Logging Days

I worked as a tree planter one spring back in the mid 70s. Towards the end of planting season I was a 'checker' – the person who sits above the falling site to keep an eye on the faller (at right, below). Because each faller worked in isolation away from the others and stayed at his site until the shift was over many hours later, if he was badly hurt there would be no one to help him. So my job was to sit all day about 100 yards higher up and watch him. Or listen for the saw. If the saw stopped going for too long you went to investigate. I was given no first aid training, just a walkie talkie to alert the first aid truck parked at the bottom of the mountain. Trees were at their most dangerous as they were coming down – debris and unexpected kickbacks or snags could cause horrific injuries. Fortunately that never happened while I was a checker so despite being in the middle of beautiful old growth forest, the days became crushingly boring. I took selfies like the ones at left and below to pass the time.
These would have been taken with my heavy SLR camera (probably a Pentax EOS) that I balanced on a log or whatever was available. I'd set the timer and race in front to pose.