# Hauling wood up ravine



## CIRENHOJ (Nov 5, 2015)

First post....good forum

Anyone else using downed trees from a ravine for firewood?  I am in a old coal strip mining area and have a largish ravine behind the house.  Probably 70' down, steep enough that it is not an easy up/down.  Had a very large oak fall over this spring and I've started bucking it out.  I've got a pile growing about midway down.  So far I've carried the rounds up the cliff but it's some serious work.  If I can get someone to help me I could probably use a long rope with a clasp on the end.  One person stands at the pile and hooks a log while the other drags it up.  Once we get into the main trunk, where the diameter is about 20", it will get a little more difficult.  Just wondering if anyone else goes through this trouble for good wood?


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## smee (Nov 5, 2015)

Northern tools sells an electric whinch.
Not sure what the longest cable is though. 
Mine is 35 ft or so.

Load the rounds into a bin that will slide up easily and away you go


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## smee (Nov 5, 2015)

Just to clarify.
I don't do this..


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## Riff (Nov 5, 2015)

Not really but I'd probably be tempted to due to a serious lack of scrounge wood around here.


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## barmstrong2 (Nov 5, 2015)

It seems every tree is the worst one, lending credibility to the idea that the worst one is the one you're doing right now. Anyway, a couple weeks back, my brother and I went out to grab some fallen trees that the homeowner had called to have removed. When we arrived, we found we couldn't get the truck closer than 100 yards to the wood line, most of the falls were actually leaners (dangerous) and one side was *very *swampy. We kind of felt obligated to take some of it, so, we cleared a few of the choice falls, maple/oak, and cut the most visible from the house. So, yeah, I guess I would do some crazy s**t like that.


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## CountryBoy19 (Nov 5, 2015)

I would use a winch and leave the logs in log form (within reasonable weight) and winch them up before bucking (to reduce winching time)... just a suggestion, I've never tried this.


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## claydogg84 (Nov 5, 2015)

I've carried wood distances down hill, but I don't believe I'd go for what you describe. I've used the winch-in-bag from Super Winch before though. I think it would work well in your situation. 

http://www.amazon.com/Superwinch-11...qid=1446773645&sr=8-1&keywords=Winch+in+a+bag


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## CIRENHOJ (Nov 5, 2015)

Yeah, winch sounds like about the best idea for long term.  There is a large ash down near the bottom that just fell this spring along with what appears to be a very large elm.  But these are even further down, where I would need A LOT of cable.  Just hard for me to see a nice tree laying there.


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## jeffesonm (Nov 5, 2015)

I would cut into maybe 8' sections and then do something so make them slide easier.  One idea is a log sled, something like this:








Another is a skidding cone, like this:




Then pull up the hill with a winch or a bunch of chains connected to a truck or tractor.


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## xman23 (Nov 6, 2015)

I'll suggest the obvious, sending the pieces down the hill is easier. Any access to the bottom? I'd tow a sled up the hill with a rope tied to the car.


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## CIRENHOJ (Nov 6, 2015)

A few pics of the ravine.  Lots of trash dumped by previous owners that I am slowly bringing up and disposing of.  Beautiful view.  Lots of tall straight hardwoods.  Many are leaning and will eventually fall on their own.  Some think I'm crazy but this is relaxation for me.  I spend a lot of time going to the bottom and exploring and then making the climb back up.  At the top there are some tree of paradise that I am removing as they eat up a lot of the sun light.   With these gone I can get some grasses and such to grow to prevent further erosion.  I dropped the few that I was comfortable with but the others are leaning towards the house so I'll bring in the pros and have them drop em' and leave em'.


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## BoiledOver (Nov 6, 2015)

I have winched logs uphill and was disappointed of the extra work to clean the dirt, very quick to dull a chain. My solution was to clear a trail from another direction for the jeep and trailer (which provided additional firewood). Performed the bucking and splitting below, loaded the trailer and drove out. The trail has been used quite a bit now and will be accessed again this winter.

Nice looking lot ya have there. Good luck with your firewood chores.


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## ElmBurner (Nov 6, 2015)

My timber is sort of naturally that way as well...it is the land that was too hilly to plant for hay.  It's way too steep for a vehicle short of a tank.  So far I have been just cutting at the edges, but the interior is an over-grown mess full of giant oaks, hickory, and basswood.  The only thing stopping me right now from getting at that wood is finding a way to get it all out.

The crazy idea I have come up with recently is building a tripod/pyramid out of 4x4's, attach a pulley, then place it about 10-12 ft back of the top of the incline and use it to skid the logs up the hill, with my truck pulling the other end of the wire rope.  My plan was to either put the leading edge of the log on a sled/dray or do it in the winter, so the skidding is easier.

The other method would be to buck/split/stack where it stands, let it dry, then pull it out piecemeal, when it weighs half as much.  

I'll be watching this thread in case someone who has done it before comes in to educate us all.


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## Woody Stover (Nov 6, 2015)

Riff said:


> Not really but I'd probably be tempted to due to a serious lack of scrounge wood around here.


That's what it would come down to for me; If I had plenty of other wood, I wouldn't mess with the tough stuff.


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## Jags (Nov 6, 2015)

I would take a page out of the pro's book and probably build a yarder of some sort.  One that could be set up and taken down fairly easy.  Would take a little time to design and build, but I would bet it would pay off in saved time and energy, pretty quickly.


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## blades (Nov 6, 2015)

Your plan may work but it will take two people in constant communication to be fruitfull. Dang logs have a nasty habit of finding things to get hung up on, and a snapped steel cable wildly whipping through the air is a recipe for disaster. as an aside creating a clutter free chute to drag logs up would be best. course it is added work to create that as well as moving the logs to the staging area to use it. I have been using a powered wheel barrow to retrieve rounds from a similar area, still a pita.


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## ElmBurner (Nov 6, 2015)

Jags said:


> I would take a page out of the pro's book and probably build a yarder of some sort.  One that could be set up and taken down fairly easy.  Would take a little time to design and build, but I would bet it would pay off in saved time and energy, pretty quickly.



Interesting idea...

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/deaton0601.html


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## Jags (Nov 6, 2015)

ElmBurner said:


> Interesting idea...



Yep - this is about zactly what I had in my minds eye:


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## jfournier (Nov 6, 2015)

I am in a very similar situation, though my ravine is maybe 25' down, not 70.  When I first moved in we had a nice oak go down, so we bucked and loaded the rounds (which were honestly the heaviest firewood rounds I've ever encountered, I guess because the oak was about 5' from a brook) in a little trailer you'd use on a lawn mower.  And we pulled the trailer up the hill with a pickup, and it was awful.  We pretty much destroyed the gate on the back of the trailer.

I'm in the process now of just building steps down into the ravine out of cinder blocks.  My plan is I'll buck a bit of wood and stack it away from the wet, and carry a few rounds up on a day.  I usually go out and manually split for like 20 minutes a day, so I only need to carry a few rounds up before splitting, and I'll have my therapy for the day.  I say that, but my ravine is about as steep as yours looks, so I may not have much energy left after walking rounds up the hill.  I may end up just setting up with splitting and stacking down on the flat land and carry out when it's dried a bit, though it gets awfully wet down there.

I have a tree down that's been resting on another tree for about 3 years, and a nice looking cherry that's also in prime position for cutting.  So if the steps work out for me, I should have plenty of free wood going forward.


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## ElmBurner (Nov 6, 2015)

Jags said:


> Yep - this is about zactly what I had in my minds eye:


The problem being, of course, that you have to have an old tiller you can donate for the worm gear and engine, a big spool for electrical wire, and the brains/tools to put it all together.

At the moment, I think I am going to stick to pulleys, wire rope, and my truck.  If that doesn't work, then maybe it's chain hoists, tow straps, and a slow drag up the hill.  I'm trying to do this on the cheap and my scrounging/junk collecting skills aren't up to the task of a DIY yarder.


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## Jags (Nov 6, 2015)

ElmBurner said:


> I'm trying to do this on the cheap and my scrounging/junk collecting skills aren't up to the task of a DIY yarder.



It wouldn't have to be that complicated.  A cable strung between trees tensioned with a comealong.  Another hunk of rope run through the pulleys and pulled with car/truck/tractor, etc.  The idea of the picture that I posted above is that it gets the leading edge off of the ground and only needs to support a portion of the weight being pulled in.


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## kennyp2339 (Nov 6, 2015)

Wow - what ever rig you come up with be sure to take plenty of pics, this is a interesting thread - good luck


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## jeffesonm (Nov 6, 2015)

My property is very similar to yours... my ravine is not quite so steep but closer to 250' down. I also like walking up and down the hill and exploring.  Good exercise.

That said, I made a road.  It took some time with a tractor and box blade and I had to go real far over, cut back and all the way back across to get to the bottom.  Now I can get to the bottom and haul stuff up.  Anything in the middle is easy to get to the bottom courtesy of gravity.  Do you plan to be there for a while?  The road lasts forever, with some maintenance now and then.  If I was to do it again I would rent a mini excavator... way more stable on the slopes and easy to move dirt from one side to the other. I bet you could do it in a day or two.


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## Applesister (Nov 7, 2015)

We have two snatch blocks we use here at the farm. With chains to attach to trees (on both ends) and a good stout rope. We use 80Hp tractor to pull the rope. But a 1Ton pickup will work. Hopefully the truck has tow hooks.
I would look thru industrial suppliers not homeowner stuff. 
So, snatch block, 3 good sized shackles , chain with hook for log and one for a good solid tree. 
Or just rope to log. Google "Timber Hitch"
I like the skidding cone(in above picture), that thing looks really handy. That and a willing draft horse.
I would use a chain around log so it can get dragged in the dirt and not get damaged.
You can get away with just the rope and snatch block, however. It will last for all the trees you have to pull up the hill.
Wished I had pictures of this set up in action. We mostly use it for snagged trees, or pulling trees out of creek beds. Its a very labor saving step. 
You absolutely have to have a helper.


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## Applesister (Nov 7, 2015)

Rigging tools








A 4Ton snatch block is a 100.00 + but will work on all the trees in the ravine. Maybe even the mini excavator. The higher capacity ones will probably be more money.
The rope is one 1" diameter and weighs a ton.
This is our stuff, I like the nylon slings because they tighten over the log really well like a dog choke chain and they dont bind up, you know, a knot you cant undo.
About 300.00 to 500.00 for some good stuff.


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## Starstuff (Nov 7, 2015)

I've thought about this many times as there is a ravine down the road down from me with tons (20+ cords, I am sure) of fallen EAB-killed ash on county property. So far I haven't attempted to retrieve any of it because I've been able to score easier stuff, but the day will come at some point. All of the possibilities seem difficult and time-consuming. I think my best bet will just simply be to buck and carry/roll each round up one-by-one. If there is a slope involved, it's going to be tough no matter what.


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## bad news (Nov 7, 2015)

This is a great thread, it's fun to see the things people think of.  My truck has a steel flatbed on it, I'd think about constructing a gin pole / pole derrick type setup and winching, skidding, or yarding the logs to the landing.

I saw Wranglerstar on Youtube skidding logs on an old Jeep hood.  It made a pretty good inexpensive sled and kept them out of the dirt.


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## wapiti39 (Nov 8, 2015)

Starstuff said:


> I've thought about this many times as there is a ravine down the road down from me with tons (20+ cords, I am sure) of fallen EAB-killed ash on county property. So far I haven't attempted to retrieve any of it because I've been able to score easier stuff, but the day will come at some point. All of the possibilities seem difficult and time-consuming. I think my best bet will just simply be to buck and carry/roll each round up one-by-one. If there is a slope involved, it's going to be tough no matter what.


A good length of cable/ strong rope ( I like Muletape personally) and a snatch block anchored to something at the top of the hill, other end to a truck or tractor is your friend for pulling loads up hill.


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