This hobby is getting too HEAVY....82 lbs. of log chains carried 1 1/2 mile

[lumbercamp]

For me, finding a logging chain is like anyone else finding a rare coin. I have found dozens of them, but it is still very exciting to find one.

I was out on Sunday and went up a run but there was 4" of snow, so I decided to up to the top of the hill and down into the next hollow. Wrong idea. There was 8" of snow in the shade, but was bare ground on one side. I walked down looking for promising spots.. I came to a log slide going up the side of the mountain. I detected up one side and back down the other and had no hits until near the bottom. There were some exposed chain links and I knew it would be a large chain by the size of the links. I dug it out and there were more chain beneath it. I dug out 2 more. These were heavy chains.

What to do. I was a half mile down the hollow.( I checked a topo map when I got home). I decided to leave one chain there and come back another day to pick it up. With 2 chains in my sack, I started up the hill and only went a few yards. They were too heavy.

What to do. I finally carried each chain individually up the hill. Making 3 trips made it a mile per chain. I was still a mile from my truck, but it was all down hill. I put 2 chains in my sack and would carry a short distance and drop it, being heavy and go back for the 3rd, doing this numerous times, finally reaching my truck.

And, in between my treks back and forth, I found a Dr. Kennedy's Medical Discovery bottle from Foxbury Mass. So there i was, carrying 3 chains, a bottle, my detector and digger. What a sight.

Chain 1... 20 lbs.
Chain 2... 9 1/2 ft, 32 lbs
Chain 3... 15 ft, 30 lbs.

 

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[Marchas45]

I've found two of those chains but at my age I just left them hanging on a tree. You must be a young Dude well done

 

[LukeTHr]

man, you are ambitious to lug that stuff out. guess that kind of exercise will keep you in shape tho. are they something you can sell or do you just collect them?

 

[upstatejay]

I heard this hobby will get you into shape, but that is crazy! Probably would have give me a coronary
Glad you found something worth your while.

Happy Hunting.

 

[lumbercamp]

Marchas45, It's been quite a few years since I was a young dude. And I didn't get winded carrying them either. LukeTHr, I have a huge display of logging artifacts that I have dug up over the years, cleaned and put on display.

 

[Happy Harry]

Well Done!! HHHH

 

[wwwtimmcp]

yep been there done that, in a wetsuit with my weightbelt,tank,and scuba float too.

 

[SkyPirate]

WOW! got some exercise didn't you?

 

[g-olden years]

Hey, was the Dr. Kennedy's Medical Discovery bottle full of Ben-Gay for aching muscles?! Love the way you described retrieving the chains, very graphic. With your growing chain collection, someday you could build a massive chain sculpture! Waiting to hear about your next adventure! Andi

 

[NHBandit]

Very cool. The bottle should either read Roxbury or Foxboro. There is no such town as Foxbury.

 

[lumbercamp]

Very cool. The bottle should either read Roxbury or Foxboro. There is no such town as Foxbury.

Roxbury it is. Thanks for correcting the wrong name.

 

[KOOTNEY KID]

Those swivel dawgs are cool,usually only find broken pieces in these parts.

 

[traverdog]

A find is a find!!

 

[BuckleBoy]

Let me just say...that for some of the very Best finds this hobby has to offer, recovery is not easy.

But it is always worth the effort when we get caught off-guard.

Well done, my friend.


-Buckles

 

[Tnmountains]

I love that old logging stuff. I have several of the dawgs I have dug and a double and single buck. I have even named roads after sticking saw blades in the fork of trees " Sawblade" and had the name stick. I guess you find the mauls as well.
Nice job on the chains. I guess the one with 4 dawgs ruled out a mule and was used mech?
HH
TnMtns

 

[lumbercamp]

TnMountains, around here they laid RR tracks up every hollow/run until the hill got too steep. They would dig numerous slides down to the tracks. Some were steep enough for the logs to slide by them selves. Others would need to be pulled down. The 4 dawg chain I found would have been pulled by oxen pulling 4 logs. It's common to find ox shoes along slides here. I have been detecting since 1972 and this is only my 2nd 4 dawg chain. The first was 2 years ago.

 

[JB63503]

Nice finds... Thanks for taking the time to post this , I enjoyed reading this and I love the pic's...
Happy hunting..

 

[Bell]

Id hate to see what would happen if you had found a couple cannon! Good job.

 

[Tnmountains]

Thanks for sharing. I have always enjoyed that era and the equiptment and how they skidded everything. Here is a picture for you of a pencil sketch I have in my office. It is called "Mule Skinner". It was drawn by a guy up the road in Tennessee. I think it is in print. The artist name is Joseph Vick.
Take care.
TnMtns

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Those are very cool chain finds lumbercamp!
It's nice to know there are people out there that appreciate these old forged chains like I do. I used to hunt abandoned lumber camps in Northern Ontario for old bear leg-traps to sell to antique dealers in Southern Ontario. People used to buy them as wall decorations for their cottages. I can't tell you how many of those old log chains I passed over in my hunts back then, nobody appreciated them!

Dave