one fondly.

 

[RegC]

I guess it would seem to me Reg that you are picking and choosing your news stories. I watch/read the news regularly and often see warnings to the public about attempted abductions or sexual predators etc etc etc. You feel there's a active intent to misinform the public? As compared to say the UK or anywhere else? A very quick perusal of my localish news shows "awoke to intruder in home", some weirdo having sex with a teen in the name of god, etc etc. I don't get the gist from my news source that there's nothing to worry about. Daily they feature outstanding wanted, still at large, warnings of breaks in or other crimes and on and on. I do agree though that there is a bleeding heart mentality towards drug addicts that I vehemently oppose. That seems prevalent everywhere, I'd as soon flood the market with deadly doses and let the problem solve itself. Even that's not working though with the cost of emergency aid. Also from my living here I'd say you are smack dab in the middle of the very worst place in the province for 'political correctness' being local to Victoria.

That mayor story is funny as hell.

Not picking and choosing mate....thats just typical of the news here. I can pick alot more of the same bullshit too if you want. Maybe youre onto something with the Victoria thing, though They are all for maintaining an image and keeping up appearances for the hundreds of thousands of cruise ship tourists who visit through spring and summer....239 ships last year alone. I realise now, 7 years on, Victoria was a mistake for me. Should have gone further up island. Somewhere a bit rougher. But my kids settled in school now and wouldnt want to be uprooted.

 

[FireFighterZero]

Are there gritty parts of Vancouver Island?

 

[Burnham]

Most of it is very blue collar. Victoria is a cultural outlier.

 

[FireFighterZero]

Well, I looked it up and saw that it is pretty close to some of my screw ball relations in Washington.

That would explain it.

 

[RegC]

Some Video from the Red Creek Fir and other a couple other cool spots from the area

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tLYWilSwvFo" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[squisher]

Not picking and choosing mate....thats just typical of the news here. I can pick alot more of the same bullshit too if you want. Maybe youre onto something with the Victoria thing, though They are all for maintaining an image and keeping up appearances for the hundreds of thousands of cruise ship tourists who visit through spring and summer....239 ships last year alone. I realise now, 7 years on, Victoria was a mistake for me. Should have gone further up island. Somewhere a bit rougher. But my kids settled in school now and wouldnt want to be uprooted.

Well I can appreciate your varied perspective on the state of things and of the reporting there having lived so many places. I can't help but feel that you'd maybe find it different even a short distance away in my area. I dont feel that any effort is made by the media to make me unawares or feel safer than I am.

 

[FireFighterZero]

Very good video.

Is that the big assed knife that Tommy sent you?


I agree. That clear cut looked as ugly as a bag of assholes.

 

[stig]

Burnham, I keep having the feeling that we are arguing about two different things.
As we say in Danish: " I'm asking in west and you are answering in east".

If we sat down and talked it over, instead of posting back and forth, I'm pretty sure we'd find out that we agree on most of it.

Do you have a nice porch where we can sip whisky and debate forestry when I visit next year.
After I get that drive in the Jag, of course

 

[stig]

That fir reminds me of the Boole tree.
Sixt largest tree in the world, now that the Washington tree has mostly collapsed.
They thought it was the world's biggest when they clear cut the Converse basin, so they left it.

A pretty sad sight.

It is a bit of a hike out there, so I have had it in reserve for a climb, of my other options on our Sequoia trips didn't pan out.

So far I haven't climbed it.

Be a good one if anybody has plans to climb something big.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Cool vid, Reg! Those drones are so awesome! How did you do the takeoff and landing part? Just hotfoot it over there while you were hovering it? I'd love to deadwood that thing. I bet Gary knows where the best trees are!

 

[FireFighterZero]

I wondered the same thing.

 

[Burnham]

Burnham, I keep having the feeling that we are arguing about two different things.
As we say in Danish: " I'm asking in west and you are answering in east".

If we sat down and talked it over, instead of posting back and forth, I'm pretty sure we'd find out that we agree on most of it.

Do you have a nice porch where we can sip whisky and debate forestry when I visit next year.
After I get that drive in the Jag, of course

A very nice porch, and a nice deck too . Whiskey, conversation, and a supercharged Jaguar already warmed up and calling from the driveway...what could go wrong?

Yep, I don't think there is much daylight between our positions at all.

 

[RegC]

Cool vid, Reg! Those drones are so awesome! How did you do the takeoff and landing part? Just hotfoot it over there while you were hovering it? I'd love to deadwood that thing. I bet Gary knows where the best trees are!

Thanks. I flew it towards the tree and left it there hovering. Then ran like frig to catch up and bring it down before it ran out if battery....which is why theres a slight break in the footage before it decends.

Gary's actually a hunting guy, he told me....which is his main connection to the outdoors and wilderness. Not a trophy hunter mind.....just prefers to catch his own food.

Yes thats the Tommy knife. Pleased to say Ive yet to need it.

 

[FireFighterZero]

I am not set up to live in those kinds of places......but I love the smell and the sound of the wind in the trees.


If I were blind I would want to live in that sort of country.

 

[stig]

Burnham, I thought you were a Scotch drinker?

In that case, it is Whisky.

That other spelling is reserved for the poor imitation they make in Kentucky and Tennesee.

Which has been hit with a 25% import tax in Europe as a get back to your orange president.

Come to think of it, the Irish call theirs Whiskey, too.

But they don't make much in the way of single malts.

 

[SeanKroll]

I can honestly say, I have never seen a logging plan match the scale of devastation to a forest that mother nature can, and does.

Logging is NOT in place of the effects of Mother Nature, but added to it. Much like saying, don't worry about air or water pollution...look at what nature does.

Nature never had a gyre of microplastics.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Plastics are TURRIBLE.

 

[rico]

Logging is NOT in place of the effects of Mother Nature, but added to it. Much like saying, don't worry about air or water pollution...look at what nature does.

Nature never had a gyre of microplastics.

I was recently showing my wife some old pics of Ak clear-cuts I left in my wake. She said they reminded her of the photos of the Mt. St Helen aftermath. Nuff said.

 

[kevin bingham]

Logging is NOT in place of the effects of Mother Nature, but added to it. Much like saying, don't worry about air or water pollution...look at what nature does.

Nature never had a gyre of microplastics.

and in 1000 years nature allowed redwoods to grow up and down California without interference. this run came to an end in not even 100 years of industrial scale extraction.

 

[cory]

Whoa, Reg, what a vid! The drone footage of a centuries-old tree, that bark, the gnarled limbs and stubs, combined with that music was an absolute trip. Spooky!

Amazing to me how steady the drone images are, even with windy conditions.

Great vid, I hope you keep them coming.

 

[cory]

Should have gone further up island. Somewhere a bit rougher.

What made you pick Victoria originally?

 

[Burnham]

Burnham, I thought you were a Scotch drinker?

In that case, it is Whisky.

That other spelling is reserved for the poor imitation they make in Kentucky and Tennesee.

Which has been hit with a 25% import tax in Europe as a get back to your orange president.

Come to think of it, the Irish call theirs Whiskey, too.

But they don't make much in the way of single malts.

As you say, my friend.

Actually, my taste in whiskey and whisky runs quite the gamut. Certainly it does not run to the high end stuff except on special occasions . I can be quite content with a decent blended scotch, most of the time.

 

[RegC]

What made you pick Victoria originally?

Sub Contract work was my thimg at the time....so you head for the places with the most companies. I wanted to be as far west as possible, so it seemed like the right destination. No mistaking it's a beautiful place to live, but theres also a superficial, pretentious arrogance to it also....like 'the rest of Canada wants to be us' type mentality. Yes they are fortunate to live there, buts its far from the 'only' place people want to live in Canada.

 

[cory]

Interesting.