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Wheel barrows are certainly useful on relatively flat ground, or relatively short ramps that you can use momentum to climb a short distance. But if you are on a

Wheel barrows are certainly useful on relatively flat ground, or relatively short ramps that you can use momentum to climb a short distance. But if you are on actual steep terrain they are kind of a huge pain in the ass in my opinion and not worth it. Walking up a hill with 100+ pounds on my back isn't that difficult and I could do it for quite a long time if not all day, but pushing 100+ pounds on a wheel up a steep hill, while in the short term might be faster if I can manage it, becomes a herculean task after doing it for an hour or two. Your ability to stop and rest is also dictated by the terrain rather than your abilities. If I get halfway up a hill with a load on foot and need to rest, no problem, but if I got a wheelbarrow halfway up the hill, unless there is a convenient spot to stop and set down the wheel barrow you can't stop to rest, you have to keep going, which may be a problem when you are too tired to prevent spilling or dropping the load near the top because some little rock caught the tire and there wasn't enough reserve strength to brute force it over the relatively little obstacle.

taeric 1y ago
Unless you are going up a very steep hill, most any wheel barrow is easy enough to put down to a rest. And combined with a shovel, I use barrows far more than just trying to manage a small bag of rocks in the yard. Granted, if you can just throw more people at the problem, I fully agree that a team of people will be faster than a single person with a wheel barrow. But, that has more to do with it being a team than the barrow.
- AngryData 1y ago
  Well this area is in the Andean mountains which is pretty much as steep as it gets. The only real flat land they had was the strip of shore on the coast where boats would be better methods of travel and transport.
  - taeric 1y ago
    This seems to imply that none of the rest of the continent would have been viable for travel? It isn't like there were no wheels in mountainous parts of other continents.

taeric 1y ago

Unless you are going up a very steep hill, most any wheel barrow is easy enough to put down to a rest. And combined with a shovel, I use barrows far more than just trying to manage a small bag of rocks in the yard. Granted, if you can just throw more people at the problem, I fully agree that a team of people will be faster than a single person with a wheel barrow. But, that has more to do with it being a team than the barrow.

AngryData 1y ago
Well this area is in the Andean mountains which is pretty much as steep as it gets. The only real flat land they had was the strip of shore on the coast where boats would be better methods of travel and transport.
- taeric 1y ago
  This seems to imply that none of the rest of the continent would have been viable for travel? It isn't like there were no wheels in mountainous parts of other continents.