With the snow still soft the dogs go slowly and the trail is not dangerous, but the next day when it has set up, it will be if something it not done, so now the cutting begins. Most marten habitat is in black spruce forests and along the edges of burns, so most of the work is clearing little ground spruces or willows about thumb size in diameter. It's a pretty simple matter to whack through a tree that size or skin the branches off one side. The trail making can proceed at a satisfying pace, and the guideline for how much to cut is whatever tree the sled bumps into, although bigger ones tend to get left alone as pivot points for the future trail. I find it totally satisfying to be on a trail like this and see the mountains slide by and rubberneck at the views as the dogs do the driving, feeling I am going in a particular direction.
Life is loopy enough without following sno-go trails that wander all over the map.
I have put in quite a few miles of trail on the tundra flats near our trapline, where I have been able to indulge my whims with tripods that line up perfectly straight for stretches of several miles. This isn't just whimsy, however, because it's really helpful in a wind storm or in whiteout conditions to know that the next tripod should be 100 yards ahead. If it doesn't appear when I expect, I can stop and cast about until I find it before I get thoroughly turned around and confused. There's something just plain fun about driving over a trail that you've set. Honk and wave as you go by.