Err, not quite. Just had a swampy mud hole on the new trail through the property. Decided instead of using the trail and mucking it up I’d spend a little time attempting to tame it first. Besides, I had some short telephone poles that the womenfolk had cleared the brush all around from. Knew it was only a matter of time (short) before I got orders to make them disappear. Two birds one stone. Ran out of poles quick so I knocked down a couple small maples to finish. I’ll toss some fieldstone around it yet. Same trail has a stonewall I’m going over. Rare for my area but this section is all small potato sized stone. Might as well use them instead of driving over them. Then maybe spread more crushed stone on top the pad. Let it work down in between the sticks. Maybe sand or bark in the future. Whatever works.
Plank roads were common in many parts of the country at one time. Your post reminds me of Swamp Loggers show. They cut trees and made roads for the skidding equipment to travel on; even with the huge tyres that gave buoyancy they still needed to lay down logs for the roads. Then at the end they would pull up the logs from the roads and get them out to the mills as well.
I have a problem down in the little valley; a wash cuts across the road. I can put down logs like you did in order to allow the Old Girl to cross but then if we get a huge "gulley washer" as they call them here the logs act like a dam and causes the water to flow down into the garden area. I am going to have to get some pipe in or build a bridge. Getting pipe in isn't easy without equipment so I guess a bridge will be in order.
Yep, seen the swamp loggers. Might be where I first learned of the idea. I’ve also been through New Orleans. The roads there were all originally made of logs. You can still see them in some places when the tar falls off. Sort of amazing they’re still there after all those years. Recently finished a bridge. I’m cutting a trail through the wetlands of my property. Always had to drive all the way around. It’ll save a lot of time and I can access my processing area without going through the lawns which get muddy just like everything else. And I don’t have to share this trail with all the 4x4 trucks that drive through on the regular trail. Much easier to maintain this way.
This is the area that I need to deal with. The road comes down level on one side then there is a hump that I have to cross over with the tractor and it is not easy to navigate over. I need to have a culvert to allow the water to flow; in heavy downpours I have seen a huge amount of water flow down through that; often jumping over and eroding the edge of the road on the other side. It is nothing but hillside here.
Well a tractor is a start. Craigslist or FB marketplace you may find some suitable drainage pipe. Any stone walls in the area? Set the pipe(s) and fill all around with stone. Depending on the pipe you get you can drive over the old concrete pipes or build a short suitable wood deck over the system.
Yes, when I get the Old Girl back in operation, I should be able to use the tractor to carry the pipe down and put it in place. There are plenty of stones on the property; weathered from the igneous dykes that run through this region. With the lift not operating up to par, I use to have trouble crossing with heavy implements. The lift is why I went in and then discovered the other damage.
Good eye. That’s how I get the big boys onboard. Original hard rubber bow rollers didn’t cut it. Upgraded to the harder plastic type.
Did some more work on the trail today. Started with the old stone wall that I must cross to get from the processing area to the woods. It was a low point already and mostly small stone. Hiding boulders underneath of course. Pried a few boulders. Smashed the tops off some with a 16lb stone hammer. Remembered why I retired that thing,,,and myself. Only collected up a half wagon of potato stone. The rest I filled the boulder holes with. Tossed them in the ramp. In front, on sides, in between and big gaps in the logs. Then I tackled any stones in the first 400 yards of trail. Same operation. Pry out the loose ones. Smash down the bigguns. It’s coming along nicely. This is the only section of trail I’m considering sweetening up as it’s now the new main branch. After that it’s a free for all. Only took one pic of the ramp which didn’t really change much. I’ll probably cart the loose bark I get from processing and spread it all over the top. Smooth it up a bit. It’s smoother than I thought it would be already.
I put small hemlock logs in a mud hole 10 years ago and they haven’t gotten rotten yet, I would have thought they would by now
