On a sunny weekend day in June, take a walk along the Twin Lakes trail and look for a man atop a log.
He might be wet, he might be sweating, but chances are, he’s smiling.
When Gold Rush Days rolls around, Animal Austin will be rolling around with it. For the past two years, Austin — owner of a Juneau tree-trimming service — has taken home the top prize in the log-rolling contest. More than that, he’s beaten competitors from Wrangell and Ketchikan, likely making him the best log-roller in the state.
Austin — his real name is Ralph, but everyone calls him “Animal” — said there are three keys to success when it comes to the annual competition: practice, coordination and equipment.
“You’re at a real disadvantage if you don’t have cork shoes,” he said.
[Gold Rush Days brings family fun, friendly competition]
Cork shoes — specialized logging footwear with spikes — are familiar footwear for Austin, who hails from Hoonah and became a logger with Whitestone Logging in that community at age 22. He has competed in logging events since the inception of Gold Rush Days, and by 1999, when he was 37, he was traveling the country to compete in logging shows intended to demonstrate skills including log rolling.
In a log rolling contest, two people — Gold Rush Days has separate events for male and female competitors — balance atop a floating log. Each competitor tries to throw the other into the water by maneuvering the log. That means running on it like a treadmill, abruptly stopping it, changing direction, or any number of other techniques. Competitors aren’t allowed to touch each other, and the last person with a foot on the log (and without falling into the water) wins.
“Hand-eye coordination is important,” Austin said, though in this case, it may be “foot-eye” coordination.
As he explained, a competitor needs to keep a close watch on what the other person is doing. If they’re changing the direction of the roll, the other competitor needs to take steps to follow along or fight it.
He frequently practices during the summer on Twin Lakes and has already lodged a practice log near the shoreline.
Austin might be the returning champion at Gold Rush Days, but he’s not unbeatable. At last year’s Southeast Alaska State Fair, Haines storyteller and musician Cosmo Fudge toppled him into the water in the log-rolling contest there to take first place.
Fudge, 31, was competing for the first time, but it wasn’t his first time atop a log. He was born on a float camp, grew up in Wrangell, and spent five years towing logs.
Where Austin keeps his eyes locked on a competitor’s feet, Fudge keeps watch on his competitor’s core and hips. It’s some thing he learned while wrestling in high school in Ketchikan.
“Your core doesn’t lie; you know where someone’s going when you look at their core,” he said.
He offered another piece of advice: Don’t try to move around on the log. When you get on, your feet can change the way the log is rolling, but don’t try to flip the way you’re facing.
“As soon as you turn around, that kind of messes up your footing,” he said.
Above all else, he said, don’t be afraid to get wet.
“I think the most important thing, which is the probably the hardest thing is not panic when you know you’re going to get wet,” he said.
“It’s like skateboarding; you’re going to fall down. You’re going to fall in, you’re going to get wet. But when you get over that hump, when you get comfortable on the stick, it’s a lot of fun,” he said.
• Contact reporter James Brooks at jbrooks@juneauempire.com or 523-2258.
Veronica Friend, left, out duels Alea Oien in the log rolling contest at the 27th Annual Gold Rush Days Competition at Savikko Park on Sunday, June 18, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
