Up The Hill We Go

Thank goodness my right-hand-helper was able to pitch in and help get the trees up the hill and into the ground.

It took an effort for me to stabilize myself on the steep logging road, but when I turned to ask how his progress was going, the only words he could say between panting was, “Not well.”

The steep path that was made by the logging bulldozer had washed out in spots, several small slides brought old stumps and debris into the road, and the trail was littered with broken limbs and tree tops from the heavy snow storms and winds of this wild winter.

On top of the hill, we were treated to patches of snow that still covered many of the areas we needed to plant the seedlings.

Up a little higher where the tall firs kept the snow from getting sunlight, we found areas that were still a foot deep in the snow that had a hard frozen crust.

Digging holes in these areas were a bit more time consuming. Care was needed when filling the hole back in after the seedling was inserted to make sure the snow as it melts does not leave air pockets around the roots of the tender plants.

Once the trees were all planted, we were able to make our way back down the logging roads. It was much easier with the weight of the seedlings off our backs and safely planted in the ground.