American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 111 Building a house starts with cutting down logs

Lin Yu'an looked at David and added, "Summer in Alaska is very short, and I have to finish all the logging, transportation, and preliminary processing of timber before summer."

"In total, I have about 100 days of effective working time."

“One hundred and twenty trees, which means that I have to complete the entire process of one or two trees every day on average, from finding, cutting down, removing branches, cutting them down, and then transporting them back to the camp.”

"This is a very demanding but feasible plan."

Lin Yu'an closed his notebook and concluded, "It doesn't allow me to slack off in any way, it doesn't allow the weather to be bad, and it doesn't allow my tools to have any major malfunctions."

"David, Mike, are you ready for the first day of the 100-day plan?"

This clear yet brutal plan was instantly imbued with a sense of urgency, and the logging work was officially put on the agenda!

Lin Yu'an pulled out the orange hard-shell box with the "STIHL" logo from the pile of supplies.

"Lin, is this the logging marvel you were talking about?"

David immediately followed, filled with curiosity about the new tool that was about to be introduced.

"Yes."

Lin Yu'an opened the box, revealing a brand-new, high-performance professional chainsaw inside.

"Steel MS 661, my main logging tool. 91cc displacement, 5.4 kilowatts of power, paired with a 28-inch baffle, it's more than enough to handle most of the trees here."

"We chose it because of its reputation among professional loggers; it's powerful and extremely reliable, which are the most important qualities in the wilderness."

Instead of lighting the fire immediately, he took out a set of somewhat bulky equipment from another bag and began to put it on.

A pair of orange, thick trousers, a safety helmet with a metal mesh face shield and earmuffs, and a pair of protective boots with steel plates on the toes.

"You have to wear these before you touch the chainsaw."

He patted his thigh and explained to the camera, "These are cut-resistant pants. They have a special fiber layer inside. Once a high-speed chainsaw chain comes into contact with them, the fibers will instantly wrap around the sprocket, forcing the chainsaw to stop within a fraction of a second."

"It could save your life in a critical moment. Remember, safety is always the top priority, especially in the wilderness far from hospitals, where any mistake could be fatal."

David was secretly astonished; he had never imagined that such preparations were necessary before logging work.

"Lin, where did you learn all this? Did you work as a lumberjack before?"

"No, but I watched a documentary about Canadian loggers and learned a lot from it."

David felt somewhat helpless about this answer, but it seemed to be within a reasonable range. It seemed quite normal for a top mechanical engineering student to be able to learn skills by watching videos.

With everything ready, Lin Yu'an poured the properly mixed gasoline and two-stroke engine oil into the oil tank and filled the chain lubrication system with special chain oil.

He checked the tightness of the chain and then pulled hard on the starting rope.

"Buzz-buzz-buzz-"

The chainsaw was instantly awakened, emitting a deep and powerful idling sound.

Lin Yu'an lightly tapped the accelerator a few times, and the engine immediately roared deafeningly, the sound carrying far through the silent forest.

Instead of randomly picking a tree near the camp, he led David and Mike deeper into the forest.

"Our goal today is to find a giant tree that is most suitable for the core structure."

As he walked, he explained to David, "We're looking for white spruce, which is tougher and has a better load-bearing capacity than black spruce."

Finally, he stopped in front of a huge white spruce tree.

This tree is at least thirty meters tall, with a root diameter of nearly one meter, and its trunk points straight up to the sky.

Lin Yu'an did not start immediately, but instead took out a professional forestry measuring tape and measured around the base of the tree trunk.

"Approximately 98 centimeters in diameter at breast height."

He gave a number, then took a few steps back and aimed the altimeter at the treetop.

"Judging by appearance, the tree is about 30 meters tall, with a straight trunk, few branches, and a healthy crown."

"Excellent! This is it!"

Lin Yu'an stroked the rough bark, his eyes filled with reverence for nature: "This tree has been growing here for at least a hundred years, maybe even close to two hundred. Now it will continue to protect this land in another way."

Before taking action, he carefully observed the surrounding terrain and finally determined the best direction for the tree to fall.

It was a relatively open area, providing enough space for subsequent work.

Then, using an axe, he quickly cleared away the bushes on the opposite side of the intended fall, revealing a three- or four-meter-long "safe passage."

“When logging, you always need a clear escape route,” he emphasized seriously to Mike’s camera.

He started the chainsaw and first cut a "V"-shaped guide hole about one-third the diameter of the tree on the side where it was to be tilted.

Amidst the roar of the chainsaw, sawdust flew everywhere.

Then, he went around to the other side of the tree and, at a position slightly higher than the bottom of the inlet, began the final back cut.

As the chainsaw chain spun rapidly, the cutting depth gradually increased. When the back cut approached the guide opening, the massive tree trunk emitted a creaking, teeth-grinding sound, and the entire trunk began to tremble slightly.

"It's going to fall! Back up!"

Lin Yu'an gave a low shout, quickly retracted the chainsaw, and retreated rapidly along the safety passage he had cleared.

With a loud "crack" sound, the century-old white spruce tree fell precisely in the predetermined direction.

With a deafening roar, the ground trembled, and a cloud of snow and mist billowed up. David shouted excitedly, "We did it! The first one out of 120!"

After the giant tree fell, new problems immediately arose.

Lin Yu'an stepped forward and skillfully removed the huge branches one by one with a chainsaw. He operated very carefully, always keeping the tree trunk between himself and the chainsaw to prevent the chain from accidentally rebounding and injuring him.

Soon, a bare, massive log came into view.

“This tree is of very high quality. We can cut a 12-meter-long main beam from it, and the rest can be cut into 4-meter-long pieces for use as walls.”

Lin Yu'an took out a measuring tape and marked the tree trunk.

He restarted the chainsaw and precisely cut the log.

Now, before them were several huge logs, each one incredibly heavy.

David looked at these huge creatures and asked the most crucial question.

"Chopping down the forest is only the first step. How do we transport these things from the forest to the foundation a few hundred meters away?"

“Your loader might not be able to operate effectively in this complex woodland, and a tricycle can’t haul something this heavy.”

Lin Yu'an wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled confidently.

“You’re right, heavy machinery isn’t the best option in this kind of terrain, so we need a smarter approach.”

He returned to the stockpile of supplies and, from an inconspicuous piece of engineering plastic, pulled out an orange machine that looked like a motor but was smaller, along with a large number of steel cables, pulleys, and a connector known as a "shackle."

"What is this? Another new artifact?"

David asked curiously, his camera presence immediately making him realize that a new point of interest was about to emerge.

"Portable gasoline winch."

Lin Yu'an placed the machine on the snow and introduced it, saying, "Don't underestimate its small size; its maximum pulling force can reach one and a half tons."

"When used with a pulley system, the power can be doubled! Enough to move any piece of wood in front of us."

He secured the winch firmly to a sturdy, living tree in the distance using special binding straps.

Then one end of the steel cable was connected to the drum of the winch, and the other end was secured to the front end of the longest 12-meter log with a shackle called a "logo chain".

"In my country, many forestry workers use similar methods to transport timber out of the mountains when there is no large timber harvesting machinery."

"Its core principle is to use levers, pulleys, and friction to accomplish the greatest things with the least cost."

Lin Yu'an selected several key large trees as turning points along the log's path, skillfully attaching heavy pulleys to the trees.

"What are these pulleys for? Can't we just pull them directly?"

David plays the role of the curious child, whose task is to interact with Lin Yu-an and record more footage, although his questions will be cut out in the end, leaving only Lin Yu-an's explanations.

"No."

Lin Yu'an explained, "If you pull directly, the steel cable can easily get stuck on trees or rocks."

"With these pulleys, I can precisely change the direction of the pulling force, allowing the log to move around all obstacles like a snake."

"At the same time, you see."

He pointed to a pulley system that had just been set up: "Using a movable pulley here can theoretically double my pulling force, although it will lose half the speed, but what we need most right now is pulling force!"

David and Mike watched as Lin Yu'an skillfully arranged everything, completely captivated by this ingenious approach.

Once all the steel cables and pulleys were in place, Lin Yu'an pulled the start rope of the gasoline winch, and the small engine emitted a "humming" roar.

He put on gloves, gripped the clutch lever of the winch, and faced the camera with a slight upturn of his lips.

"Alright everyone, let's see how this little guy moves this mountain of trees!"

After saying that, he gripped the clutch and slowly started the winch.

The steel cable was instantly taut, emitting a low "hum".

The winch fixed to a distant tree began to work, the engine speed increased slightly, and it transmitted a powerful torque.

All eyes were focused on the twelve-meter main beam.

One second, two seconds...

The logs remained perfectly still, while the steel cable, like a string about to snap, was stretched to its limit.

David couldn't help but ask, "Lin, will it work? This log is too heavy!"

"Don't worry."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a creaking sound, and the huge log shifted slightly on the snow.

Once you start moving, the subsequent dragging becomes smooth.

Lin Yu'an skillfully controlled the winch's cable winding speed, and the massive main beam began to be slowly dragged forward on the snow!

Soon, the first challenge appeared! The tip of the log was about to crash into a huge rock blocking its path.

"We're going to crash!" David shouted immediately to warn them.

(End of this chapter)