When the weather turns cold, and things slow down, it’s time to bust out the really fun projects! With the garden put to bed for the winter and the woodsheds filled, we could finally turn our attention to some trail work. Most of our property is forestland accessible only by trail, and between downed trees from last year’s wind storm and a couple of slide areas, it was getting pretty inaccessible. There also wasn’t much of a clear trailhead out of our yard, and a seasonal ditch in the way. We decided to start by building a footbridge and see where it would lead us.
We salvaged some old power line posts that had fallen over in their state of disuse, and used them as well as some other lumber we found in one of the sheds. It took a while to remove and work around all the rusty, old hardware from the posts, but the result was a sturdy footbridge that cost us 0 dollars. You can’t beat that price for a homestead project!
From there we began pruning back ivy and leveling out the trail with a shovel. There was a nice flat area along our ditch with a clear understory that seemed like a good route, so we followed the path of least resistance. This also made the kids’ hammock spots more easily accessible, which was an added benefit. It’s a popular spot for lounging and reading on hot summer days.
Here the hillside became steep and overgrown, but by digging in some stairs, and cutting back a lot of brush, we were able to tie in to the existing trail going up through the woods.
To our pleasant surprise, we discovered a flat little knoll up in the trees that looks out over our yard and garden area. We immediately recognized an ideal relaxing spot, in need of a couple of our Adirondack chairs.
From this point on the trail was fairly well established, and mostly in need of some weedeating and chainsaw work on a windfall tree.
We gave the trail a test run with the kids over the weekend.
And the cats decided to follow along and inspect our work. They are always there to help.
With views of the McKenzie River peeking through the trees and golden chanterelles peeking out among the ferns, there are a lot of exciting sights to see along the way. I feel very fortunate to have this trail on our land, especially since it leads to miles and miles of BLM and timber land to explore.
Now, when I look around our yard, I see the results of all our hard work, a trailhead promising adventures in the woods, and a pair of chairs inviting us to sit, relax and enjoy the view.
I see a lot of dreams coming true around here!
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