Log Hooker

As a Log Hooker, you work with a forestry team that cuts down and removes trees from the forest as part of a logging operation. Being a Log Hooker means you’re working within Mother Nature’s realm, where you can soak up the sun and feel the wind on your skin. In addition to experiencing nature’s elements, you will also end the day with a great sense of accomplishment because logging is physically demanding work.

In order to tame the mammoth beasts (trees), you the Log Hooker, work with a group of men and women who each have a specific role in the process. While some workers scale and top the trees, others cut them down. Still others drive the heavy equipment that move the logs or load them onto trucks. Your job as the Log Hooker is to make sure the logs are safely removed once they’re cut down.

You typically work on steep hillsides, where logs are removed via helicopter. Once the Choker Setters have wrapped the logs with heavy cables, you direct the Helicopter Pilot, communicating through radios. The Pilot lowers a cable into position and you thread the chokers onto a huge, swinging hook. Then you guide the helicopter away, ensuring that the load stays intact—and the other Loggers stay out of the way.

Obviously, this job requires you to pay attention to your surroundings at all times. Safety is a chief concern as you supervise teams on the hillside. Working with heavy equipment and helicopters is an expensive undertaking, so you pay attention to efficiency as well.