At my parents’ request, I opened a trail through the first plowed section my trail crosses, so they could climb up the draw and cut straight across back to the start of the trail. They tested it all out today and liked it just fine. This cut-off also allowed me to take a short cut directly to the last barrier for the first loop — the thin band of woods at the head of the draw.
That’s where I worked today. I went out twice. It was easy to become disoriented just a bit, so I ended up somewhat east of where I had hoped, but it’s okay. While the work was really hard, since the place was just thick as could be, it was, indeed, the path of least resistance at the time.
It got dark before I finished the last 5 yards or so. Also, I broke the cheap aluminum anvil on my limb-loppers. That really slowed me down, since most of what I had to cut would have been most efficiently handled with them. It left me with the ax and machete, but I made enough progress to stay the course.
The only thing lacking now is some grass work where the main trail comes out in the bottom of the draw, and then the clipping of thorns and brush along the draw. From there, I plan to take a break before adding the extra loop through the woods east of the draw. At least now I have a short cut to go directly to the top of the draw.
