Clearing

When i arrived at the lot it was getting dark and pouring rain. I had only been to the land once before outside of spring (when five feet of snow blanketed the entire thing.)  Luckily, my neighbor Rob had already put in a gravel driveway - a good place as it turned out to camp and start planning where to put the cabin and which trees needed to go. And there were a lot.

One of the unique things about my land are the terrain features- many of them left over from a pipeline construction camp that occupied the location in the 1970s. Walking around revealed some interesting artifacts - a rock foundation, a carved timber, evidence of grading and beer drinking (I found a bunch of pull top Black Label beer cans and stubby Budweiser bottles.)   It took about a day to finally decide where to get cutting and once I got to work, the pace was slow and tedious, and downing the larger trees, by myself, in the woods, was quite a rush. 

Two to three tanks of gas and bar oil a day with a break to sharpen the chain and progress went steadily until I had cleared an area plenty wide for driving, hidden from the the Richardson Highway with an astounding view of Mt. Billy Mitchell. Shout out to Stihl. Great saw. 

When the dozer guy came he made quick work of the stumps.