This is just my personal experience.
I was in the same position as you about a year ago. I actually did hurt my back. I cut, skidded and milled my own lumber.
You need a tractor, as everyone has mentioned. Preferably a 480 or 580 Case, mine is a 310 John Deere. An older tractor is fine, you just need something with some weight and decent hydraulic power.
I had a Garage 24x24 and had to get them inside and move my timber effeciently. I ended up building a set of forks to attach to the bucket. Next I built a 16' jib out of 2x6 structural steel, that slid over on of the forks and chained to the top of the bucket. I also chained it to the edges of the bucket for stability. A hook welded to the end allowed me to use a nylon sling to move timbers. It worked excellent. It certainly wasn't engineered and tested, or anything like that, I just used common sense and was careful. I hope this helps....... good luck.
