Killarney Hazard Tree
After a 4am wake-up and 4 hour drive from Toronto to Killarney Provincial Park we arrived at the boat launch at Bell Lake. Not the typical way we start a tree removal indeed. We were greeted by the staff of Killarney Canoes and the Blue Mountain Lodge with a 14ft 9hp outboard waiting to fairy our equipment across. Having only seen a photo of the tree and told about the location and access to the job we left the big stuff at home and brought a small arsenal of four saws with bars no bigger than 20", and a big arsenal of rigging equipment.
The ride across Bell Lake was quick to the Blue Mountain Lodge where we were finally able to set our sights on the problem tree. It was a 1 meter diameter 75 ft White pine which had a 40 degree lean in the canopy. In the path of the trees lean is a beautiful log cabin that was crafted in the 40's by a Finnish carpenter. It was the owner of the cabin that foresaw the issue with the tree and wanted to safely remove it without making a new skylight. We got started on the Saturday afternoon we arrived, and did not drop the final piece until Monday afternoon. Having extremely limited access we were left to use our ropes, pulleys, and spurs. No room for a bucket truck or spider lift in the boat! Using the surrounding mature White pines we created a network of floating anchor points, mechanically controlled tag lines, mechanical advantage pulley systems, and team work we were able to make a hard task simple.
At the end of each day as the sun set and we made dinner we cast a few lines in the water and enjoyed the sounds of nature and laughter.
It was a wonderful two days away from the hustle of the city.
