Skidding trail maintenance

[near horse]

I would like to hear what the loggers in the snowbelt do to keep their skidding trails open/usable in the winter – does anyone roll snow anymore? We, like many of you, are watching the snow pile up at an impressive rate and wonder about getting into the woods. Winter sawing in some respects is more comfortable than working in the summer/fall. None of those dang yellow jackets trying to sting you while your sawing 😡

[Rick Alger]

I try to work directly after each storm if the access road is plowed. Usually I have to start with light pulls or just treading the trail.

I generally cut from the back of the lot toward the front and use the same main trail constantly. This gives me a good base. (The wood is usually marked in a fishbone pattern, so I loop into the cut from the main trail on a previously use skid path, and then pull wood back to the main trail on a new skid path. )

I plan on saving areas with a thick canopy for cutting late in the winter. (A lot of the snow in dense stands never gets to the ground.)

[Author]

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