MISSOULA - The sounds of cheers, chainsaws and a sawmill were heard Saturday throughout Missoula as spectators and competitors gathered for this year's Forestry Day as the Historic Museum at Fort Missoula.
As the sawdust flies, some show off the practical skills of timber sports, while others simply show off. Forestry Day highlights timber sports like wood chipping, cross-cut sawing, axe throwing and a crowd favorite, pole climbing.
“That's what it's really about is keeping the sport alive honoring logging and getting more people involved,” said Jake Lind, professional speed climber.
But the sounds of Forestry Day went quiet for the last two years. “Some shows aren't ever going to come back because of the whole COVID thing," Lind told MTN News. "And that's a shame.”
But Lind said you learn some lessons along the way, and no two trees are the same," said Lind. "So you just got to adapt to what the circumstances are.”
The biggest lesson: “Don't look down is the best one," Lind told MTN News. "You look down, you're going to slip.”
