MIMF

I wandered past this tree over the weekend and wondered if this is what bearclaw looks like under the bark.

I don't think so. The markings on that tree look to be remnants of some blade or machine. Look at the cracks that run straight through the "figure" pattern. You could prove me wrong by cutting some wood and actually seeing what it holds inside.

Michael, That's what I thought initially but this is a big old growth snag on a steep slope in a wilderness area. Also the "figuring" goes all the way up to the first branches about 30ft up the trunk. It's in the grain of the wood and goes all the way around the trunk which is 3 ft dia at the base at least. I've never seen anything like it before but that's not saying much.

Those marks look almost too regular, too evenly spaced, to be natural.

Lightning Strike. Spirals down to the ground - makes it look like a Barber Pole. Sometimes the tops are blown off and bark will be blown off the trunk. There are several in the Santiam Pass where I hunt.

Jim in La Pine

Here's a higher resolution shot cropped from further up the trunk. I'm sure the tree grew this way. It didn't happen after the fact.
I looked at the tiny sampling of spiral lightening struck trees on the web and they are very slow spirals and only in one direction. This is a double helix but it was most marked on the south side of the trunk.
I'd love to see lumber from this just to know for sure.

Could you tell what kind of tree it was David?
Doug Fir?

You're right about the slow spirals .. all the ones I have seen were slow and in the same direction as the large spirals in the photo. I'm going to go with multiple mild lightning strikes that healed over and the tree succumbed shortly after the surface healing. If that's the case; I would name the tree Joe Btfsplk.

Jim in La Pine

Chuck, it's a Doug fir forest for the most part but it could have been another fir.

I've seen a lot of vertical grain Doug fir that has very pronounced grain ripple that looks like extreme bear-claw. I'll bet this is it.
We need Larry Davis to weigh in, I'm sure he would know.

You don't need Larry, you need a chain saw. The second pic does look like some sort of figure in the wood. Absolutely unique as fare as I know.

You might look for other examples in the area as it might be a genetic abnormality.

Was this on Mt Hood? In the Coast Range? If it was on a well-used trail, it's likely that some foresters have seen this particular specimen. Maybe contact the local Forest Service office and ask if there's anyone on staff who might know the tree or be able to identify those markings from your photo.

It was on the Elk Meadows trail just above Newton Creek in Mt Hood Wilderness area.
Jason, I bet you are right. I used to know a woman who worked for the USFS at the Zig Zag office but I think she's retired now.
Michael, that would be cool if it was a super localized genetic deviation that served some function.

Other folks to ask would be loggers. Anybody who has a big sample size of trees in their career to compare.

Going back to the lightning possibility: did it have any bits blown off, or other trees nearby with such damage?

I'm with Michael on this. It's a super cool grain structure, localized on this tree. You'd prob never come across it again in that pattern and I've logged the northwest for years. No lightning strike in my experience. Would love to see a board cut from that.

Hi Larry! Who would know about this type of figure? And how would one go about getting permission to cut that old dead tree before it falls on someone?

Forrester buddy of mine had the following comment:
Vines trellised up the tree, engulfing the tree. Pressure from the strangling vines increased to the point that the tree formed reaction wood ridges. This compression of the tree's cambial tissue caused the tree to slowly die from strangulation.

He also zoomed in and added the following additional comment:
Once dead decomposition set in, bugs and grubs started working under the bark, then bears clawed away the bark to eat the grubs.

It looks like a combination of things to me.

Could be. But the general forest in the photo behind that tree does indicate vine growth.

I'm guessing you meant to say "does NOT indicate vine growth," Barry. We do have a problem with English ivy here, radiating out from the Portland metro area (sourced to a vine planted in a yard some 80 years ago, iirc), but it isn't present (yet!) in the Cascade wilderness area David describes. The ivy does strangle trees, though.

Yeah, I forgot the "not".