What or Why Is This ?

[MountainDon]

Here's something I've not seen before. Any guesses as to what this is or why this was done?





We ran across this while hiking across country through the forest near our mountain property last week. It took me a while to figure it out.


We're heading off tomorrow and I'll check in when we're back home.

[muldoon]

It's common in my neck of the woods to cut cedar or post-oak like that and leave it out to season for a spell, they redwood make great posts for fences and you'll see it holding up miles and miles of barb wire across the state of texas.  That same 45 degree cut is common as it allows water to drain off the tops of the posts so as not to pool and create rot.  

That being said, the picture you posted looks like a pine to me (soft wood to begin with which equals crap for posts) , and those logs look a little short and too fat to use as posts - so I have to say I don't know for sure.  

Perhaps a deerstand for the fall?  I could see laying up behind that come a brisk November morning and putting the business end of a 30-30 on some whitetail from there.  It would be the right time of year to be setting up ground blinds.   - If you stand just behind it, do you see a water source or food plot or clearing within 50-100 yards from that spot? 

[diyfrank]

Weird for sure.  possible to mark a section corner that can be seen or / and photographed from above?

[MountainDon]

It's in the middle of nowhere in particular. The picture is in what used to be too densely forested National Forest land looking towards privately owned land. No water or special feed spots nearby. The area behind the camera and to the sides has been opened up by some tree thinning.

[NM_Shooter]

Looks to me to be a trail marking.

[Whitlock]

artistic beavers
Trail marking for slash cutting note the marked trees in the back ground.

This belongs in the off topics O'crap there I go trying to take over sorry Don

[MountainDon]

No, no. This does not belong in Off Topics... in the end you will see how this applies to General knowledge.

The marked tress in the background are near the National Forest / private land boundary (private land begins a short distance (approximate tree height) behind those marked trees). They signify trees that are to be left during the thinning operation that took place recently.

[handyman]

     These must be a marker to take a bearing from at a distance.  The fresh cuts would be easy to see at a distance.

I guess survey tape would do the same thing, but its my best guess.

[rwanders]

I think it is a marker for aerial photos. 

[MountainDon]

Well here's my theory. As I stated this is in an area that has been heavily thinned by the forest service. Most of the thousand acres were done with heavy machinery, but this little area has many steep slopes. So they had a crew with chain saws do the work.

I believe the logger/thinner had a tree he was felling hang up somewheres in the first 15 - 20 degrees of fall. I think he used his saw, from the bottom up, to slice off the butt end and allow the upper part to slide down to the ground. After several such cuts the tree was freed and fell to the ground. 

I had a tree hang on our land this past week and tried the theory with good results. It was only one tree, one attempt, but it did go well. My usual methods are to use a winch or come-a-long to drag the tree butt or to cut off sections at a 90 degree angle. (You know you have too many trees when there's no clear space for one to be felled.)

As for the theories about it being saerial marking for some purpose, I don't know. Within 100 feet of this area is a very visible power company vault top (32 sq ft of concrete lids.) There is also nothing readily visible as needing marking right there; it is very much in public land, National Forest.

Anyhow, that's my theory. Any takers? Any holes in it?   

[glenn kangiser]

It is, after all, New Mexico, Don.


I'm going with space aliens.