As soon as it turned December, Justin and I decided we had to have a Christmas tree. I was content to get one at a lot, except that he said he wanted a Noble Fir. Anyone who's gone tree shopping before knows that Nobles cost in upwards of thirty dollars and more realistically somewhere around fifty. My parents insisted that they were going to cut down a tree "in the mountains" as they've done for the past three years and that if we went with them, we could easily cut down a Noble.
We joined them on their trek to Snoqualmie pass, where we purchased two tree permits for $10 each from the North Bend ranger station. The forest service designates certain areas as "tree zones" where you can harvest trees under twelve feet. My parents had one service road in mind they'd used the year before. The rangers advised us that the road had been plowed and it was a fairly popular area, so we imagined we'd be able to easily find a tree if we could press through the crowds.
As it turned out, the road had been plowed, but not salted or graveled. No sooner had we started to laugh at some poor saps in a truck who were spinning their wheels on the side of the road, we found ourselves in the same plight.
( Continue...)
The foot of packed snow beneath our tires had an icy sheen that made it impossible to drive, much less stand on. Several people trying to chain up spent the better part of half an hour helping dig and push us out and fell down every few minutes from the effort.
The forest service was stopped up the road, telling anyone without chains that they wouldn't make it to the top: the farther up, the harder it became to turn around and go back down. My dad reluctantly pulled away, and we sighed a breath of relief. We tried another exit but decided that none of the service roads were safe. Instead, we hiked up a trail behind a family with kids on sleds, to see if we could have better luck there.
The family turned around as soon as the trail hit a hillside, but we kept climbing, up onto the Iron Horse, and along the tracks. We were far too low in elevation to find a small enough tree, but we didn't want to give up. A few minutes along, a couple passed us the other direction dragging a tree. They offered me a few encouraging words, but when I caught up to my family, they told me the couple had cut down their tree over a mile away, after hiking up the steep bank and "topping" (read: cutting a tree down more than two feet up the trunk) a larger tree. Cheap.
As we hit a bend in the trail, my dad veered left and ran off into the bushes by himself, following the scent of Christmas trees. A few minutes later, we heard a shout and trotted down to find dad nowhere to be seen and at our feet the scraffy remains of a pathetic cedar.
"It looked good as I was cutting it down," dad said.
After I'd accused him of being a murderer, we cut the boughs off the cedar for making wreaths and kept looking. My parents found a statuesque tree nearby and cut it off only *slightly* higher than they should have. As it turns out, the tree was eleven feet tall and almost too wide for their living room. These things always look smaller before you get inside.
It was getting dark by the time they cut their tree and Justin and I couldn't find one anywhere. Pissed that we'd spent the whole day on this misadventure for nothing, I said I wasn't leaving without one and I meant it. All the "small" trees we could find were scraggly, and often had branches on only the side that wasn't overshadowed by bigger trees. After another fifteen minutes, we hiked back up to the trail and my dad began to lug their tree back down to the car. Fine, fine, said I, I'm just going to look a bit farther. So we did, and a few feet away from where we'd left the trail, we found a small, prickly, but not-a-bit-lopsided noble fir.
The perfect size for an apartment, it is! a shoved it in the car, took it home, and trussed it up with ornaments and lights from Target. It's Justin and my very first "real" Christmas together (by real, I mean "WITH DECORATIONS!!!") and we're proud of our little wacky tree. Especially after all the trouble we went through to get it. What do you think?
See: Iron Horse Hike Gallery
Posted on December 14, 2005 @ 12:08 PM | 4 comments
Comments:
I like it, it's got character. :)
It reminds me a little of the Charlie Brown tree...ok, it's not that sad.
Yay, for you guys!
By 
, at
2:51 PM, December 14, 2005
I LOVE your tree. (And envy that you have a place to put one in your apartment). My grandparents always cut trees in the mountains (in ID) and my grandma always picks a tree that looks much like yours. Why? you can see the ornaments better!
I like the kitty posing with your tree, too.
By Adrienne, at
5:47 PM, December 14, 2005
I think it is ADORABLE! And so is Mr. Rupert, who looks very proud... like he caught it himself. Has he tried climbing it yet?
By inkandpen, at
10:21 AM, December 16, 2005
Rupert hasn't really shown any interest in it, surprisingly-- except for knocking one ornament off!
By 
Kat, at
10:32 AM, December 16, 2005
