Virtually Pointless Question

The things you start to think about when you solo hike... (no, that's not the question):

Anybody have any idea how long it takes for your average 12" diameter tree to rot away to nothing after having fallen down?


By the way, for all those nursing blackfly bites and dreaming of crampons and snowshoes, IME in North Conway is fairly brimming over with a sea (or is that ice floe?) of ex-rental plastic winter boots of all sizes in their consignment basement right now. But you have to like Koflach. And you have to like orange.

Virtually pointless answer

I'm guess about an inch a year. Depending on moisture. But I am not an expert

I used to do a lot of backpacking in North Central PA on trails that were originally the old logging & tote roads. There are many cases of old 24"-36" DBH (Diameter @ Breast Height) Chestnuts, Oaks, Hemlocks Black Cherry that were cut down before the turn of the last century. IIRC, they use to log in the winter standing on the snow, so the stumps that were 6'-7' high 120 years ago are now those huge old ragged knee-high stumps that you pass on ocassion. I always marveled that those stumps have been slowly decaying through 2 world wars, the creation of the airplane, car and a few other modern inventions.

Anybody have any idea how long it takes for your average 12" diameter tree to rot away to nothing after having fallen down?

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The answer is.... it depends on what kind of tree.

A 12" diameter oak or black cherry tree will decay quite a bit slower than a 12" diameter willow or pine tree.

Many Factors to Consider

The short answer is longer than you would think. As others metioned a hardwood will decay more slowly than a softwood. A fallen tree resting several feet off the ground will also last longer than a tree directly on the ground. If it get's some sun then add a few years due to the drying effect. The time it takes the tree to decay will increase with the ability of the tree to dry off. Insect damage will also speed up the decay process. I've seen well fairly well preserved timbers from logging operations back in the 50's that were never taken to mill.

42













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IME no longer has an online catalog, but it looks like you could call and ask them about what you want.

http://ime-usa.com/catalog/guide/ordering_info.html

Where is IME located in N. Conway? I have a two day Rugby tournament at Attitash this coming weekend so there should be time to stop in.

Anybody have any idea how long it takes for your average 12" diameter tree to rot away to nothing after having fallen down?

Click to expand...

I know this.

It is in direct proportion to the number of licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, then of course add 2.

Took me a lot of miles to work that one out.

peace.

Mark is correct: 42 I think we read the same books...

I didn't realize there was an actual answer. I thought this thread was put here to blossom and branch into a myriad of thought provoking replies

Rugger said:

Where is IME located in N. Conway? I have a two day Rugby tournament at Attitash this coming weekend so there should be time to stop in.

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International Mountain
Equipment
Main Street
P.O. Box 494
North Conway, NH 03860
PHONE: (603) 356-7013
FAX: (603) 356-6492
EMAIL: [email protected]

Main St ? I guess that's enough in North Conway...

Ummm, Tootsie Pop...

"A 12" diameter oak or black cherry tree will decay quite a bit slower than a 12" diameter willow or pine tree."

So, now I am wondering why softwood water bars are recommended over hardwood, in the absence of rocks.

I could be wrong

I believe soft wood is prefered for water bars because hard wood does not make a good connection with the earth. The water washes out underneath the hardwood and makes it useless. A soft wood water bar kind of becomes part of the earth and does it's job of getting water to get off the trail. I could just be making this up then again I could be on to something. It also might be because of the fact that it would take a lot longer to cut and place a hard wood tree.

Dr. Dasypodidae said:

"A 12" diameter oak or black cherry tree will decay quite a bit slower than a 12" diameter willow or pine tree."

So, now I am wondering why softwood water bars are recommended over hardwood, in the absence of rocks.

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Not all hardwoods and softwoods are created equal. My choice for waterbars are always spruce or fir if I can find them of the right size and in the area. They have the best rot resistence of all the trees here in the Whites, especially when peeled. Peeled wood will last much longer than wood with the bark on. They're usually straight and don't taper much, so you can get a few good long sections out of a single tree. They're also relatively light, so they are easier to haul around.

Next on the list is beech or maple, quite heavy but solid and will last quite long. Hard to peel however. Or yellow birch, which is a good choice if the trees are of the right size. Too big and they get hollow centers. You can still find some old yellow spruce used a culverts in the old logging camps. White birch would be the bottom of my list.

It's rare that I'd use anything besides that for trailwork. Except for bridges and puncheons, I rarely use wood for any trailwork, preferring to use rock. It's much harder work but it last a whole lot longer. You can count on replacing wooden steps, puncheons, and bridges every 12-15 years. I've replaced the same bridge 3 times in one place.

-dave-