Trapped by a fallen tree

[The Rinzler]

I bought a 4' two man hand saw at an estate sale and picked it up for just that scenario. I've used it to cut through a 2" diameter tree (just for fun).

After a fire, trees fall down routinely. We went out on a job where they had cleared the road the day before, and the road was blocked by a tree that fell overnight. Fortunately, it blocked us out, not in.

Backpacking in the Gila Wilderness we saw trees in the canyon bottoms swaying 30' at the top. Every once in a while, the top 20' of a live tree would come crashing down. We were very careful about where we camped.

My dad was hunting in the Pecos Wilderness and came back to camp to find a tree had fallen across his tent. He was always careful about where he camped.

Wow, that's scary man.
I've always been careful about where we set up camp and stuff, but sometimes you just never know what might happen. I guess that's the thrill of nature.
I'm glad your dad wasn't in that tent when that tree fell.

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[The Rinzler]

The other option is to carry a kinetic rope. That helps with some of the lightness of the vehicle and gives you a bump in pulling power.

It has an added benefit if a vehicle gets stuck in front of you as they don’t take kindly to chain saws!

I do carry a kinetic rope, but ide rather not pull a bigger tree towards me ?

 

[Tawnygal]

Happened to me two years ago and I was by myself. A bit smaller diameter tree, but it was caught in the trees on the other side of the road. I only had one of the "saws" that was a serrated chain with two canvas handles. Being, then, a 54 yo non-athletic woman, it took me about 2 hours and two handfuls of blisters to cut through and move it enough to squeeze by. I did have a garmin with me, and would have called for help, had it gotten too late or dangerous. I think I just had to prove I could do it myself. I like the small chainsaw idea...

 

[sajohnson]

Happened to me two years ago and I was by myself. A bit smaller diameter tree, but it was caught in the trees on the other side of the road. I only had one of the "saws" that was a serrated chain with two canvas handles. Being, then, a 54 yo non-athletic woman, it took me about 2 hours and two handfuls of blisters to cut through and move it enough to squeeze by. I did have a garmin with me, and would have called for help, had it gotten too late or dangerous. I think I just had to prove I could do it myself. I like the small chainsaw idea...

I know that sawing by hand can be a LOT of work. I'd say a bow saw is about the easiest for those that want to keep it inexpensive. As with just about any product there are many choices and a wide range in quality.

The Ego (or similar) works well. The main drawback is the cost, and perhaps the space it would occupy. Of course if you would use it around the house then it's an easy choice.

 

[Uncle Buck]

For camping, I have a Ryobi 40V 14" chaisaw which works surprisingly well. The only issue I have with it is it leaks bar oil which is a PITA. I wish they had a hard case to go with it. I have a "Box" case for my larger 2-stroke Husqvarna, but that case is a bit bulky. Cheers!

This probably won't be practical for you since you use it camping, etc. but I have a Milwaukee 18v that I carry just for the situation described here by the OP, and like you, I was worried about bar oil leakage. I bought a good sized plastic toolbox that accommodates the chainsaw with the bar removed, a bottle of bar oil and a couple of good-sized batteries. I figure with the fallen tree scenario happening infrequently, I will take the time to reassemble the bar if we run into that situation, and be protected against rogue bar oil in the meantime!

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