NARRATOR: In Western Oregon, Mike Pihl
is juggling two jobs at once.
He leaves Danny in charge of harvesting
poles so he can set up his next job
site a half mile down the road.
For that, he signed up logging legend Dwayne Dethlefs--
Hey, Paul.
NARRATOR: --after one of his cutters quit.
MIKE PIHL: I hate to see you take off, but at $30 an hour
I can't blame you.
NARRATOR: He pulled Dwayne out of retirement.
MIKE PIHL: I'm glad to have you back on,
and also it's nice to have your background too.
Thanks. MIKE PIHL: Yep.
I appreciate it.
NARRATOR: Dwayne's task?
Clearing the site's alders before the rest of the Pihl
crew arrives in two days.
DWAYNE DETHLEFS: It's been a while.
Been off so long it will take me a month to break in this time.
I'll work until I start stumbling.
I know when I'm getting unsafe.
My body will tell me, my mind will tell me.
NARRATOR: Mike Pihl's hoping that, despite some tough years
in and out of the woods, Dwayne's experience and expert
cutting skills will save time.
MIKE PIHL: Now, the ones we're going to try and take
are those big firs over there.
Lets cut it out by laying some of these right across here--
Yeah.
- --below these. - Yeah.
The rain can get in here.
Also, we're not getting any younger,
so don't put yourself in a spot you're going to have a blowout.
I don't want an accident.
In the 40-some years I've been playing this game,
I haven't rode to the hospital yet in an ambulance,
and I don't want to.
I want to cut a few trees and get warmed up.
Thanks, Mike.
See ya later.
Thanks for the work.
Yep, you bet.
NARRATOR: Dwayne's a pro, but has the veteran logger
still got the magic touch?
Come on.
[chainsaw stalling]
[chainsaw buzzing]
NARRATOR: Alders are unpredictable.
And with Dwayne cutting them solo,
this job could be over before it starts.
[exhales]
It's been a while.
These swooping alder trees get the old blood running
through the veins pretty good.
NARRATOR: 60-year-old Dwayne may be winded,
but the veteran logger is giving a masterclass
in precision tree falling, showing exactly
why Mike Pihl hired him.
[chain saw, trees falling]
DWAYNE DETHLEFS: I am usually, as a rule,
six to eight trees ahead of the one I'm cutting in my head.
Basically, I'm not just going one tree at a time.
Because it's all gotta come together at the end
to where it'll all [bleep] feed out together.
So you have everything today is basically the same way,
and I've backed right out here.
That'll make it much easier for them to yard it if the butts
are pointed at the yarder.
Just like you took a big comb and just combed them out
there--
is what it's supposed to look like.
When that tree splits up and breaks off,
you gotta basically wait until the tree
decides what it wants to do to move to get in the clear.
Because if you move prior to that,
you don't know if you're moving in to danger or away from it.
It's a situation we try to stay away from.
NARRATOR: As Dwayne knows all too well,
splitting alders is perilous and unpredictable.
I got another one, watch out.
[chainsaw]
[heavy breathing]
That's a barber chair.
After all these years, still makes me [bleep] a little.
But, other than my shorts, I'm OK.
This is kinda like riding a bicycle.
Once you figure it out, just get her done.
NARRATOR: After escaping the dreaded barber chair unscathed,
Dwayne's nearly done for the day.
Boss man Mike Pihl checks in on his new hire.
[chainsaw]
He's getting older, and that's all right.
He may not be fast, but the way he's dropping those trees
is going to save us a ton of time.
I think it's time to go find a cold beer.
I love logging.
I'll probably never hang up the wood saw.
Probably will never quit it.
I've said once before that I would cut
timber till I was 75 years old.
Fall over dead and call that retirement.
But I'm a long ways from 75.
[tree crashing]