Living up here in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of northern California has its perks, even if they are a bit off-beat. There’s a popular movement called ‘The State of Jefferson’ hoping to have this region split from California to create a new state. There’s another robust movement to have this area split from the US and form a separate country. When asked how this new state would pay for services like police, firefighting, a capital building, road maintenance, etc, proponents say, “We don’t need any of that.” I just keep my political views to myself.
The most popular vehicles are pickup trucks. Bars in the local towns have hitching posts for horses…and they get used! The sound of gun shots is not uncommon. I don’t know who, or what, they are shooting at. Of course we have stellar wines, big fat cattle, terrific banjo pickers that can jam on hot jazz and Bach, but the Logging Jamboree is the personification of mountain living. It’s a multi-task event that separates the men from the boys, and strong women from both.
Events include the axe throw, where competitors aim to hit a bullseye and explode a beer can inside the target. Not joking about this. The judges vigorously shake the cans before inserting them into the wooden target.
The ‘Walk of Death’ involves walking out onto the end of a bouncy branch with a running chainsaw and cutting exactly 18 inches of wood, and then walking back without falling.
The classic event is the big log slice. Competitors are scored on speed, avoiding a saw jam, and style. I never got the style part. Oh, and cursing costs you points. How elegant. Mountain folk are not hillbillies. We got class.
My favorite event is the Jack and Jill big saw slice. It’s called Double Bucking in logger-speak. This is the original event and was first staged in 1840, prior to the gold rush of 1849. According to records, only a few modern teams have beaten old records. They used to pour hot wax on the saw to prevent jamming. Now they use WD-40. The winner on this day was George Harrison (no relation) and his friend Margaret Soaring Hawk, a Mi-Wuk native. That’s one of the biggest tribes up here. On the day they won, George was celebrating his 80th birthday! Margie was a young 67.
George has won the overall point competition 12 times. He’s one tough man, and I wouldn’t tangle with Margie either. It’s all good fun.
There was only one fist fight on the day I attended. Apparently, a dog stole two hot dogs from a family and the dad felt compelled to punish the dog owner. Sadly, the guy he punched didn’t own a dog. I later saw them both at the wine bar discussing Cabernet.
Captured with a Nikon D-610. Vintage Nikkor lenses: 105mm, 85mm, 50mm
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