Everyone takes a chainsaw with them, right?

[memaquay]

Lol, had to do it. The chainsaw is a standard canoe tripping tool for me and my buddies. Don't leave home without it. We trip almost exclusively on Crown Land, and the only time the ports get "manicured" is when we do it. Sure makes firewood processing fast too, accompanied by a big axe for splitting. I know the chainsaw goes against the grain of many serenity seekers, but I'm sure we can't be the only ones that carry. So, anyone else out there?

This is my buddy Rob, he worked for hydro for years as a twigger, he cuts faster than a two peckered rooster. If you do trips up my way and walk across a port that is clear, it is probably him that cut it.

This is me...you see I carry a knife too, lol. This was a beautiful beach campsite that a huge spruce fell onto. Without the chainsaw, the site was basically destroyed.


Anyway, we still live in a different world up here without many of the restrictions faced by folks in the more populated areas. A few of the kids that I took on trips in Outers and are now adults have started to canoe trip on their own, and they are clearing ports too, with chainsaws. My hope is that I soon will not have to do it anymore.

 

[sweeper]

NO, but I wish I had one this weekend up in ST Regis Canoe Area

 

[Big Al]

LOL, I do take a saw on bigger group trips I bought this MS170 for $120 on sale. 14" bar. I take the bar off and the whole thing fits in a a dry bag. MSR fuel bottles for gas and oil.

 

[memaquay]

I actually bought that same saw for our school club, and kind of wish i had one myself. The perfect canoetripping saw! I wouldn't take it for major port clearing expeditions, but for general tripping, it's awesome.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Now you are talking though my portage work days are done.. Hubby may need a new chainsaw as we have trees gone amok at home... I would like a little more open area for sun!
Nice link Big Al!

We will be off this week to watch some chainsaw and hot saw competition at local fairs but nothing as big as the v8 engines sometimes mounted to chainsaws

Mem how about this for a winter sport ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASZSmjxBLIc

 

[Canotrouge]

I did trip with a chain saw a few times... If I could find a small one like the one Big Al linked I would consider.... But again, people say that an 3lbs axe is two heavy.... Maybe a battery powered saw, no gas and oil to cary(other than chain oil...)

 

[Paddlinhal]

There's a huge raft of blown down trees blocking the side stream that goes around Holeb Falls (on the Moose River Bow trip in Maine), making the portage much longer. This will be the third time we head up there with chainsaws, come-alongs, cables, chains, peaveys and anything else we can get our hands on to try and clear a way through. It's slow going though - there's a lot wood in there.

 

[Odyssey]

I am one of those serenity seekers, lol, but my serenity now wouldn't happen at all without portage maintenance. It's funny, the video posted recently of a fishing vlogger on the Marshall circuit briefly showed a portage with a cut log peeking out of the brush. I'm sure I recognized that very same log when it had been freshly cut by our very own tripper chainsaw guide dude. Thanks again for that Mem. I've only ever carried an axe and saw for minor twig tweaking, and these days I am feeling physically less inclined to do even that. But this is a good thread and has got me thinking.

ps . That chainsaw ice racing looks entirely irresponsible and completely dangerous. I gotta try it.

 

[Marten]

On yeah, I would rather clear the portage than fish. I can take care of the big stuff left behind by the Silkys. Used to carry a medium sized saw but went to a Jonsered top handle used by arborist. Not the safest but one-handed cutting while seated in the canoe is easily done. 14 inch bar and 10 pounds when full of gas and oil. We never see another canoe but this year a group came up behind me as I threw the last log segments off the 1400 meter portage that had been nearly impassable. They were doing a day-trip and planned on opening the portage with their Silkys. Finding a Walleye honey hole on the lake instead of all that hand work made their day. The next morning I packed for a day of trail work and stayed ahead of them until noon. I cut fallen trees and they pitched through 6 portages that needed attention. My buddies enjoyed returning to the honey hole for a few hearty fish fries.

 

[Boreal Birch]

Old Joke: Just plug it into a current bush to recharge the battery.

I can never get a Stih chain saw to start, I know people that own them really like them, but for my money if you are going to cut wood you need a Swede Saw. I have wore out a Jonsered and a Husqvarna chain saws cutting firewood,clearing land, building cabins and making and clearing sled dog trails. Bought a new Husqvarna a couple of years ago that should last me the rest of my life. These Swede Saws maybe do not start on the first pull, but always start on the second or third. I grew up cutting firewood on the farm with a bow saw, which all the Scandinavian folks in the neighborhood called Swede Saws.

 

[deerfly]

mem is officially my new canoe tripping hero...

birch I have an 034 stihl saw I bought after hurricane andrew to clear debris back in 92, its been used a lot, carb cleaned and fuel lines replaced a few times, at least a dozen new chains and spark plugs, still runs like a beast though. A good friend I hunt with has a tree clearing business, 95% of his saws are Stihl, but he's started trying Husqvarna's recently. He thinks Stihl has been trying so hard to make the saws lighter that they aren't as rugged and he's seeing more failures over the past few years. I also have a Stihl 441C magnum I bought before hurricane Irma a couple years ago and so far its been very reliable.

 

[Marten]

In chainsaws each company has numerous quality levels- yard work to pro. Heading into the bush you need one that will still be in one piece at the end of the trip. On a really hard project back in 2013 where I knew if the saw quit I would have to turn around I took two medium duty saws. It worked great because the second saw could be used on the last trip across the portage to get anything that didn't get cut on the first pass. Also to cut my way out of pinched saw situations on the bigger trees.Some of those sections of timber took an hour to clear 50 meters. On one particularly nasty section I made sure to leave gaps in the windrowed brush so a moose could get off the trail. Twenty One days of trail clearing fun on that trip.