( True tales, recently declassified .. by Spider )


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Each year we compile a list of the most feared and hated logs on Northwest rivers and creeks. Some of these streams are often run, some are first descents in the making. Either way, the list grows and grows as the river levels drop until finally the Secret Society of the Anti-Loggites has their first formal muster.

Over the years the Anti-Loggites have assembled a fearsome array of Log-Annihilating Materials. Logs are deadly enemies, so you have to have all of the latest Anti-Loggite gadgets. The only thing we never seem to have enough of is dynamite; (actually we have never been able to get our hands on dynamite, but if you would like to donate some please let me know.. I'm serious.) Also, it would be great to have a couple of Army surplus shoulder-launched Anti-Tank missiles, and maybe some Thermite Grenades, but I digress..

I am a proud, card-carrying member of the Anti-Loggites, (one of the founding members actually), but one of the conditions of membership in this mysterious and shadowy society is total anonymity, so I can't really divulge any member names. Indeed, we all wear Phantom of the Opera masks while working so we can maintain secrecy (actually, that's not true, but we do use pseudonyms like Grog-boy and Pipster..).

Ok, so back to destroying logs. I have almost been killed doing log removals a couple of times. Logs are incredibly dangerous even without water in a tight gorge, and having a billion-ton water-logged old-growth fall on you is about the last thing you want, so we always wear helmets. Of course, a helmet won't keep the log from grinding you into dog-paste, but it will keep your chainsaw from hacking half your head off when it hits a rock and kicks back in your face at 20,000 rpm. (Don't laugh, this happens!)

You have probably seen our handiwork on local rivers and creeks, where logs and logjams just magically evaporate between seasons.. Keeping up the favorites is all fine and dandy, but where we really get excited about is the really steep stuff, creeks that were UNRUNNABLE due to wood that we MAKE RUNNABLE. Above and beyond maintaining the local runs, making new runs a reality is a fundamental principle.

Now, before all you crazy kids start calling me trying to join up, you should know that being an Anti-Loggite isn't all about having logs fall on you and chainsaws hacking your heads apart; this is hard work! We have spent many long, hard weekends of work destroying dangerous wood, but in the end it's all worth it when the water comes up!


Here's a pic from some of the Newly-Declassified Anti-Loggite Files. This particular logjam was extremely difficult and dangerous, formed by four large logs wedged in a class five gorge that only a handful of people have ever run. It took two days of difficult and technical cutting to destroy this mess, because the logs were really old, criss-crossed, and weighing down on one another in the narrow confines of the gorge.

After cutting out several smaller logs (note the sawdust on the walls!), our heroes attacked the main log by cutting all the way around it and then rigging a harness and hanging suspended by three ropes above the log (see below), the final cut was made and the whole thing fell down into the gorge, where it was then reduced to firewood..

Photo by: The Wooly Bandito