Today I had the chance to work on the trail some more. After re-entering the largest wooded section, I moved almost straight east for a hundred yards or so to avoid a depression on my left (north side). I managed to get past it and turned north immediately. For another hundred yards or so, it wound around through the woods and dead fall, pretty much following an old game trail. At the end, it broke out of the woods into an open grassy area.
This part looks almost as if it had been plowed with a bulldozer in one small section, but there is no visible route in or out for something that big. At any rate, there are a few trees with mostly tall grass and a stand of thorn vines. I’ll be able to skirt the bulk of the vines, but I’ll have to do a lot of swing-blade work to mow down a path through head-high grass. This will take at least another 50 yards before we turn east again for the return loop.
My son and I did an initial survey a few days ago, and the first section heading south will be mostly red-skinned saplings and tons of dead-fall. This could easily become one of the hardest sections so far. That designation currently belongs still to the first hundred yards heading north from the fence. It was all thick honeysuckle vines, climbing thorn vines, grapevines, and other thick undergrowth.
I picked up a new limb lopper. This one is an anvil type, as opposed to the normal scissor type. So far, it’s cutting much thicker branches will less trouble than the scissored one, but it’s heavier, too. I also plan to take the first actual bike ride on the trail Saturday.
