Have you ever had a unique kind of Christmas tree? Like, something different from the typical spruce or fake bushy green tree.
You might remember from last year’s Open Spaces holiday show, we featured a story on a very “Wyoming” kind of Christmas tree hunt: a sagebrush. On the hunt was longtime Sublette County outfitter and mountain man Bill Webb.
We brought Webb back this year with another unique Christmas tree idea – a juniper.
Leaving Pinedale for the ‘hunt’
Walking up to Bill Webb’s house in the heart of Pinedale, one could hear his husky-mix Kona howling and barking with excitement.
Webb emerged from the log house – all smiles and ready to go.
“There's a lot of elk and deer tracks up there, so we probably ought to leave the dogs here,” Webb said.
Walking to the truck, Webb dragged behind him an orange plastic sled. On it a backpack filled with tree cutting tools and his old felt cowboy hat.
“Words can’t describe that hat,” Webb chuckled.
Hopping into the truck, Webb mentioned he wanted to cut the tree legally – so that meant a quick stop at the Forest Service for a Christmas tree permit.
After the quick pit stop for the $15 permit, Webb discussed the type of tree he was hoping to get.
“So I thought it'd be kind of fun to get a juniper,” he said. “Move up from sagebrush to juniper.”
As he drove closer to the Wind River Range he explained that junipers are really special to him – almost spiritual.
“There's a lot of medicinal uses for them,” he said. “And they only grow in certain places. They're around Pinedale, but just in two specific spots – something with the soil, I don't know why.”
He added that the type of juniper around Pinedale is a Rocky Mountain Juniper. They range from bright green to a dull green color. The female trees have berries, and when healthy they’re, “just full of these light blue berries, when they mature, they turn dark blue.”
Webb turns off on a gravel road and drives another 10 minutes, before turning off onto a discrete two-track. He throws the truck into four-wheel drive to climb the steep muddy, slightly snowy surface.
The hunt.
“Here we are,” Webb said. “Gonna be a little Western pulling that sled up this dirt, but once we get up in the woods, we'll need it because there's snow.”
It’s almost 50 degrees on this early December day, which is unusual for Pinedale.
Webb unloaded the orange sled and his supplies, with a mischievous grin he said, “Okay, any famous last words?”
He pulls the sled through the dirt and snow into a grove of aspen trees. After about 10 minutes of uphill walking, one can see junipers mixed in with the other trees and bushes.
“Look at that big one there – full of berries,” Webb said with excitement. “Should we go over there? Just to look.”
This particular juniper was about 20 feet tall, dark green and full of berries. Webb looked at it in awe, even grabbing a berry for a little nibble.
“They're really strong and they're full of seeds,” he said. “Really a nice fragrant smell.”
Webb shared a little trivia, “They smell a little bit like gin, because juniper berries are used to make gin.”
This won’t be the tree Webb cuts down. It’s important to him to leave the healthy, strong ones.
He hikes around a little more and points to a Charlie Brown looking tree.
“See that? A little scrawny. There's one growing right against an aspen tree. That's the kind I'd be looking for,” he said matter of factly. “Get it out of there so all the other trees and bushes around it can have more space and grow better.”
He examined the situation and decided this was the one. He unfolded his hand saw, snapping it into lock mode, and got to work.
He sawed away for a couple minutes and took a break. It was hot out and he had a runny nose.
“Just call me ‘Snively,’” Webb joked.
All said and done, the tree was about six feet tall. One side had no branches, but Webb said he’ll put that side against the window of his house.
He carried it back to the two-track where he left the orange sled and tied it in. There were already drilled holes into the plastic sled with rope.
“Why it's got the holes and the rope, is last time I used this sled I was packing out elk quarters on skis in Bondurant,” Webb said. “So I had to rig it up for that when I was skiing.”
But, this time it’s a juniper tree and hiking boots. Webb makes the trek back to the truck, pulling the sled on the last little strip of snow.
“Just enough snow, huh? Life's good,” Webb smiled.
He loaded up the tree into the bed of the truck and in the spirit of the holiday exclaimed, “Ho-ho-ho. He-he-he. Hargh-hargh-hargh. Merry Christmas!”
