Site search
sponsored by
Home
News
ENLARGE
Alistair Taylor of Te Aroha, New Zealand, knocks the top off his block as he competes in the standing block chop event during the Big K Timber Days at the Big K Guest Ranch near Elkton on Sunday.
|
ENLARGE
|
Rachel Young of Bend competes in the Jack and Jill cross-cut saw event during the Big K Timber Days at the Big K Guest Ranch near Elkton on Sunday. Young was teamed with Tom Martin, right, also of Bend.
|
|
ENLARGE
|
Brian Sheridan of Priest River, Idaho works the single buck saw during the Big K Timbers Days at the Big K Guest Ranch near Elkton on Sunday.
|
ELKTON — Four dirty, dusty miles off Highway 138, the roar of souped-up chain saw engines, the thud of axes and the grind of handheld saws filled the tree-lined field on the Big K Ranch.
With green hills in every direction, lumberjack competitors from around the world gathered on the family-owned Elkton ranch to test their strength in eight Timber Days events.
At 12, Gary Williamson watched professional timbersports on television and knew that if he ever had the chance, he would compete in the games. During college he joined Oregon State University’s logging sports team, and said he knew that his family’s 2,500-acre property would be the perfect place to hold timbersports competitions. For the fourth year, Williamson gathered the sponsors, support and equipment needed to bring the rowdy event to the tranquil land.
The timber event marks the ranch’s 100-year anniversary. And like the land that hosted the competition, the timbersports tradition is often handed down through generations.
David Moses Jr., 43, held his ax forward under the sun’s direct blaze, paused, took a deep breath and hurled it 20 feet forward, hitting the red circle just short of a bull’s-eye.
He’s not the first in his family to throw axes for money, and he won’t be the last.
The 248-pound Washington man, who has proven his skill during ESPN competitions, learned the art of ax-throwing from his father. And during Sunday’s games on the ranch, his 13-year-old son, Billy Beach, eyed his own competitor’s feet as they darted forward and then back on the spinning log, trying to avoid the pond below.
Moses took home first place in the single buck event, cutting through a Douglas fir sawing log in 25.16 seconds.
Williamson said most of the professional competitors who have children pass the sport on and that’s what keeps it going.
“Timbersports took place basically in the logging camps in the early days,” he said. “They would just have competitions among themselves before or after dinner saying, ‘OK, well if I can hit three fives in a row with the ax throw, I don’t have to do the dishes, or I bet you five dollars I can underhand cut that log faster than you can.”
But the timbersports tradition isn’t stuck with old technology.
During the hot saw event, competitors use chain saws equipped with snowmobile and motorcycle engines to tear through Douglas fir in seconds. The space age-looking saws cost several thousand dollars and slice though thick timber logs like warm butter.
Alistair and Sheree Taylor came from New Zealand to enter the games on the ranch. Oceans from home, Sheree Taylor called the land “stunning” and said she feels like she’s a part of a big family. Taylor and many of the other professionals compete against each other at events around the world.
“When we are competing it’s all serious,” she said. “But away from the arena, it’s all friendship. The camaraderie is really incredible. America’s my second home.”
Her husband got her into the sport 22 years ago, and they compete in the Jack and Jill event where partners hold opposite ends of a saw to blaze through a log. The 54-year-old grandmother of five won the women’s underhand chop, standing on top of the log swinging the ax between her feet, splitting the log in 74 seconds.
“I just like the challenge,” she said. “There’s so many young people, I’ve got to stay on my game.”
Up the steep green hill on the lodge’s balcony, Hank Dean sat in the shade watching the events. He brought his wife, son and daughter-in-law to show them the games and the spectacular views on the ranch.
With green hills in every direction, lumberjack competitors from around the world gathered on the family-owned Elkton ranch to test their strength in eight Timber Days events.
At 12, Gary Williamson watched professional timbersports on television and knew that if he ever had the chance, he would compete in the games. During college he joined Oregon State University’s logging sports team, and said he knew that his family’s 2,500-acre property would be the perfect place to hold timbersports competitions. For the fourth year, Williamson gathered the sponsors, support and equipment needed to bring the rowdy event to the tranquil land.
The timber event marks the ranch’s 100-year anniversary. And like the land that hosted the competition, the timbersports tradition is often handed down through generations.
David Moses Jr., 43, held his ax forward under the sun’s direct blaze, paused, took a deep breath and hurled it 20 feet forward, hitting the red circle just short of a bull’s-eye.
He’s not the first in his family to throw axes for money, and he won’t be the last.
The 248-pound Washington man, who has proven his skill during ESPN competitions, learned the art of ax-throwing from his father. And during Sunday’s games on the ranch, his 13-year-old son, Billy Beach, eyed his own competitor’s feet as they darted forward and then back on the spinning log, trying to avoid the pond below.
Moses took home first place in the single buck event, cutting through a Douglas fir sawing log in 25.16 seconds.
Williamson said most of the professional competitors who have children pass the sport on and that’s what keeps it going.
“Timbersports took place basically in the logging camps in the early days,” he said. “They would just have competitions among themselves before or after dinner saying, ‘OK, well if I can hit three fives in a row with the ax throw, I don’t have to do the dishes, or I bet you five dollars I can underhand cut that log faster than you can.”
But the timbersports tradition isn’t stuck with old technology.
During the hot saw event, competitors use chain saws equipped with snowmobile and motorcycle engines to tear through Douglas fir in seconds. The space age-looking saws cost several thousand dollars and slice though thick timber logs like warm butter.
Alistair and Sheree Taylor came from New Zealand to enter the games on the ranch. Oceans from home, Sheree Taylor called the land “stunning” and said she feels like she’s a part of a big family. Taylor and many of the other professionals compete against each other at events around the world.
“When we are competing it’s all serious,” she said. “But away from the arena, it’s all friendship. The camaraderie is really incredible. America’s my second home.”
Her husband got her into the sport 22 years ago, and they compete in the Jack and Jill event where partners hold opposite ends of a saw to blaze through a log. The 54-year-old grandmother of five won the women’s underhand chop, standing on top of the log swinging the ax between her feet, splitting the log in 74 seconds.
“I just like the challenge,” she said. “There’s so many young people, I’ve got to stay on my game.”
Up the steep green hill on the lodge’s balcony, Hank Dean sat in the shade watching the events. He brought his wife, son and daughter-in-law to show them the games and the spectacular views on the ranch.
Williamson is fifth generation on the ranch, and he hopes to bring timbersports to his home for many years.
“It started out as a friendly competition and that’s the kind of setting I’d like to have out here,” he said. “Hospitality is our business at the ranch, and making people come out here, feel at home, be relaxed and not stressed, that’s what it’s all about for us.”
You can reach reporting intern Desiree Aflleje at 957-4211 or by e-mail at daflleje@nrtoday.com.
“It started out as a friendly competition and that’s the kind of setting I’d like to have out here,” he said. “Hospitality is our business at the ranch, and making people come out here, feel at home, be relaxed and not stressed, that’s what it’s all about for us.”
You can reach reporting intern Desiree Aflleje at 957-4211 or by e-mail at daflleje@nrtoday.com.
