My experience with hunting thick pines (which is pretty extensive being in the U.P. for so long) has been that the deer seem to like a SMALL trail or small opening, but anything very large seems to deter them a bit. There usually isn't a whole lot to eat in there, so they tend to stay in them cover, and clearing a bunch of trees will defeat that purpose. We have cleared trails though and the deer seem to really like to use them just for ease of walking.