Hit 500 tree removals without one major accident and it feels like a fluke

I hit my 500th tree removal last Tuesday on a big old oak in a tight backyard. The milestone surprised me because I started out 12 years ago in New Jersey with a beat up pickup and a rope that definitely should have snapped. Each job I kept waiting for something terrible to happen, like a branch landing on a house or someone getting hurt. But I just stuck to the basics low and slow cuts and a good wedge, and somehow it worked out. Has anyone else hit a number that made them stop and think 'how did I not mess this up'?

2 comments

2 Comments

evanfox1mo ago

Whoa, hold on. You started with a rope that should have snapped? That's insane. I've had a rope fray on me just from a stiff wind on a small job, I can't imagine banking twelve years on something that was one bad day from killing you. The fact that you are writing this from a computer and not a hospital bed is basically a miracle. It's like the tree gods looked down and said "this guy's got brass ones, let's let him cook.

jakewhite1mo ago

Yeah, guess I used up all my dumb luck in one shot.