..... engage the services of an operator and a "good size" front end track loader for the day . He would probably make only one path down/up , and one paralell to the river . That big bucket can handle it all (make sure he brings chains to work with too) .
If all you wanted to do was get rid of the small junk , washers , hot water heaters and the like , set up a simple cable trolly and wench to pull them to the top ... but why bust your back anymore than nessasary and go the slow hard route .
Get a machine in there Chip , that's what they are made for !!
You'll need a roll off dumpster at the top to bucket drop the small things in . Doubt much damage would be done to too many of the saplings ... you can promise to replant the track path with new wood growth (who are the group that likes to plant little twig trees ??)
I think you may be overthinking this puppy ... one machine and operator , a roll off , add 3 ground men and your home by dinner time . Then fix up the vegetation disturbed ... the county has all these things at your disposal should they be abliged to get involved at this unauthorized dump site . Any state people been involved yet ??
***This poster has it You need a gas powered circular saw and many of the appropriate blades. This is what they routinely use to cut down autos in the custom auto biz, and often found in the arsenal of FDs for chopping up autos post-crash.
“The car that is pictured, I’m wondering if we could put a winch over the top to the downhill end and roll it end over end up the hill. Dragging it will be a problem unless we can get some skids under it. I think it would dig into the bank and catch on roots, etc.”
Yes, that could work, once the car is broken free of the ground. Or you might just flip it on its roof and drag it up that way. As others have said, you might need a different angle of attack to initially break them free, if they have been there a long time.
I think I recall from your previous posts that there was some question if you could get vehicles up on that ridge. So has that been resolved now? The size of the vehicle you can get in will largely determine how powerful a winch you can bring to bear on the problem. Your CORE friends probably have winches rated at 8-10K pounds pull and will usually have no more than 50-60 feet of cable (these numbers can be increased by using pulleys to multiply the pull power and extensions to lengthen the cable, both of which some of the CORE people probably have available). As mentioned, a large commercial tow truck or other commercial machinery (skidder, loader, etc) may well have 5-10 times the power and hundreds of feet of cable. At the other end of the scale, a well-equipped ATV might have a winch rated at 1500-2000 lbs. The ATV winch may be strong enough to pull many of the loose pieces of vehicles up the hill, once they are broken free and provided they don’t hang up on roots or tree trunks. However, it could take more than a 10K winch to break free a car body submerged 6 inches in dirt with trees growing out of it.
One final comment. I know you’re trying to get your river as pristine as possible, and I agree that it’s worth a major effort to get rid of that junkyard. However, I don’t think you necessarily have to get rid of all of everything man-made to consider it cleaned up. I sort of like the looks of that 50s black-and-white car. I might be inclined to leave that in place, maybe even stand it up and lean it against a tree to make it more visible. After all, the Pax is an urban river and people dumping cars at riverside is a true representation of how rivers were once used.
On my local urban river, we have a 1940s vintage pick-up truck riverside at a remote point on an alternate channel. We’ve debated various ways to remove it for years, but I kind of like having it there. I’ve even tried to make it a tourist attraction when I lead a trip through the area – it gives me an excuse to take the group up a particular obscure channel, and some times I’ll tell the kids we’re going to see the skeleton of an extinct lifeform that once roamed the river bank, and they get a kick out of it when they finally see it. Here’s a pic (it’s easier to see when the leaves are gone).
Great Stimulus Project if we could get to the right people to fund the removal of this type of unwanted debris from our waterways using idle pier/bulkhead equipment and barges. Here in NC we tend to save old vehicles as long as there is room on the property, but do tend to abandon old boats in the creeks that have outlived their usefulness. Some probably add to the aquatic habitat, but others could be dangerous. Individuals and clubs could GPS debris locations for stimulus funded contractors, and monitor removal to minimize environmental damage. Just thoughts.
Ding, Ding–a winner! The Fire Department can’t wait to cut them cars up!
My only fear is the caveat that they have to get their truck in there. I’m sure they have some forest-capable vehicles, but I’m afraid the cutting gear goes with highway capable vehicles. But at least they didn’t laugh us off, and maybe it’ll work out.
Lennox sawzall blades seem to work pretty good. Every once in a while they hold a raffle type thing at the plumbing supply houses and you win like $500 if you guess how long it will take one person to cut a car in half. Last one took like 13 minutes. I guessed 6 minutes and 30 seconds. I think they could have gone a little faster. I could have used the new tools!