Our property south of the creek has three ridges that run north/south like fingers off a plateau as it falls off into the creek bottom. There was an old logging trail we had always kept clear on the middle ridge. The houses are on the eastern most ridge. The western ridge (which we’ve always referred to as the third ridge) never had any trails of any sort. No matter which way you went, it was a pretty decent uphill hike to the spine of the ridge. Partly because we own enough of the plateau to get to the first two ridges from the top or bottom but to get to the third, you have to climb up from the trail that runs parallel to the creek down in the bottom.
I was at my father’s house a few months before he passed and he, out of the blue, said he’d always wanted a trail up the third ridge but for some reason he’d just walked it when he had a reason to go up there and now he wouldn’t ever be able to get up there again. Asked him if he really still wanted to be able to ride his 4 wheeler up there. He said he did but that would take a lot of work, the bottom was too wet to be slogging around with a tractor, and he didn’t have any good reason to justify that amount of work. Told him it wasn’t too wet for the Mule and no good reason was needed, so we went for a ride and scoped out a slope that he figured he could still handle with his 4 wheeler. Chainsaw and a couple hours the next day we had a trail that was just barely straight enough and wide enough to cram a 2 door Mule through. His 4 wheeler fit just swell so long as you went slow. No way a tractor bigger than a BX would have a chance.
Well, that was a couple years ago and one of the issues with trails too narrow and or twisty for the tractor to fit is you can’t use the tractor to maintain them. We’d had a couple decent size trees half fall across the third ridge trail so it seemed like a good time for a bit of an upgrade.
Between the skidding winch, grapple, and chainsaw, the L now can make it to the end of the trail. Had to take out several trees under 3” and a couple more in the 6” range, but nothing big. Still pretty tight for the L but that’s OK.