Sacred springs is pretty much a biome that is 100% those stupid 1-block high trees. I love that biome - the cliffs...the colors...the waterfalls...but yeah. Any build that you want in a sacred springs area is going to involve some form of clear-cutting all the underbrush.
I used to just flint&steel everything and burn a nice wife ear patch, but these days, my method is usually, if I find a great spot I want y main base in, to make a waypoint for my map, and set up camp in some other area. Once I'm established and I'm ready to move from my start-up base to a "real" or "final" base, I usually have the tools to deal with stuff like this rather quickly.
But yeah, for starting in a sacred spring, I really can think of any "shortcuts" other than suggesting that you put on a movie or some music or a podcast or something to keep you from getting bored while you smash up dozens of mini-trees.