Long ago decided to forego heavy loads and get my 20000 paces a day by carting splits one or two at a time. Cut trunks into 16 inch lengths (have to decide on 12 or 20 inch now that I habe a PH-concerned about hand splitting those 20 inch lengths, even about getting them up on a splitter if I succumb and buy one): If 8 inches or less in diameter, carry them to my road (winds through 24 acres to the house) or my sister's road (winds through the adjacent 12 acres) and stack them beside the road. More than 8 inches I split them in situ with a wedge and sledge (just think it's safer since I'm alone in the woods...also means I get less grief from my daughter and sons about CSS my own wood) and carry them 2 at a time (about 12 pound splits, eventual dried weight) to the road. Anything 6 inches or less I cut into 48 inch lengths, process the rest at the house. I do this until I have a good amount of wood along the road. If I happen to be cutting where I have a good level clear line to the road, I'll use the wheel barrow, and load up at the cut site and wheel to the road . I have a bed cover in the back of my suburban. Put a good amount of wood in the back of the suburban and drive to the house. Split the rest on the wood (and cut the 4 foot lengths) on a round on a slab of bedrock between the house and woodpile. Toss the splits into the wheelbarrow as I go (keep round together while splitting by any one of various methods. Stack the splits as I go. That way I am not doing any one activity for an extended period. The breaks and change in muscles used is helpful is preventing pain. I also find I build better stacks...just instinctively check them more often as I go. Stacks are about 40 paces from my sliding glass door. Use "bins" (rectangular plastic grocery shopping bins our grocery store sells, complete with molded handles on the ends and web straps on the side, about 18 in x 12in x 10 in deep,I guess) to bring firewood into the house, each bin carries enough wood for a good fire: put the bins on my landing 4 ft x 4 ft, about 4.5 feet high, and one on each step (2 x 12 douglas fir). Carry the splits two at a time (these are big splits) to the bins. Fill all the bins. Lift the bins one at a time into the house, leave them just inside the door for a bit until they warm up. Walk the dog. Come home, carry the bins to the stove, load a number onto my 3 ft diameter circle of forged iron that is my wood rack. Place two bins in front of my stack for my next two fires, As I empty the bins, I turn each bin upside down into the first empty bin, then stack all the bins under the first. Next time I go out, I take the top bin, dump the detrius on any icy spots outside...works great and is much cleaner than ash. Walk the dog, fill the bin on my way back inside. Always fill a bin, by carrying a comfortable weight of splits to the bin which is on the steps, every time I go out. Makes for a reasonably long interval between having to move lots of wood at a time. When I do move much aim to fill that rack with two bins left. Gives me 3 1/2 to fours days of heat, in reserve for bad weather. Mostly I manage to burn with the wood I carry in in single bin loads. If I have really nice special wood in a bin, I'll add it to the rack and burn lesser wood from the rack. That way I end up with wood on the rack that is nice and clean and totally bug free that I am comfortable leaving in the house indefinitely. BTW, I have a second rack that is full of 6 inch perfect ironwood logs 18 inches long...been there several years. My safety reserve against the inevitable blizzard/ice storm,injury, illness etc..All low tech, but it works for me.
