Hunting for a Christmas tree is part of a family tradition
Many opt to find their tree from a regional national forest
BOVILL — For some families, there is no better tradition than a trip to the snowy woods to select and cut a Christmas tree.
That’s true for the King clan. Three generations of them — including grandparents Rex and Brenda, their three sons and their wives, and a pack of grandkids — harvested trees from an expanse of national forest near Bovill on Saturday.
“My wife and I have been married for 31 years and we’ve been doing it 32 years,” said Rex King, of Pomeroy.
Just down the road, in an equally nice stand, three generations of the Klemesrud and Fulton family picked out their Christmas tree during a daylong trip that included a cooked lunch, bonfire and sledding.
“It’s another excuse to be outdoors,” said Greg Klemesrud, of Moscow, who spent the day with his wife Megan Klemesrud, their daughter Kirsten and her husband Keegan Fulton, and grandsons Henry and Theo.
National forests across the country offer Christmas tree permits for just $5, and the Palouse District of the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest here is a popular destination for do-it-yourself tree hunters.
The Kings began their family tree-cutting tradition in the Blue Mountains of Southeastern Washington but started coming to this spot about four years ago. The forest here has ponderosa and western white pines to choose from, but the pines lack the classic shape of a Christmas tree. So most tree hunters look for a fir or spruce.
“We try to go after grand fir because they smell so good,” said Anna Nichol King, of Genesee.
She’s a forester by trade and said the shade-loving species can put on huge annual growth spurts that can make for a gangly, open Christmas tree. But if you can find one that gets plenty of sunlight, it tends to be more full and stout.
Dylan King, also a forester, prefers Douglas fir.
“It’s just the best tree in the state of Idaho,” he said. “It’s the most profitable and merchantable tree in the state and it makes the best Christmas tree.”
In a short time, the family found three winners and used a bow saw to cut them. They dragged them back to their rigs and posed for pictures before loading them up and heading home.
Greg and Morgan Klemesrud, of Moscow, have been cutting their own trees for more than 30 years and have made the outing into a fun and comfortable affair. Greg starts by pulling a sled into the woods loaded with a chainsaw.
“I try to fell a tree and make a good fire,” he said.
He looks for a nice straight specimen — it’s more likely to be dry that way. After dropping it, he bucks it into rounds, splits the rounds into firewood and gets the fire roaring.
Then it’s back to the truck for another load. This time the sled carries a two-burner propane stove, a camping table and some grub.
“We always have a big picnic,” he said with the fire crackling and a pot of coffee percolating on the stove.
Just around a bend on an old logging road, Keegan ran, pulling a delighted Henry and Theo in the sled.
Greg leaves picking the Christmas tree to his wife Megan and their daughter Kirsten.
“I have no say,” he said.
It seems there was a year when everybody was pressed for time. So Greg was sent by himself to fetch a tree.
“We put him in charge and it was not a good plan,” Megan said.
The tree, with a few too many bald spots, may have been good enough for Charlie Brown but Megan disapproved. She said a good tree should be full and have branches stout enough to support some of their heavier ornaments.
“We have Christmas ornaments that have been passed down through the years,” Greg said. “That makes it fun to decorate the tree. It brings back memories.”
National forest Christmas tree permits can be purchased recreation.gov. They are sold specific to individual national forests. The Nez Perce-Clearwater and Umatilla national forests are the two closest to most towns in north central Idaho and southeastern Washington.
Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273.
