Alright, the cabin is nearly complete and it's time to start cleaning the place up, I got alot of windfalls and logging scrap around the camp area and gonna start cleaning it up. Some will get burnt right away the rest will be firewood for the stove. Other than the basics (chainsaw, chains, cable, winch,Ax) any suggestions for some low impact logging/ clean up

 

If you mean not ripping up the ground dragging the logs out of the woods, I would get a good trailer to pull behind the Cat. I bought a Bush Buggy up in Vermont that has nice wide and soft ATV tires. Pretty low impact and holds about 1/4 of a cord of wood. I cut the wood where it falls, load up, and trailer it out. I try not to go over my own tire marks to further reduce the impact. Can't think of anything else other than setting up a boom chain system to hoist logs off the ground and glide them to the spot where you want to process them. That would be too much for me.

 

I am thinking of a trailer concept like you said or maybe a log dog not sure yet. I got some pretty steep hills to contend with, So with that in mind I am trying to save on the wear and tear on my cat!

 

I stay on the brakes on the steep hills rather than let it push the quad down. And of course low range. I tend to load the trailer as full as it will go to save time and I really watch it when I go down to where I have the truck parked.

 

A logging arch of some kind is helpful. yes you can skid logs behind your ATV without one but it is much, much easier using one. Easier on your machine too.

A timberjack is pretty helpful. Helps keep your chain out of the dirt and you don't have to stop and sharpen it nearly as much.

Northern Tool Timberjack

If you're going to be doing any sort of pulling and horsing logs around a good grab chain is almost essential.
Northern Tool Log Grab Chain


I haven't tried one personally yet but one of these looks to be a very useful thing to have when cleaning up trees and brush.
Northern Tool Heavy Duty Brush Grubber

I'm really wanting to get one of these myself. Looks to be just the thing for grubbing out overgrown fields and fence lines.

 

Agree with CaptainQuint on the timberjack. My problem is leaving down at the bottom of the mountain or forgetting to use it. It does work great on 6" to 12" trees, not as well on smaller or larger. I got a 12' length of chain from a hardware store and got one large hook to hook on to the quad. On the other end I got a slotted hook that you can hook back on the chain. For small brush and trees I go around the tree one full time and attach the slotted hook to the chain. It makes a choke chain that tightens as you begin to pull. Only time it doesn't work well is a smooth barked tree with no branches.

 

I left my timberjack somewhere in the woods and haven't found it yet. I've been hauling firewood out of the woods for over seven years with my AC 400 and a 10 cu. ft. Agrifab trailer. I'd like to have a better trailer, but heck, this one works. I cut logs into 18-inch lenghts that are easy to lift onto the trailer. I'm thinking about pulling the log splitter back into the woods and hauling out split firewood, but my neighbor tells me if I do that I'll only get half as much wood on the trailer. Anyway, ATV's are a great, low-impact way to gather firewood...if you don't have to haul it very far.

 

Deeplaker, I've done it both ways and find if you split the wood before loading your truck (or trailer) you can fit quite a bit more in. Loading round logs leaves alot of air space. I found you have to be more careful about not overloading your truck or trailer when you pre-split it.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Deeplaker60

I left my timberjack somewhere in the woods and haven't found it yet. </end quote></div>

Don't feel bad. Last time I was out I lost a big long tow chain, a pair of fence pliers and two grab chains. I have absolutely no idea how they fell off and I drove back over my path and I still haven't found them. I have a feeling that they may have fallen out when going through the creek which means they're under 2 feet of really smelly water and embedded down in the mud. If they are, I probably won't find them until the creek dries up. Oh and of course it has rained a lot in the past few weeks so it isn't going to dry out anytime soon. With my luck we'll get a storm and they'll end up washing down past the fence and past the neighbors.

 

The things I keep losing are the plastic wedges you hammer into the cut you've made to make the tree go in a direction it didn't necessarily want to go. You'd think that with them being bright yellow or orange they'd stick out like a sore thumb. They get pushed under woodchips, leaves, mud, soil, etc. and seem like they've vanished into thin air. I find them sometimes on the next trip if we don't find them when they disappear.