I maintain hiking trails across my own, 2 neighbors to the right and 2 neighbors to the left and a couple neighbors up over a dam and back up the hill from the dam. Started off using nippers and a DR wheeled trimmer and hand-carried grass whip and chain saw. Then I graduated to a Gravely with 30" bush hog/mower, doing a swipe each way. Need a minimum of 5' width for even one person, to keep tall stuff from rubbing on you. When the tall stuff (wing stem) starts laying over, you need to enlarge to 6 and 7' in places.
Most places, all I had to do was to widen deer trails with trimmer/bush hog/nipper/chain saw. One trail ended up in a flood overflow zone; so, I moved uphill to an old maintenance trail constructed by the farmer who originally owned the land. Had to clear out a couple logs that had fallen and cut back a bunch of saplings with nippers and chain saw, helped with Roundup and Brush-Be-Gone. On my own property, the old farm house driveway ran through it. There were a couple trees that had fallen over that I had to cut and remove. Otherwise, when a tree falls, if it is easier to reroute around it, I do it. Did this when one fell near the creek but over onto my property. The trail now goes up and over the root area of the tree.
The neighbor 3rd one over had trails all over his property. His plus what I've done amount to 4 or 5 miles worth in, basically, the riparian area along a creek.
The trail up to the dam and back up the hill that way is maintained mainly with a grass whip and nippers. Too steep and rugged to get a tractor up that dam and then up the hill.
It's worth it. Chance of seeing anyone down there is less than 1% during the times I hike it. So, I do it nude most of the time.
Ralph
