Skidders and hills.

[redprospector]

I just read the thread. What a tragic loss.
There appears to be a world of difference between Maine, and New Mexico. Back em up again' a tree boy's!
Carry on guy's, I'll try to find a thread where I think I know what I'm talking about.

Andy

[Ianab]

Skidding up or down a hill totally depends where you are. Locally you might find one property where the high ground is flat open pasture, and the trees are on hillsides sloping down to steep or swampy bottoms. Only way to harvest is to winch them up the slope to the flat / dry ground.

5 miles up the road, and the hills are steep, with no flats on top, but with nice pasture river flats at the bottom. So you can harvest the trees, and they pretty much fall to the flats by themselves, or with minimal winching.

Ian

[Okrafarmer]

Just so you know, in Maine, if you log from the bottom of the hill in the warm part of the year, you will be up to your muffler in mud as often as not.  :-\