Clearing the trail with my winch

[1leglance]

The mention by Scott of a winch & recovery session was perfect timing as I just had a chance to use my winch to clear a trail!
I also figured that I need to buy another pulley so I could have practiced for the next Expo Trophy! No seriously the last Trophy recovery mental challenge taught me to think creatively about angles, pullies, cables and such.
So while out doing my emergency gear test I came across a big tree that had fallen over the trail.
I figured this would be a great chance to not only clear the trail but take my time trying different winch riggings. And stay nice and warm with a little axe work.

This is what I encountered.

And this was the rest of it.

So after I took to it with the axe as much as I could get at (note to self buy whetstone & folding camp saw) I figured to try and crack it with the Hi-Lift.

Then I figured to give it a little turn so I could chop my way through the rest of it.

Instead I was rewarded with a nice split.

But the crack was coming toward me when I needed to move the top section away from me so I re-rigged and figured I would finish the split going the other way.

Instead I was rewarded with a wonderfully clean break...of course it was 2 feet from where I had done all my chopping. This resulted in a few minutes of teary eyed laughter which then made a red squirrel start chattering at me, which resulted in more laughter at all my hard work.

So new rigging and away goes the top section.

Then another batch of rigging to move the bottom section.

Free at last! Free at last! Go west young man. The way is clear & full steam ahead.
Also to be noted that there was already a wide spot in the trail forming where folks had turned around here. If you come upon blockage on a trail please clear it as a part of Tread Lightly and helping others enjoy the outdoors. Not to mention it is a great feeling when you are all done.
Please note I wore gloves, and sunglasses with shatter proof lenses the entire item. I did not step on or over the winch cable and I respooled under tension afterward.

 

[crawler#976]

Hey Lance!

That looks familiar - with all the dead and down up here I'm sure it will be the primary use of my winch. I pull 4 trees off a trail on the 24th of Dec.

One of the unfortunate things that's happening up here is when people come across a D&D they are driving around them vs turning around or removing them via winch, strap, or saw. It's causing a lot of damage...

Mark

 

[Desertdude]

Well done Lance - it is amazing what you can accomplish by yourself with a winch on the trail.

 

[p1michaud]

Winch away.

Lance,
Excellent work. Nice to see someone spending some quality winching time. When you have the luxury of time, you can learn quite a bit that transfers directly to when a more serious situation presents itself.

Your winch is seeing some great use so far, from the competition at the Expediton Trophy...

Photo credit: Big_Geek from the Expediton Trophy 2007 thread.

Photo credit: articulate from the Expediton Trophy 2007 thread.

To the recovery classes...

Great stuff!

Cheers :beer:,
P

 

[articulate]

What a cool shot, showing tree straps, shackles, and a pulley in action:

 

[IH8RDS]

Great work. I always look foward to pulling cable. I had to do the same thing you did last spring while clearing a trail.

 

[Scott Brady]

Yeah, I use my winch eight times out of ten for trail clearing/work.

 

[PhulesAU]

Since I've never spent any time around a new FJ, I gotta ask ..... Why you did it the hard way??? A tree that small and being pine, I'd have nosed the Jeep up to it and used the winch to snug the tree up to the bumper. Then just "carried" it off the trail.

 

[Ursidae69]

Excellent example of Tread Lightly, nice work and love the part about the tree breaking where you hadn't yet chopped, that was funny. :shakin:

 

[overlander]

Good stuff. Thanks for sharing!

 

[alaskantinbender]

Very creative way of practising with your winch.
I carry a chain saw in my truck. We find those pesky wind falls often and carry them home for winter wood.:26_7_2:


Regards,

Jim

 

[Alaska Mike]

I usually use those deadfalls to block any bypasses that have been created. Make the main trail the easiest route and the bypass has no reason for being there. I usually don't put winch pressure on deadfall until it has been cut, simply because it's already unpredictable to start out with. A bow saw or chainsaw makes for a easier cut, but I also carry the axe for strees relief.

 

[1leglance]

Since I've never spent any time around a new FJ, I gotta ask ..... Why you did it the hard way??? A tree that small and being pine, I'd have nosed the Jeep up to it and used the winch to snug the tree up to the bumper. Then just "carried" it off the trail.

I posted the picture of the rest of the tree that was across the creekbed to show that it was not a small tree.
Also since I had just taken my Tread Lightly Trainer course and I had nothing but time on my hands (and gloves of course) I figured I would do the least damage to surrounding follage and cut the tree in 2 with part on each side.

On the axe vs saw thing I didn't really understand the reason folks carry a good folding bow/camp saw till I was pounding away with my axe.....good stress workout but wasted energy.

Also any edged tool without a method of sharpening it is a waste....note to self

Really it was the rigging concepts that the Expo Trophy taught me to think about that I enjoyed the most.

 

[RoundOut]

Great rigging lessons here!

Lance,

Thanks for posting this up! I learned a ton from observing your rigging technique. At a minimum, I need another tree strap, and probably another snatch block, too!

The offset pull from the side tree, not only makes for a great way of getting debris off the path, but adds another degree of safety, too. I am new to winching and appreciate the lessons!


.

 

[IH8RDS]

I have a Warn Recovery Kit that has all the important stuff. Chocker chain, d-rings, snatch block, tree saver and gloves. I also used the winch to demo an old tin shed that was in the back yard before I moved. Using the winch helped save the grass and landscaping and it has alot more controlled.