Building a cabin road

[gdicks]

So is this a case where the best route for a road might not be feasible because it's not the best route to clear with a BX? 1/4 mile is nothing to sneeze at if you're clearing with chainsaw and small tractor, so it might be a situation where you have to forgo the optimum path for a road and think mainly about the path that you can clear with your available time/tools/equipment. That means giving less weight to some of the traditional factors we use when picking the path of a road.

If it's really only to be a path for a UTV/ATV/BX, then just pick the easiest route to make the road. Chances are, no matter what path you choose, if you want to come back and make a bigger wider road for vehicles later on, you're going to need a heck of a lot more equipment than a BX anyway, so it will be a whole different level of effort whether you use the same path or make a new one.

When we developed our property, I made a path in for my (at the time) B2920. I picked the path of least resistance so that I could gain access to the area where I'd be cutting firewood and hauling it back out. I had to cut a few big trees, but it was mostly saplings that I could cut to a 2' stump and then use a brush grubber to yank the stump out. The path was just wide enough for the tractor. A couple years later when we put in a driveway, many other factors dictated the route. The middle of the driveway overlaps some my old path, but for the most part the driveway dictated its own route based on it's own considerations. At that point we had an tracked excavator and could knock down trees like toothpicks, so difficulty wasn't part of the equation.

Excellent point which is my biggest dilemma. I want to take the no hill route but due to much of this route being on the side hill may require more dirt moving / stump removal than I can reasonably do on the BX. The other route while going up and back down the hill is definately easier for the BX because the saplings are pretty small in that area less than an inch and the BX could push through easily with my pirahana bar on the bucket. Ill have to consider the slope on the hill trail as the limiting factor. I think another trip to site is in order.

 

[tommu56]

I don't know if it will translate to well north of the order but here is the link i used on my road.

http://na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/stewardship/accessroads/accessroads.pdf

another good link

http://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8262.pdf

3rd link

https://www.buncombecounty.org/common/soil/laymans_guide_to_access_road.pdf

tom

 

[gdicks]

When do you plan to start cutting the trail? BTW, I want a remote cabin.

I've cut the first part which was pretty easy but i've reached the bottom of the hill and have to decide which way I intend to go around. Id say my cutting days are soon over. We havnt had much snow here yet which is very strange for January. Once it starts snowing we will have 4-5 feet within weeks so any trail cutting will wait till spring. I had hoped to have a route cut so I could bring enough building materials in by snowmobile to build a shed to get the process started. Although with one more trip I can probably clear away enough brush to make a winter route over the marshy area for this purpose..

 

[GPintheMitten]

Can you bring building materials over a frozen lake? Or via boat when not frozen?

 

[airbiscuit]

Excellent point which is my biggest dilemma. I want to take the no hill route but due to much of this route being on the side hill may require more dirt moving / stump removal than I can reasonably do on the BX. The other route while going up and back down the hill is definitely easier for the BX because the saplings are pretty small in that area less than an inch and the BX could push through easily with my pirahana bar on the bucket. Ill have to consider the slope on the hill trail as the limiting factor. I think another trip to site is in order.

So why not develop the orange trail? It gets you quick access for your tractor and UTV, and lets you start playing with the cabin site. I don't want to minimize the work effort, but it sounds manageable in a reasonable amount of time. It gets you up and running the fastest.

Once done, you can see how the trail layout and soil handle erosion, and how it will be to navigate later as a full fledged road.

At best, it will prove to be something you can tweak and improve and turn into a road. At worst, it guides you to later make the blue route the road, and you end up with a recreational trail as a bonus. Either way, you and your tractor get to play on your property more quickly.

 

[forgeblast]

Why not two? if one way is blocked you have another way out?

 

[airbiscuit]

Amazing what those small Kubotas can do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzD4XQAPECs Maybe you can send us a video when you are working it ;o) Do you have a box blade or other implements of destruction?

In any case, post pics of the property. It looks like you have a good thing going there.

 

[Deerherd]

I would hire a guy with a bulldozer to cut a path in on the most level grade and save the wear and tear on you and your equipment. A day and DONE!

Makes a great start on your road also.

 

[Jim Timber]

1/4 mile isn't all that hard either. I've put some time in on mine, but it's not like it's been a concerted effort of weeks and weeks. I will say, don't go around a tree just to make the trailblazing easier. I ended up putting a lot of corduroy down which avoided a 24" log in the swamp and in the end it made pulling a trailer impossible because I didn't go the straightest route.

I'm also voting for the blue route. You can make a bunch of trails for the atv, but your road should be the flattest possible to allow cars a better chance of navigating it when the conditions aren't optimal. My road has the hill(s) as you'll see on the video, and I plan on bringing in fill to level that out a bit more before we start building the new house.

 

[newbury]

I've been out there several times and walked it as many ways as I can and these are the only two options I can see. I can probably get access to the site via the beach but Id like to get the trail route figured out so I can start the cutting. The lake is a hydro reservoir so the water level varies widely year to year and beach access wont always be available. The ground in the area is Extreemly sandy which makes me more worried about washing out, although the road I am branching off doesnt seem to have much trouble. In looking at the site though the guys who built that road followed the contour of the hill as much as they could.

By the way Corner Brook is in Western Newfoundland, Canada.

Sandy soil is better than marsh or rock.

I've cut the first part which was pretty easy but i've reached the bottom of the hill and have to decide which way I intend to go around. Id say my cutting days are soon over. We havnt had much snow here yet which is very strange for January. Once it starts snowing we will have 4-5 feet within weeks so any trail cutting will wait till spring. I had hoped to have a route cut so I could bring enough building materials in by snowmobile to build a shed to get the process started. Although with one more trip I can probably clear away enough brush to make a winter route over the marshy area for this purpose..

You probably know but beware of marshy areas with snowmobiles. I helped pull more than one guy out of a "frozen over" marsh that collapsed. But that was when I lived in Northern Vermont.

If you are good with the snowmobile and a sled that might be the easiest way to haul in building materials for a shed. Get a good snowpack, pack a decent trail, and stuff skids rather easily.

Regardless, whatever you do this forum thrives on pictures.