What do you mean by lumbering

The four basic activities of lumbering are:

1. Felling: The first step is the felling or cutting of trees. Trees are first selected for felling. The high riggers who cut the trees climb up the trees. They wear spiked boots and safety belts which are connected to the trees in order to ensure their safety. After they reach the top of the tree, they begin the process of felling the trees. Axes have now replaced electrical saws which has made the process of cutting the trees much easier.
2. Limbing: The removal of tree branches and cutting the trees into smaller logs is known as limbing. People who are involved in the process are known as sawyers or buckers.
3. Skidding: The process of dragging or pulling the logs out of the forest to a nearby river bank, a road side or railway station is known as skidding. People who are involved in this process are known as skidders. Vehicles like wagon, cable skidders etc are now used for skidding logs.
4. Hauling: In the final stage, the logs are transported to the mills or factories. River currents are used for transporting the logs downstream. Haulers have to ensure that the logs do not pile up and float swiftly down the river. Haulers are specialised as they have to jump from one log to the other. If they are not alert, then they can get trapped between the logs which can prove to be life threatening.