Collecting in Oregon (calling all Oregonians!)

Hey everyone,

I wanted to reach out to my fellow Oregonians to see if someone would be willing to show me the ropes of yamadori.
I got permission from a local owner of a plot of land to collect trees, none of which are great, but I want to get some experience before I attempt on the real deal.
That being said, it would be great to have someone experienced to help along when I do go for the real thing!
Thanks!

how much are you paying?

Ditto

feel the love?

Sadly, I'm merely an enthusiastic amateur. Most of my collecting is around new development and property renovations in town, and not all of that is successful.

Bogus!

All the tricks are here on the forum.

Use your practice to learn.

What I suspect would have been a couple few trees...

Should now have one more....the nicest one of course...
With the caption....

"The Pay had you not asked."

Over everything....
Don't get excited about trees...
Get excited about diggable roots!

Sorce

Before you pay someone for basically nothing, just get the how to DVD from andy smith (http://www.stonelantern.com/How_to_Collect_Wild_Trees_Bonsai_Tree_DVD_p/b1dvdwild.htm) It's cheap. $10. No matter what anybody tells you, that's really all the info you need in that DVD

Hi BP, where are you? I'm in the southwest corner outside of the Rogue valley. I'm always interested in coordinating digs.
Some how I posted this twice and I tried to erase one, but can't and the erased one posted and not this.
Just wanted to add that it's not about the money. I am only looking to have fun collecting trees and making new friends in the bonsai world.

I hear what you folks are saying and I definitely agree the vids and books will give you the how to info and it certainly be good to have that under your belt before you come out into the real world.
Out here people can and do get seriously lost. Many die out here every year, mostly because they underestimate the terrain. It would be advisable to have someone experienced along to show you around.
I am an experienced guide, both on the rivers and in the mountains. I only mentioned it in regards to knowing how to plan an excursion. Take ten people down the wild and scenic for five days and keep everyone warm, sheltered and well fed. That's the job and you bust your butt for the whole time while everyone else lays back and enjoys the ride. Same with overland, the camp is all set and we do the cooking.
Ok, no big deal. I'm not offering a free ride, everyone carries their own weight, but I do know my way around out there and expenses can be shared equally and fairly, according to what you bring to the table. Now I'm just a guy, but I'll get you in and back out if you want to go. I know where the trees are, I live there.

I make it a practice to only collect within a fairly easy distance of my truck. The older I've gotten, the shorter that distance has become, and hopefully down hill to the truck. I appreciate RKatzin's comments, but I'm not willing to haul collected trees for days back to a road. But I will acknowledge that you don't need to be days away from the road to get lost.

To the OP, when I started collecting I tried to organize a group, or at least a more experienced buddy, for a collecting trip and found the same kind of silence or resistance that you're seeing here. I went by myself after reading up, made many mistakes but worked it all out. My wife was a good sport about going along for the hike. The tough part is finding good locations, but these days the satellite view on google maps helps a lot. Still you should expect to make many trips where you return with no trees. You really have to enjoy the search to keep at it.

I think many experienced collectors want to keep their hunting grounds to themselves. Maybe you can find someone getting older who's willing to trade your physical labor for their knowledge. Start by working with them on the after care of the collected trees and build a relationship. Wait for them to invite you along.

Hey there BPfeil. This year was my first season venturing into yamadori collecting, and so far I have had some wonderful experiences both collecting from landscapes, and getting out into the wilds to find some really special trees. As you will find in your research, the best time for collecting is in the early spring, so I would recommend spending the next few months reading up and learning what you can before digging anything up. I reached out to some professional collectors after I had done my research with specific questions, and I found most people were very willing to share advice on collection and aftercare. No one will give away much in regards to where they collect, because the areas where great yamadori grow naturally are often harsh landscapes without many trees to begin with, and they are places which need to be respected and preserved, so it's best to not have tons of people trampling about with shovels and no idea how to responsibly collect a tree. I don't live too far from you, and would be happy to find time when the time is right to go collecting and share what I have learned up to this point.

I have forty acres in the midst of thousands of acres of county, state and federal lands. Most areas are drive in on old logging roads. Lots of trees within a hundred yards of the road. I can show a dozen cascading yews right on the cut bank of the road.
I've spent a lot of time in the Three Sisters Wilderness area and further out in the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness and way out there in the Blue Mountains. Back in my area the Kalmiopsis Wilderness is my favorite stomping grounds. We can go there or stay right here in my backyard. I'd be willing to come up to your backyard as well. Have shovel, will travel. Let me know when you want to bust a move. This time of year is a good time to go locate trees to dig later. The trick is in remembering where exactly was I?

Just curious if this scouting trip ever happened?