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Monday, June 29, 2026
In the 1970s you could make about 100 dollars a day planting trees deep in the forest in really remote areas around Mt. Shasta
So, in the 1970s this was a lot of money at the time but also very back breaking work so you had to be strong and in good physical condition to do this then as well. Some men camped out at the site and other men got hotel rooms but this could be expensive and other men brought their cars or trailers within 25 miles or 50 miles of where the plantings would be. Also, some men had VW Camper vans and other vans to sleep in if it rained then too. But, 100 dollars a day was a really good wage then in the 1970s too because money went a lot further then than now. for example, I bought a brand new 1968 Camaro for 3500 dollars then and you could buy a brand new VW Bug for around 800 dollars or around there then in 1968 too. So, as you can see money went way further then than now.
What happened then was a man would get a contract with either the U.S. Forest Service or the California Department of Forestry (Now CalFire) and get trees and hire men to plant these trees with hoedads.
You might say what is a hoedad?
Imagine a pick (as in pick and shovel) only it has a wide metal thing that looks a little like a flat scoop on the end. You take a bag of young trees in a bag on your hip (100 or more) and you throw this hoedad into the ground every few feet (like 5 to 10 feet apart) so these can grow up into large trees eventually and usually you have other men in a line all planting in a pattern miles and miles away from the nearest human being up very remote roads deep into areas that have been cut or even clear cut. So, you are planting trees that might be harvested 25 to 100 years from now because it takes a long time for trees to grow into adult trees that can be harvested again. Often you are planting something like Douglas Fir trees because that is what most houses made of wood framing are made out of (at least here in the U.S.) because what buildings are made of changes with the country and what is actually available there at a reasonable price to build something with.
begin quote:
The
hoedad is highly effective for quickly digging small, deep holes in
difficult, rocky terrains where traditional shovels or flat-ground tools
like dibble bars struggle. The user swings it into the ground, pulls it
back to open a pocket, places the seedling, and steps on the dirt to
secure the roots.
Forestry suppliers like Pacforest Supply Co. and Terra Tech offer specialized blades and handles for these tools.
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