Saving the French Broad River

In late May I set off with this group of people on a five-day paddling trip on the French Broad River from Rosman to Asheville, NC. The trip was sponsored by MountainTrue  to raise money and awareness to help protect this beautiful river and to have a great time doing it. As usual, I brought  along my hatchet and folding bow saw, just in case we came across an interesting piece of wood. On the next-to-last day of the trip I spotted a likely looking log, already cut.

This small log was lying on top of a huge fallen tree trunk, where it had come to rest during the last high water. I tried to tow it downstream behind my kayak, but that didn't work at all, and it immediately got caught in a strainer.  With the help of several of the other boaters, we were able to rescue it and put it into the bottom of one of the canoes.

When we got to the next campsite, we loaded it onto the boat trailer until the end of the trip.

After the trip, I took the log to my shop and cut it into pieces for drying.

First step was to cut the log into shorter lengths with a chainsaw

Next, the log sections were cut into boards with the resaw

The boards are bundled with spacers between each to allow for air circulation

The bundles are placed high on my lumber rack where the the air is warm and dry

It was not easy to identify the wood. The log had no  bark or leaves to identify  the tree. I took a slice of the wood to the experts at a local exotic wood dealer, and they think it is willow, which seems very likely.  Whatever it is, the wood exhibits some interesting colors and a little bit of spalting, and I'm sure it will make interesting boxes.

In a few months, after the wood is fully dried, I expect to be able to make quite a few small boxes. Proceeds from the sale of these boxes will go to MountainTrue to help with their efforts to protect the French Broad River. If you would like to be notified when the boxes are ready for sale, just hit the contact button below or here and send me your name and email address.
I would like to express my thanks to all of the members of the expedition, and in particular to Dana, Erin, Angie, Jim and Alex for helping me retrieve the log.