The soil on my small farm in northwest Montana offers up plenty of rocks. Every time I try to drive a fencepost or plant a tree I have to fight with rocks that can be anywhere from 1 inch to 20 inches in diameter. They don’t get much bigger than that around here despite the 6,000 foot peaks that surround my little valley. There’s plenty of soil here, and I can generally drive an earth anchor or stake anywhere I want to, although I might need to adjust a few inches one way or another when I’m making a set. Hitting one of those 20 inchers sends a jarring wave from my elbow right through my teeth, and I’ve learned to tap a bit more softly on the end of my stake driver.
Rocky soil is a term that comes up a lot in trapping circles. I see it on social media and hear it at conventions and fur sales, too. Over the past 15 years or so I’ve written about many challenges and solutions that we trappers face and a lot of the discussion revolves around soil conditions. It would sure be nice to define rocky soils. I’m not naïve enough to think that can be done in one fell swoop, but
