A Portland-area kid born and raised, my family’s Christmas trees were always purchased at traditional tree farms or through the local high school band’s tree lot.
My Christmas tree hunts growing up were relatively tame, but my mom’s childhood Christmas tree searches were very much not.
For many years while living in rural New Hampshire, my grandfather, a Harvard-educated minister with little patience for the outdoors and even less patience for spending money, trudged through the snow into the nearby woods with my mom and my uncle to cut down the first evergreen they saw that would fit in the house. When I asked him about it recently, he said it never occurred to him that the forest property would belong to someone else.
My mom is still surprised no one died during those ill-advised winter outings. I still can’t believe that my mild-mannered grandpa committed timber trespass. He did eventually buy an artificial tree, so his tree crime days are behind him, at least.
Going out into the Gifford Pinchot National Forest on Thursday for my first Chronicle Christmas tree hunt, I was determined to not make my grandfather’s mistakes. I purchased a National Forest Christmas tree harvest permit online and checked the emergency survival kit I keep in my car, which includes food and water rations, a water filter, a flashlight, extra batteries, an emergency blanket and a first-aid kit.
I first assembled the survival kit years ago at the advice of my roommate at the time, who happened to be a county emergency management coordinator. I built mine for about $50 following a checklist on www.ready.gov.
In addition to the saws and straps needed to cut down a tree and transport it back, I also brought along a field guide handmade by Chronicle assistant editor Isabel Vander Stoep, who helmed the Chronicle’s annual tree hunt for the last two years. She first made the guide last year, after kindhearted Randle resident Bruce Reed sent in a shoebox filled with boughs of various evergreens, tagged with their species name, to help us identify young evergreens. She updated the guide this year with information she’s learned since making the first guide. Chronicle photo editor Jared Wenzelberger, who’s been on at least half a dozen of these tree hunts over the years, also called the Cowlitz Valley Ranger Station before we left for tips on the best places to search for trees this year.
On the advice that Forest Road 23 was likely to pass by some good trees, I set off with a friend toward Randle Thursday morning.
We took our time admiring the scenery, watching in awe as low clouds weaved through the hills as we drove. We stopped for hot cocoa at Blue Stone Cafe in Randle, then hopped back in the car and continued into the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
Despite living in the Pacific Northwest my whole life, the grandeur of its forests never cease to amaze me. Birdsong, distant rushing water and our own careful footsteps were the soundtrack to our adventure as we trekked under the forest canopy. We passed one tree, thicker and taller than I can fully comprehend, that had fallen long ago and was now giving life to dozens of saplings and other foliage. We passed another fallen log that had been fully split in two by a tree growing through it up towards precious sunlight.
This is the experience you don’t get at a tree farm.
After a couple false alarms where we thought we found the perfect tree only to find it was a hemlock — the one tree variety our editor forbade us from bringing back because of how quickly they lose their needles — we came to an area near Bishop Ridge Trail that had a handful of young Douglas firs.
We found a somewhat-straggly yet adorable tree down a hillside that we thought might be the “one,” marked it with a piece of napkin so we wouldn’t lose it, and went back to the car to get the saw. On the roadway overlooking the forest floor, however, my friend gasped and pointed.
There, on the side of the hill, hidden from view behind some larger trees and twisting berry vines, was a noble fir.
Vander Stoep wrote last year about her and Wenzelburger’s search for “the king of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest,” which ended with them bringing back a blue spruce. I’d planned to keep an eye out for any nobles on this year’s search, but I was unoptimistic.
We immediately changed course to go get a closer look. It took some finangling to get up to, and up close we couldn’t say for sure whether it was actually a noble or just a very handsome Douglas, but that was our tree.
I was exceedingly grateful for the first aid kit in the car when I tripped on a log hidden in the groundcover and nicked my arm on our handsaw. Thankfully it wasn’t serious, so I was able to tend to it quickly and keep going.
Treading carefully to avoid any more injury, we had little trouble chopping down the tree and securing it to the roof of my compact-SUV.
We had to cut a bit off the base for it to fit in the office, but overall, I’m thrilled with this year’s tree.
I was less thrilled with the tetanus shot I had to get the next morning, but better safe than sorry.
If You Go
National Forest Christmas tree harvest permits are now available at ranger stations for $5 or online at recreation.gov with an extra $2.50 service charge.
There is a limit of five permits per household, with each permit only valid for a single use.
Permits also come with a map of areas that are closed to cutting and an information sheet with instructions for cutting trees in national forests. Permits must be on the tree-cutters person at the time of cutting.
Households with a fourth grade student can get a Christmas tree cutting permit for free. After obtaining an Every Kid Outdoors pass online, fourth graders simply need to show their valid paper voucher or Every Kid Outdoors pass at national forest offices for a free permit. Fourth graders and their parents should visit everykidoutdoors.gov for more details and to obtain their paper voucher.
To ensure a successful trip, make sure to plan ahead and prepare. Ranger district hours vary, so calling ahead to check current office hours is advised. Winter weather in the forest can change rapidly and most forest service roads are not maintained for winter driving.
A news release from the National Forest Service recommends bringing traction devices for cars, a shovel, extra food and water, winter clothing, blankets, a flashlight and a first aid kit. And of course, don’t forget the saw for cutting down the tree and a rope to secure it to the vehicle afterward.
Leave the woods well before dark and share trip itineraries with a friend.
For additional information and a video on successful tree harvesting, visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/gp/treepermit. For more information on current road status and closures, visit www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/giffordpinchot/recreation#conditions.
Visitors can purchase Christmas tree permits at the following National Forest Service offices and vendor locations:
• Mt. Adams Ranger District, 2455 state Route 141, Trout Lake; 509-395-3400. Office Hours vary. Call for the current schedule. Walk-up window service for all sales or by phone/mail.
• Cowlitz Valley Ranger District, 10024 U.S. Highway 12, Randle; 360-497-1100. Office hours vary. Call for the current schedule. Walk-up window service for all sales.
• Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, 42218 NE Yale Bridge Road, Amboy; 360-449-7800. Office hours vary. Call for current schedules.
Vendor Locations (call for hours of operation and information):
• Amboy — Amboy Market, 360-247-5421
• Amboy — Chelatchie Prairie General Store, 360-247-5529
• Cougar — Lakeside Country Store, 360-238-5202
• Cougar — Cougar Store, 360-238-5228
• Cougar — Lone Fir Resort, 360-238-5210
• Kalama — Kalama Spirits and Tobacco, 360-673-4991
• Carson — Wind River Market, 509-427-5565
• Home Valley — Home Valley Store, 509-427-4015
• Trout Lake — Little Mountain (True Value) Hardware, 509-395-2773
• Stevenson — Main St. Convenience Store, (open 24 hours) 509-427-5653
• Ashford — Ashford General Store, 360-569-2377
• Ashford — Ashford Valley Grocery, 360-569-2560
• Elbe — Elbe Junction, 360-524-7707
• Elbe — Elbe Mall, 360-569-2772
• Packwood — Blanton’s Market, 360-494-6101
• Randle — Fischer’s Market, 360-497-5355
• Randle — Randle One Stop, 360-497-3261
• Kelso — Sportsman's Warehouse, 360-423-2600
• Vancouver — Sportsman's Warehouse, 360-604-8000
