Sidetrack here.
What do we like for clearing out head tall, thorny thickets? Thinking some kind of bush hook.
I bought a piece of property three years that has thickets made up of Blackberry, Multiflora rose and Prickly Ash. Bush-hogged where I could and applied 2-4 D on the new growth. On the other thickets I am using a chainsaw rather than a brush hook or machete...works slick and apply 2-4 D on the new growth.
I figure I need another three years of clearing at the rate of 2-3 hours of part time free time effort.