I ‘swamped’* for the trail maintainer sawyers for almost 20 years. After watching them (all have to be certified by the US Forest Service), I am familiar with analyzing situations, where & how to cut, etc. I have my own Kevlar chainsaw chaps & I know the other safety gear I need to wear. Believe me, I will start slow & ‘small’ ... eventually I will work up to taking down the big dead chestnut tree near the shop, but I will definitely have help when I finally tackle it.
*A swamper clears cut brush and trees behind a sawyer
You are so versatile! Whenever we have professionals come here, I see the swampers that help. There’s always a couple of them. I’m always impressed with the job they do. We’ve helped out friends cut their trees, and are realizing we’re not getting any younger. I don’t need a hospital stay for either of us, so we hire that work out in the last 5 or so years. Even the professionals have near misses with these trees. So I’ll watch and be moral support, and bring a cool glass of water or lemonade if you’d rather.