We set off, some of the group hiking the 3 ¾ miles to the aspen in question, the rest riding through the tranquil aspen groves as the sun cut slantingly through the eaves and, in the distance, the first smatterings of snow gleamed on the distant Chalks. This was the first time I’d ventured on the Leche Creek trail, and I assumed that foot traffic wasn’t too common – at least not compared to its popular neighbor, the Opal Lake trail.
The aspen with the signature posed a challenge. The tree was obviously dying and the signature had decayed significantly from when Dave Sanchez had first spied it. The most important element in the salvage was cutting the tree down safely, and in a way so that the trunk would not split in the violence of the felling.
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George Love manages the safety rope |
For safety a rope was slung around the upper branches of the tree and tied to a tree south of the signature-aspen, providing tension and a ‘motivation’ for the tree to fall in a certain way. After measuring the base and deciding where it would be best to cut, George Love and Clay Campbell set to while the rest of the group camped out a safe distance away.
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Carefully liberating history from the ravages of time... |
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As one can see in the image above, the tree was eroding both internally and on the southern slope. In another year or two, it is very possible the tree would have fallen naturally.
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Working away the extra weight |
After slicing away the top, the men carefully sawed away at the base and liberated the signature from its long-rooted place. Cutting the tree-chunk free was only the beginning, however: more had to be sawed off and finally the weight of the piece was taken. It came in at roughly 150 pounds, a heavy burden to trek out 3 ¾ miles, especially considering one particularly precarious portion of the trail.
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The place Carson chose to carve his name was absolutely beautiful, a 'peak' part of the trail. |
After some debate – settled by the fact that none involved really wanted to cut the piece further down to size – it was decided to host the piece on Jim Morehouse’s massive Clydesdale Cross horse with two other sections of aspen to counterbalance the weight, resulting in a 300 pound burden on the poor horse! The weather had begun to cloud up during this procedure and it was decided before leaving that we would haul the signature piece manually down the one dangerous draw, rather than risk harm to the horse.
Taking it down the draw was a strenuous experience: the rain was coming down fairly hard by this point and the ground was treacherous. We all traded turns hauling it down and, for at least half of it, we had four men carrying the piece – as it was going downhill, the biggest strain was on the leading man, no easy feat with the mud and rock crumbling under nearly every step! At last we got it down to the Clydesdale and again burdened the horse with the massive load.
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Re-loading the horse in the rain |
The rest of the trip was a soggy slog through the raging storm, keeping a careful eye on the Clydesdale so that the weight wouldn’t shift. At about five minutes to the trailhead the heavy signature-piece began to list, the counterweight rearing up on the other side, but it remained stable until we exited the trail.
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History unwrapped, safe and sound! |
At last! The job was a lot of work, but a lot of fun as well – everyone seemed to have a great time and it really felt like an adventure, like taking a minor part in something larger… a part of history, if you will. I'm sure it was an experience none involved will ever forget.
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