A safety issue with cutting saplings

B

buckg

Joined
Jan 11, 2006
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I’ve been clearing a lot of brush lately, including a number of saplings. I stupidly have created a lot of stakes on my property now. I was out on my property today and one of my dogs (a 150 lb bull mastiff) came running up behind me and knocked me down. I fell on one of those saplings and stuck it over two inches into my thigh. Not only did I ruin a good pair of jeans, I got to go to the doctor and get stitched up. So a word of advice, cut those saplings off at ground level or pull them up. Don't leave them sticking up. :o
 
Wow! That hurts :eek:

Good point about the saplings (sorry!).

Hope you have a speedy recovery! :thumbup:
 
OUCH, that had to hurt.

I had a group of my students create a similar situation. They had gone off to get water down below our camp. I stayed in camp.

When they came back they remarked that, "It gets real steep down there by the creek," and "It's loaded with bamboo down there."

The next day I went down there to get water. They had hacked their way down a 50 degree slope in thick bamboo leaving dozens of 30 cm punji stakes. One slip could have killed someone. I had them cut them off level with the ground.

Good point! (No pun intended)

Mac
 
There are similar issues with larger stumps for felling, with them it is more of a case of navigating what you are using to pull out the wood though than falling on it. I always cut low due to waste, when you burn wood you are not going to leave feet of it there to rot when it could be generating heat in the stove.

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
There are similar issues with larger stumps for felling, with them it is more of a case of navigating what you are using to pull out the wood though than falling on it. I always cut low due to waste, when you burn wood you are not going to leave feet of it there to rot when it could be generating heat in the stove.

-Cliff
Click to expand...

But you want to leave PINE stumps... Come back in a year and you have a stump of Fatwood AKA Pitchwood...
 
On the plus side, I got to practice my first aid skills to stop the bleeding.
 
Beaver will chew off 1"-3" willows about a foot above the ground and can leave a terrible punji stick-type hazard along streams. I've had to negotiate miles of this stuff and it really keeps your attention. The stumps are actually pointed.
 
Yeah, those beaver sticks as well as saplings cut about 6" above the ground can be deadly on waders. I have ruined more than one pair not paying as close attention as I should have. As was mentioned, they "hurt" when you fall on one.
 
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