I had Friday and Saturday off (the weather was perfect) so after two days at the garden I decided to clean up the ATV trail that I had worked on last week. As the shovel is at the back of the tractor I have to back up to work on trails. Now these trails are ATV trails and, as it turns out, they are too narrow for the tractor. So, I had to inch my way along the trail, digging up the high side and moving the dirt to the low side. There are lots of rocks, boulders and trees and roots along the way so the going is slow. I find that I can do about 10 feet at a time and I often have to do two passes on a section. The first time is to dig it all up and drive down it. The second is to drive back and regroom the trail. Often the low side packs down once I go over it so a second layer of dirt helps. I find that I can use the bucket to push dirt sideways which really helps grooming a level trail.
The flats are relatively easy but backing down a narrow bumpy trail is quite nerve wracking. There is a steep section with a large rock in it at the bottom of the trail and each time I drive over it with the ATV I am sure I will bottom out. Digging my way down the hill was a challenge but when I got to the rock I found that instead of digging it out, I was pulling the tractor down the slope instead! Not wanting to bend the legs on the shovel I dug around it instead and then kept going. Once down on the flats I was able to get the bucket under the rock and lift it up, success!!! It was huge. I kept working my way down the trail and near the end of the day I considered that I had gone far enough and it was time to drive the tractor out of there. However when I got to the rock I found that it was now protruding so mush that I could not drive over it, nor could I get it out of the deep hole it was in with my bucket. What to do or was I going to be stuck here forever? I got a chain out and managed to get it around the rock and hooked to the bucket. Would I be able to lift the rock? Well Zak is pretty strong and that rock came up no problem. Great, now how do I get rid of this thing? Well the trail curves so I backed up until I got around the curve and dropped the rock over the hillside. I listened to it roll down crashing through the trees hoping it wouldn't land on a trail below.
A few more passes to smooth the trail and that was it for that part of the trail or so I thought until I got back and realized that I had to get around that bid hole in the trail I had just made in order to get back up the hill and out. Luckily I was able to inch my way over the hole (just narrow enough to get the tractor wheels on either side) and use the backhoe to dig earth from the sides to fill that hole in.
The flats are relatively easy but backing down a narrow bumpy trail is quite nerve wracking. There is a steep section with a large rock in it at the bottom of the trail and each time I drive over it with the ATV I am sure I will bottom out. Digging my way down the hill was a challenge but when I got to the rock I found that instead of digging it out, I was pulling the tractor down the slope instead! Not wanting to bend the legs on the shovel I dug around it instead and then kept going. Once down on the flats I was able to get the bucket under the rock and lift it up, success!!! It was huge. I kept working my way down the trail and near the end of the day I considered that I had gone far enough and it was time to drive the tractor out of there. However when I got to the rock I found that it was now protruding so mush that I could not drive over it, nor could I get it out of the deep hole it was in with my bucket. What to do or was I going to be stuck here forever? I got a chain out and managed to get it around the rock and hooked to the bucket. Would I be able to lift the rock? Well Zak is pretty strong and that rock came up no problem. Great, now how do I get rid of this thing? Well the trail curves so I backed up until I got around the curve and dropped the rock over the hillside. I listened to it roll down crashing through the trees hoping it wouldn't land on a trail below.
A few more passes to smooth the trail and that was it for that part of the trail or so I thought until I got back and realized that I had to get around that bid hole in the trail I had just made in order to get back up the hill and out. Luckily I was able to inch my way over the hole (just narrow enough to get the tractor wheels on either side) and use the backhoe to dig earth from the sides to fill that hole in.
Big Rock
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