5 today.
We were going to have a quiet day in the Himalayas, but on the way we found that the alder that has been leaning at 40 degrees over the river for months was now horizontal and half way across it.
We were able to cut a lot of branches off from the boat, and take off the top third, which we hauled ashore, after M had donned waders and cut off remaining impeding branches. Then it got interesting. Managed to get close enough to almost saw the remaining trunk in half, but just couldn’t get through the last bit, so decided to rope it and pull to break it off. Firstly, we had a problem getting a rope on, because of the thickness and all the ivy round it. A passing wild swimmer sorted that for us. So then we used the boat to try to snap off the sawn section. After several attempts in different directions, we at last heard a crack, and felt movement. However, it was not the saw cut that broke, it was the base of the trunk that came away. We then had to manoeuvre the whole **** lot to shore! Full marks to C and especially M for boating skills.
It was getting late, so rather than keep all the fun to ourselves, we have unselfishly left it tied to a stump on the bank for tomorrow’s crew to play with. Enjoy!
Cheers all
A
