Dale's series of farm improvement projects --- 1. Hiking Trails and Accessing Difficult Terrain.

I've visited the land more in the last six months than I had during the preceding five years. Those sporadic trips were usually to check on things and to drop off a few unneeded items. A lot of time was spent maintaining the 1 km (.62 mile) road. Scotch broom, berry bushes, butterfly bush and young trees constantly reach for the light and need trimming. Now that logged areas have 50 ft. forest cover, rampant undergrowth is less vigorous. My tenant uses his excavator for road maintenance. The road now requires about 10 hours of my time in a year.

When I bought the property 12 years ago, a tangle of logging slash covered in bracken fern, Scotch broom, fireweed, berry bushes and sun burnt salal made it very difficult to get around in many areas. The wetter, more lush spots were particularly difficult to traverse. Any trail that was cleared, quickly grew in with more of the same. It's much easier now. Shade from the forest controls growth and makes my job more comfortable. I've decided to make access my primary goal for this year. I'm going to make trails along all but my steepest slopes. There are many spots where I haven't been in years.

The first trail runs along the south facing slope from my cottage to Randy's 5th wheel trailer. It's about a 400 ft trip with a view of the river valley below. Salal and Oregon grape cover the ground. Overhanging tree branches and butterfly bush present overhead obstacles. Thick ground cover makes the terrain appear more even than it actually is. Rocks and holes from long gone tree stumps are hidden from view. Once the material is cut to less than two inches high, tripping hazards are clearly visible.

These first three photos show the view. Future posts will show the trail improvement methods employed. All photos are cell phone quality. I'm afraid of losing my good camera during this process. When each trail is complete, I'll go around and get some quality shots with a far superior camera.

The primary tool used for trail clearing has been my cordless electric hedge cutter. I'm often faced with a wall of green, where it is impossible to see what lies beyond. The hedge cutter clears everything smaller than my index finger. Once larger brush is visible, I use the loppers. These two tools do almost all of the work. I have two hands, so this is all I bring into a new area. Larger stuff is left in place until a later trip with the chainsaw in hand. With all of the brush cleared, the chainsaw can be used quickly, without it clogging up with little crap. About 80% of the work involves the hedge cutter. Rather than cutting berry bushes and salal off at the bottom, I start at the top and mulch them in place. The cutter is passed through about every four inches. This material falls onto the path and is left as a mulch. On flat ground, I shear the sticks 3/4 of an inch above the soil. Rocks are no problem at all. The guard teeth protect the sharp inner teeth. There are no small surface rocks which could get inside the cutter. Only larger rocks stick above the duff layer. The cutter does not harm large trees that are bumped. I often run it down the sides of young trees to knock off all of the pencil sized branches that would take forever using loppers.

I own a new, top of the line Stihl weed whacker with a metal brush cutting attachment. It is unsuited to this task. The much cheaper little hedge cutter is far superior. A gas powered weed whacker spews fumes while flinging cut material in every direction. They are no good at mulching. They are for cutting material at the ground. If I were to mow all of this stuff at the ground, it would then need to be cleared from the trails. The hedge cutter does not fling material at my face or anywhere else, but allows it to drop at my feet, right where it is needed. It is quiet and operates for pennies a year. The weed whacker is loud and consumes a gas oil mix. When the hedge cutter bumps a rock or tree, it bounces off without harm. When a metal weed whacker cutter hits a tree, it takes a chunk out of it. Various obstacles can cause the blade to kick sideways which may send the blade into areas that don't need to be chopped. The hedge cutter wins. It's not even close.

Sometimes the best path lies near a big bush. This butterfly bush is about 11 ft. tall. It took about three minutes to cut a 6 1/2 ft tunnel through it. Hikers like walking through floral tunnels.

Salmon berries are often bent over paths by heavy snow. It took under a minute to mulch this one. I often leave the trail to mulch berries or broom that blocks the view.

When I do mixed trail building with hedge machine and loppers, a battery lasts about 1 1/2 hours. Steady mulching of 8 ft salmon berries in dense thickets, can kill a battery in 40 minutes. I never leave the property without exhausting both batteries, and I never return without charging them first. This forces me to do at least 2 hours of trail building on any day that I go to town. When there is a mix of hedge cutter, lopper and chainsaw work along trails, I can stretch battery life to four hours.

This little valley is 150 ft across. The bracken ferns van grow 7 feet tall. They make the terrain appear smoother than it is and they obscure vision. My largest maples grow on the upper slopes. It took an hour and twenty minutes to reclaim around 6000 sq ft of the valley. Once cleared of bracken fern and little maples, it was revealed that the whole area is filled with little hillocks topped by sword ferns. Now I can comfortably walk the area and see where I'm going. The hillocks are a peat like material. Some will be piled by the excavator, for use in potting mixes. The sea of green now reveals pathways. The sun will soon dry out cut materials. Brown paths against a green background are easy to follow.

Once an area is cleared of view blocking growth, it will be easier to maintain. With all of the big stuff sawn out, future work will rely more heavily on the hedge cutter.

Deer were using this path a day after it was cut. The salal and Oregon grape are on their menu. New growing tips are prefered. Once a path is established, deer and rabbits will help keep it open.

About a third of an acre of my best soil is occupied by 8-10 ft salmon berries that are in decline. They seldom produce a berry. This entire area will be levelled. All will be mulched in place. Branches too thick for the hedger will be cut into 6 inch chunks with loppers and chainsaw. A mattock will pop the roots up. This is the only plant that I will attempt to completely eliminate on all portions of the property. Preliminary tests reveal that I can expect to conquer between 300 to 500 sq ft per hour.

More trail building today, only 12 days after my last run. It's been 10 years since I have returned to the property more than once in a month. It will soon be home, at least part time.

I bought the most powerful cordless hedge cutter available. It's a 56 volt E-go. Cuts better than my old gas machine. The battery lasted over an hour, chewing through dense thickets. The little machine is very light, so it was used on the bracken and on berry bush tops. This left only heavy work for the big machine. I started at 6 am. and finally killed the last battery at 1:20 pm. Before, I was worried about battery life, now I prayed for it to die, so I could rest in the air conditioned Starbucks where I charge my batteries. It's an awesome machine. Photos later.

So far today, I've cut about
400 ft. of trail and cleared 2000 sq. ft. of 4 ft. tall Salal and 10 ft bushes. There's still lots of lopper work and chainsaw work on the big cleared area. I discoverd a bog that is vastly changed from when it was covered in berry bushes. Eight years ago, I built an earthen dam, to trap water here. Nature has taken over. Photos and a new thread later. There will be a boardwalk into a skunk cabbage bog.

These photos are of trails set along the ridge which affords panoramic views of the valley and distant mountains.

Later that day, I returned after the heat of the afternoon and continued until dark... It's been hot this month, so I start early and go at it like a man possessed until it gets hot. Nights are cool. I roll out of the van before dawn and get cutting by 5:30 am. , rest for a few hours and go until I'm working by moonlight. I switch to lopper work on the sun baked slopes as light fades. The wetter, heavily shaded areas are reserved for 10 am. until the heat comes and again at about 5 pm. when I go back at it, until the heat subsides. Mosquitos aren't active at this time of day. Then it's back to the dry slopes until dark. Luckily, these areas are not very far apart. My bog is only 200 ft from a dry slope. By splitting the day, I'm able to get in a good solid 10 hours.

Attire: I start off wearing two shirts and sometimes long johns. Nights are cool. By 8 am. I am down to one shirt, light puffy pants (similar to paratrooper pants) and no underwear. A broad brimmed hat keeps the sun and sticks off my head. Shirts are not tucked in. I often dip my shirts in water. Evaporative cooling makes the hottest day into a cool spring day. I shower in my clothes and shoes, at least twice a day. Big jugs of water sit atop my sunniest hugelkultur mound. I shower right there, so that the bed absorbs the water.

Once I'm living at the property, I won't feel compelled to work night and day. Work like this will be spread out. If paid work has been slack and the muscles need a good run, I'll bang out a few hundred feet of trail. Right now, I work like this, since my time here is limited and I want results. Quite often, when I'm in the city, I finish my work early and there is nothing more for me to do, so I fritter away the time at this and that. Having your own land means you will never have absolutely nothing to do.
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More trail photos --- Early morning is the perfect time to cut view windows along the South facing slope. There is 1.2 km of this slope which runs along the crest of the valley. I will complete 1/3 of that by October.

What a beautiful place Dale!
I love the paths that go under shrubs like arches and tunnels.

Dale Hodgins wrote:
Once I'm living at the property, I won't feel compelled to work night and day. Work like this will be spread out. If paid work has been slack and the muscles need a good run, I'll bang out a few hundred feet of trail. Right now, I work like this, since my time here is limited and I want results. Quite often, when I'm in the city, I finish my work early and there is nothing more for me to do, so I fritter away the time at this and that. Having your own land means you will never have absolutely nothing to do.

This is so true. Term time I often feel frustrated - wasted evenings when it isn't worth getting in the car to tool up and do some heavy work before it gets dark. I'm enjoy the summer holiday now - staying at my parent's place. Today I went through 5 tanks on the chainsaw clearing brush and then spent 5 hours getting it all tidied up and burned.

We are putting in a permanent chicken run so the burn pile went in the new run area. Chickens will turn and kick down the huge pile of biochar for me, and mix it in with the compost they are making. Another big day tomorrow. Want to start constructing their coop.

Miles Flansburg wrote:What a beautiful place Dale!
I love the paths that go under shrubs like arches and tunnels.

Thanks, Miles. I look for opportunities to do tunnels. Butterfly bush can be view blockers or they can be features. I want to create some shaded seating in one of them. My hottest slope grows broom, but no trees. I plan to do a long pergola, covered in grapes. There are wineries in the area, so I know it's the right spot.

Narrow corridors between maples can have a tunnel effect. About 400 ft. of the road has a full canopy of maples that reach from either side. If I need a mid day break, I park my van there and it's quite dark. Being on the edge of the slope, there's usually a breeze. The windows are dark tinted where the bed is. Sometimes I cover the roof and south windows with a sleeping bag draped on the outside. A great spot on a hot day. There will be trails there as well, but that spot lies 1500 ft from where I'm currently working.

Photos to follow. My phone/camera has given me trouble since every crevice was filled with a fine dust that comes off the salmon berries.

Michael Cox wrote:

Dale Hodgins wrote:
Once I'm living at the property, I won't feel compelled to work night and day. Work like this will be spread out. If paid work has been slack and the muscles need a good run, I'll bang out a few hundred feet of trail. Right now, I work like this, since my time here is limited and I want results. Quite often, when I'm in the city, I finish my work early and there is nothing more for me to do, so I fritter away the time at this and that. Having your own land means you will never have absolutely nothing to do.

This is so true. Term time I often feel frustrated - wasted evenings when it isn't worth getting in the car to tool up and do some heavy work before it gets dark. I'm enjoy the summer holiday now - staying at my parent's place. Today I went through 5 tanks on the chainsaw clearing brush and then spent 5 hours getting it all tidied up and burned.

We are putting in a permanent chicken run so the burn pile went in the new run area. Chickens will turn and kick down the huge pile of biochar for me, and mix it in with the compost they are making. Another big day tomorrow. Want to start constructing their coop.

One thing that I do for the farm while I'm 65 miles away in the city, is gather free resources. I regularly check Used Victoria's free section. All manner of furnishings and garden stuff comes up. I've gathered several stainless steel sinks for garden use and several garden forks, clay pots, wire fencing etc. I also make phone calls. I was downtown when I struck a deal for an excavating company to bring me big bins of tree waste for hugelkultur. They pay me. I've contacted several landscapers about receiving their grass clippings and a firewood guy who may rent a patch of gravel where he will process and dry wood. All of his bark and rotten cores are a short wheelbarrow ride to the edge of a big hugel pit. He's in trouble with his wife and the city over the build up of waste materials. I need rotten wood. All of these contacts were made while I was away from the land.

Good news and bad. My old phone died and many nice trail shots may be unrecoverable. That's the bad. On the plus side, my new phone is water and dust proof and the camera works well in all lighting. Fine dust from the salmon berries probably killed the old one.

This photo was taken at dusk. I'm in the city now. Here's a nice plant that shows photo quality.

--- Back to trails --- There are many spots where the trails could use some fill. Some sink holes exist where stumps have rotted and some steep areas need to have logs laid along the downhill side of the trail so that dirt dumped there will level the path. Cut and fill is standard when roads are built. This could cause erosion on slopes. Instead, I will mine the many gravelly piles of soil along the roadside. Most trails are within 100 ft. of the road. Trails will be filled using a wheelbarrow. Many little connector trails will lead from the road. I'll dump material whenever it's too bumpy for the wheelbarrow to go further.

Back for more. We've had rain. Everything cuts easier when wet. I drove my ex wife to the airport at 4:15 am. Then I headed to the land and got there at 5. Started by emptying the van. It was jammed to the roof with hedge clippings from 3 different jobs.

I headed out to survey my kingdom before dawn.

On dark trails, light colored lichens are the first visible life. Dry leaves define the trails. Morning comes slowly on rainy days. It only rained a little at 6am but the trees kept dripping until noon.

These trees are quite sculptural.

Edit... WiFi failed me yesterday. The photos will have to be added later, when I get to town.
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A spaceship landed here many years ago. This stone head was built to honor the friendly alien who visited.

The view changes regularly after a rain. Mornings are overcast then it burns off in the afternoon this time of year. In winter, we can expect weeks of clouds.

Later in the day.

I did lots of lopper work yesterday. Small evergreens hog ground space. Hardwoods use sky space. During any succession where conifers take over, there is a point when the ground becomes so crowded with branches that it's very difficult to get around.

Branch pruning is laborious, but satisfying. Each tree takes 2 minutes and I gain an average of 75 square feet of walkable space. At the same time, I lop down many crowded and misshapen specimens in the one to three inch range. My giant loppers can cut 3 inch stuff. I go within half an inch from the ground.

Sounds like satisfying work. What gorgeous land.

I have found the game thing about deer on trails- they help keep talks open as soon as I cut them. I've been working on the trails around here mostly in winter. The more they are used, the better. What are your plans for this property? Is this where the bus tours will go?

The plans are many. Plans exceed finances by half a million or so. Some bus business may go here. Group things like reunions or green building workshops.

More traffic would help the trails. I'll need insurance.

The place is long and skinny. 1.2 km or 5/8 of a mile by an average of 125 ft. All of the best views for this entire length along the ridge are mine. Several neighbors paid more than me but got far less. One, a neighbor on 5 acres of dry gravel with poor views and no surface water, was using my place for his outdoor business before I bought it. I found many real estate signs stashed in the bushes. Somebody didn't want it to sell. I got it for less than half of the original asking price after it was on the market for more than five years. Prices were on the rise at that time.

All of these glamor shots are fun, but I'm not really spending much time on those areas. After cutting back the bracken ferns and little maples, the really pretty spots are done for now.

I spend many hours sweeping the hedging equipment in long arches over my head until bushes are roughly six feet tall and then slicing the finger sized branches into four inch to one foot chunks. This stuff doesn't cut like the soft blackberry bushes in gardens. The wood is very hard. Everything is a potential eye poker or impaler. If I were to fall on the remaining sticks that are too thick even for the big hedge cutter, I could literally be run through on the jagged branches. Every impenetrable thicket that I have shown, is now mulch. About 60% of the real drudgery is over. When I cut trails along the ridge that overlooks the valley, I am able to get up to 200 ft. of trail done in an hour. 1000 sq. ft. of thicket took 80 minutes of constant motion.

Much of the best soil is covered in trees of little value.

I'm doing an improvement cut at the same time as trail cutting.

Wildlife. Lots of birds here. This owl seems to be following me. My actions often stir up prey. He waits until a little bird or rodent makes a run for it. After giving chase, the owl returns to a perch near me. Several hunts have been successful.

Very nice pics of the owl

David

Hi David. Here he is a few days later. I've only seen him while I use hand tools. Mostly that means loppers or a pole for trimming branches. Ravens, robins, thrushes and starlings seem more interested when I dig. They are more likely to feed on soil fauna or critters that scurry away. Ravens are extremely wary. The others investigate while I'm still there.

The last photo is of a turkey buzzard. Soaring birds ride thermals that rise off the hot slope.