Advice for trail cutting.

[riptides]

Well I am just not having the luck I feel I should be having with these trails this year. Seems Mr. Beaver was at it again over the summer and left me with stumps of oak, popular and maple. Of course they sprouted up again.

The area is on a slope, so I really don't feel a tractor would be safe. One wrong move and well... water would be welcome if you know what I mean.

I spent the day with a chain saw hacking and cutting. It is very labor intensive.

A dozer would work, but I think safety again and cost would be too much.

What about a DR type machine or brush-type cutter?

How far should a get the stumps down with the chain saw?

Is there another way besides my labor intensive way?

A weed-wacker with a saw on the end?

The areas not on a slope, a FEL and bush-hog? Remember
some of these stumps are hard-wood.

Ideas welcome.
Thanks and Happy Holidays.
-Mike Z.

 

[MossRoad]

After you cut the trees, apply a herbicide to the stump, paying particular attention to the ring of bark, as that is where it will sprout again. An old dish washing detergent bottle makes an excellent dispenser. Just cut, squirt, cut squirt and keep moving. Be sure to mark the bottle as a herbicide. The stumps should rot out in about a year.

If you don't want to use herbicide and plan on having them dozed out, cut them and leave stumps several feet high for the dozer to use as leverage.

Once they are gone, just keep brush hogging several times a year and they will never come back.

 

[alan40]

Cutting trails anyway you look at it is alot of work during and after. When I first moved to my home all I had was a chainsaw to clear with so I cut the stumps right down flat to the ground and burned everything I cut. Let me tell you thorn trees are a pain. With some of the bigger stumps I would make them into chairs. You know cut down them over. I also live on a hill and makes for great stopping places. With the branchs I made benchs and placed them in good spots. I then would mow the fields or trails with my garden tractor after removing many rocks.
Now that I have my tractor I still cut the stumps to the ground but it is easier to push the brush around now. I brush hog all my cleared areas twice a year and it really maintains a nice look. For my trails I use a york rake to keep them clear,nice in the fall with all the leaves.
I didn't even think about a dozer etc. when I started clearing and couldn't of afforded it anyway with a new house and be just retired from the Navy.
Just be careful and take your time. It is labor intensive but the results are the greatest. Also if you can rent what you think you want to buy and see if it will perform to your standards before you buy.
Take care

 

[Egon]

Cutting trails is hard work no matter how you do it. Each little section will have its own quirks and has to be handled as such. You have gotten good advice from some others so happy trails.

Your cardiovascular system may just appreciate the heavy workout.

Egon

 

[oldgrizzlybear]

I'm not familar with "york rake". Will you please describe what this is.

Larry

 

[8NTX]

When I needed a long trail through heavy woods, I am REALLY glad that I hired a dozer. Best $250 I ever spent. Actually it was a fairly small track loader but the guy was talented and I was left with only a couple of small stumps. He did about 800 feet in just over 4 hours. I have made some smaller, meandering trails with a chain saw, ax, and my old 8N pulling a brush hog. Just aim for the path with the smallest trees!/w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif There are some threads about burning stumps on this forum that you might want to research.

 

[dmccarty]

riptides,

I use a chain saw to cut the tree down if they are much over
3-4 inch in diameter. Anything less I take down with a weed
wack/brush cutter with a saw blade.

It is hard work. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

The pines and oak stumps die. The Sweetgums stumps
sprout. I have some Sweetgum stumps that have two inch
saplings that have grown back in the last 2.5 years....

I try to cut all the stumps as close to the ground as possible.
Little stumps seem to trip me up and I don't like running over
larger stumps with the tractor.

Some people run the saplings over with the tractor and rotary
cutter but that just leaves tall shattered stumps. There are
too many things on my tractor that could get caugt running
over saplings so I just dont do it. The chainsaw and brush
cutter does the best job but it is labor intensive....

I'm having to clear out the pine saplings near my road. The
ice storm that came through a few weeks back left me with a
mess and if we had been living on the property it would have
taken me two-three days to clear the road so we could leave.
I will do all of the cutting with a chainsaw and brushcutter.

I'm really REALLY wanting that chipper to hook up to the PTO!
/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I might try to rent one but I'm not sure they are available with
all of the down trees and limbs.....

Later,
Dan McCarty

 

[riptides]

Well,
I guess there is no way around hard work. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I don't *really* mind it, but it is just so hard on the back after a while. This weekend in two days I went through 4 chains already.

I like MossRoad's reply about the herbicide. Thanks! I'll have to do that.

My main concern is like I said previous with the beaver stumps. They are sharp and dangerous looking. If only one could train these varmits on how to do trail work, my problem would be solved. Darn things are just so random and wide spread. If they would confine themselves to one area, I could live with them.

Again, thanks for all the good tips!
Happy Holidays.
-Mike Z.

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.yorkmodern.com/rakes.html>York Rake(Landscape Rake)</A>

 

[cisco]

Tractor with heavy duty brush cutter for stuff under (?) 2" - 4" in diameter, depending on your tractor pto and brush cutter, and chainsaw nearly flush with the ground the remainder ("Roundup" on the freshly cut stump ends tree life - end of problem). A dozer is optimal, obviously, but the aforementioned will suffice, and so will a chain saw and a decent, gas-powered weed whacker (Echo, Stihl, etc) with thick plastic line and saw attachments (so, by the way, will the DR unit - I had one before the enormity of the task forced me to a tractor) - plus a lot of cardiovascular workout time. Hey, my grandfather cleared trails with a regular ax (I still have it - don't make them as well now), horse and rope, and vegetation ax (basically, a thick scythe) - and he was 5'6" and 145 lbs - a determined guy can accomplish a heck of a lot (got my respect, for sure - I, as a college student on a weekend break, tried to keep up with him on a day of farm work - darn near killed me, and he was in his late 60's - the old folks were incredibly tough).