Coming off yesterday’s scouting exercise, I was motivated today to get the actual building of the footpath off my plate. It’d be tedious work, I knew that, but I was betting I could do it in a day.
First thing this morning I ran a couple of errands in town, then pulled the tools I’d need from the shed. After running a file over the cutters on the DeWalt chainsaw, I began creating the trail — starting near the picnic table and moving upslope, I used loppers to remove vines, seedlings, saplings and small branches. For bigger stuff I employed the saw.
Once I reached the edge of the woods, I had leaves and duff to rake off the path. Getting down to bare dirt exposed roots and loose rocks I could remove, eliminating at least some of the trip hazards.
Plenty of big, embedded and immovable rocks remain. We’ll just deal with that — we never envisioned this trail as smooth or pristine.
I arrived at the tree stand around 2pm, roughly three hours after I’d started. But the job wasn’t done yet. I went back to the shed, broke out our leaf blower and gave the trail one final grooming.
When it was all done, the track covered 85 yards and climbed 40 feet in elevation. Though the grade averages almost 17%, it’s not a strenuous walk — I incorporated a couple of flat sections to break up the exertion.
At our customary pace, it’ll be about a 90-second stroll up to the high ground.
I think the best part is that it’s an interesting trail. It passes The Amphitheater and several other rock features. It winds through a grove of mature cedars before entering hardwoods that dominate the terrain around the summit.
It’s a new gateway to some pretty special parts of The Mountain. We think that’s pretty cool.
And what was Deb doing while I was trail-building?
She was giving Dipstick his semi-annual haircut — and by that I mean she was shaving him down so that he looks (and smells) less like a homeless person.
It’s an ordeal. Drugs are involved. And it’s done for another six months.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB