Transporting Firewood

[pafire]

My daughter has property that is very rocky and somewhat steep. This winter has been very hard on the trees located on her property, with a lot of them dying and being blown over. The problem is transporting the firewood from the downed trees to the wood pile. the terrain is very steep and rocky. we are looking for ideas on how to transport the firewood. Since there is a lot of useful and interesting information scattered throughout the firewood forum. We would be quite appreciative to hear how you transport your firewood. Also there is no available trail for any motorized equipment to be used.

 

[KiwiBro]

somewhat steep.

Zip line/pulley system. Fly it in/out.

 

[pafire]

KiwiBro thanks for the reply A zip line would be great, however we have no means as to attach it at the bottom.

 

[blades]

Deep hole, sink a pole, brace it and back fill hole - problem solved. Possible to do similar with out sinking a hole, just got to build an arrangement that will support stress and is anchored securely.

 

[jwade]

would you be able to access the trees with an atv and small trailer and or log arch and winch

 

[pafire]

We have no access with any motorized equipment to the area where the trees are located, also the area is very steep and there are some large rocks to transverse so a zip line is also out of the question. I was thinking of using a plastic sled or a pointed car hood after a light snowfall. Has anyone tried to do this and what may be the problems associated.

 

[Big_Eddy]

How far are you moving it
How much wood are we talking about
Uphill or down

The usual solutions are winches, cables and skidders at the one extreme and wheelbarrows or carrying at the other.

 

[ATH]

How big are the pieces you are trying to move (diameter and length)?

 

[BC WetCoast]

I had a guy years ago who contracted to remove cedar shake blocks from old logging slash. This was before helicopters were used. On steep slopes what he would do is attach a high tensile wire to a stump at the top. At the bottom, he would wrap it around a stump and tie it to his truck to get tension. He would slip a pipe over the wire uphill of the lower stump.

When he was in the block, he would take a shake block, and using two fencing staples, attach the block to the wire (not tightly). Then the block would slide down the wire, and when it hit the pipe, the staples would get blown off and the block would fall on the road.

 

[pafire]

Big Eddy- we are looking at 10 or more trees and looking to move it 400 or so yards, downhill over very steep ( 20 degree slope )rocky mountain ground

 

[Big_Eddy]

Big Eddy- we are looking at 10 or more trees and looking to move it 400 or so yards, downhill over very steep ( 20 degree slope )rocky mountain ground

In the old days they used to rig up a tall pole with a drag line and winch whole trees to the landing. Check out some of the old coastal logging videos.
IMO you are probably better off leaving them right where they are. Section them as needed so they are not hazardous and leave them for habitat. Unless you want to build a trail in, the effort exceeds the reward.

 

[sonny580]

Not knowing your hill, I would still go for long cable and pull with winch, very slow and have helpers guide the sections down.--Since this is downhill ,it should work, BUT as already stated it won't pay for your time/expense/risk/etc. thanks ; sonny580