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Any ideas how to haul long logs from the woods with no vehicle?

 
pollinator
Posts: 148
Location: Southern Tier NY; and NJ
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I want to bring long-ish logs (lengths for garden beds & minor hugel-ing; some short but up to 8' or so if I can) from the woods on top of a hill down to the house. They're already cut to various lengths, and some are starting to decay; they're not all smooth and straight. The path out of the woods is pretty clear, just minor weeds & leaf litter. The distances to the edge of the woods will vary based on where the logs are; could be up to 100 yards. Then there's a big field of hay (it's May now, so it shouldn't be too high), which is luckily downhill, about 230 yards.

I feel like I could drag them on a tarp behind me walking but I might be over-estimating myself! I'm in decent shape but even still, I could do a little at a time, if needed, like over a few days. I have a one-wheel wheelbarrow but I can't imagine that working; the land is bumpy and I want longer logs than could fit. The only vehicle I'll have at the time is not able to reliably go through a hay field. I have rope, a straight ladder, and tools of almost any kind available, and maybe a couple 2x4's. I have 4-wheeler that doesn't work, so I can't get it up the hill. I have a dog but I think he's too old to play Iditarod, lol. We have a small dresser we'll be throwing out, and some throw rugs also destined for trash. Not sure why I'm mentioning them but I love a good brainstorming session and who knows what whacky ideas you all might come up with! I wonder if rolling them somehow, or prying them up to roll in bits at a time could work. The hill isn't very steep, for example if you imagine being a kid and rolling down a hill for fun, it isn't steep enough for that.

Now I'm thinking of tying rope to 2 corners of the tarp and getting inside the rope so it's across my chest? So I'd be like an ox, dragging the tarp of logs with the rope...?

Any cleverer ideas out there?
 
pollinator
Posts: 87
Location: Zone 7b, 600', Sandy-Loam, Cascadian Maritime Temperate
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Do you have block & tackle / pulleys available?
If so, I think you could save your back some considerable strain from pulling logs on tarps.
That is a lot of distance for a single length of rope, but if you did it in batches, pulling the logs to stations along the way, and moved your block & tackle setup a few times, it might be somewhat easy (depending how heavy these logs are).  

You would need some anchor points along the way to tether the pulleys, but your heavy work could be much reduced.

Just a thought.
 
pollinator
Posts: 5746
Location: Canadian Prairies - Zone 3b
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Like you, my natural urge is to DIY. That's not always the most effective way.

Is there an option to bring in friendly neighbours with quads and offer them coffee and cookies? Or if it's a big job, beer and burgers?

This accidentally builds community. When asked to help, people don't necessarily feel you're imposing -- in fact they feel you are showing great respect by asking for their expertise.
 
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