swanson

Not much progress, but not zero progress Everything seemed to conspire against making progress this week. The weather was unusually wet, we swapped out the excavator for a telehandler (which took time), Sabrina arrived so Logan is taking some time off, my truck died (temporarily) in a highly inconvenient  spot, and of course there was

Too fast! Mistakes! And good luck? This week was ambitious and so we had to move fast. This led to mistakes, and of course problems happen even without making mistakes. And in the end we ran into a major problem… but at exactly the right time. As a result, we began a pivot and will

The original plan for this week was to backfill the cellar, set up and pour footings for the walls, and then work on the stem walls. We changed this by shifting to dirt work after the footings so we could access the main floor with the excavator for leveling. Also, I changed up the schedule

This week saw some progress, but it was also frustrating. The images below show the progress. The frustration was largely due to my ignorance of concrete and flawed thinking on what Wylie would like. The ignorance was that I didn’t figure on time needed for concrete to cure before backfilling. The flawed thinking was that

Logan arrived, and we have had a busy week, not without hiccups and dumb-ass attacks.  We finally finished up the cistern, applying 2 more coats of sealant. I used a fan with dryer venting that Wylie and I made to blow in fresh air before going into the cistern. Additionally, I parked the tractor over

Over the past week or so I have been trying to get going so we can hit the ground running when Logan arrives. Most of the supplies are ordered and the following images show the process of getting the new camp up. We dug holes to set posts, then built a simple 2 by 4

There was plenty of melting since my last visit a month ago. Side by side photos shown below are dramatic.  May 6 April 9 The cistern appears to be in good shape. I need to get inside it to seal it in June. May 6 April 9 The tractor (covered in tarps) was almost buried

I hiked up to Skookum today and found — no surprise — LOTS of snow. The top of the cistern air vent is just under the tripod and about a foot out of the snow. I painted the air vent black and built a tripod to protect it from animals. The cistern last fall. The

Preparing for 2023. The garage is full of Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs), a pallet of cement, concrete dye, sealant, and more. We won’t be completely ready, but it should be better than last year. At the end of the summer in 2022, we bought a truck. It has a dumptruck bed so we can haul

I am a little out of sync with the posts. Lately nearly all the work has been devoted to the cistern, and we will soon be shutting down for the winter. The idea was to backfill as we poured to support the foam outer walls. Besides — can you believe it — we finally got

Finally, we are on to the cistern. With help from Hunter and Steve, we got the base poured. Logan hauled the mixer/pump up to the cistern site with the excavator. Motion again! Steve and Hunter helped make the floor pour a smooth operation.

Logan returned from Alabama, but there was a delay in getting an excavator. And of course there is the never ending saga of getting gravel. During this time we made progress with the spring and spring box, plus I showed the road to another trucking company who decided not to deliver gravel. The good news

Nash and Logan both departed, so only Wylie and I have been working for the last two weeks, which means progress has slowed considerably. Still, progress has been made, plus Logan will be coming back soon to hopefully kick the project back into high gear.

The crew of Logan, Sabrina, and Nash have left and thus there is a lull in the project. My knee finally said “ENOUGH” and I could barely get up and down the stairs for several days. We still have not gotten gravel delivered for the next concrete pours. The good news is that Logan will

With Mark staying to help, we’ve made good progress and have poured the walls of the spring box. This involved operating the mixer/pump for the first time plus some hard labor. So far, so good. Stages of building the form for the spring box. We started with 2-inch foam insulation walls, then put a rebar

Disaster! Much has happened, but the biggest event was we had a serious accident. Logan was badly cut and broke a bone in his finger, resulting in a trip to the emergency room. The accident occurred while trying to fabricate a wooden spoon with a circular saw, with assistance from Mark — everyone involved feels

We are largely held up because we do not have gravel nor have we gotten the cement mixer/pump hauled up the mountain and positioned. This probably isn’t that bad, as several projects have been polished. The waterline is buried from the spring box location to the cistern location, and then from the cistern to the

The waterline is essentially done. The road for the concrete mixer/pump is mostly in shape. Now we’re just waiting on the gravel and getting the mixer/pump up the mountain. The last part of the line was tricky due to rock shelves the line had to crawl over. We insulated the line for much of the

A week since last update Most of the work done this week was devoted to the waterline. The trench is now all but complete, although there are a few sections where Logan couldn’t get it very deep due to rock. Our plan is to insulate the line in those places and then mound up dirt.

We have since learned the hose clamps should be positioned with opposite pulls, but we’re not going to dig up the line to fix this. One of the many mistakes we have made, and hopefully this one is not too serious.

Work was also done with the spring, as shown in the video below.

The concrete pump has finally arrived. On a cold day, Wylie had to wear a pair of Logan’s shorts for pants, which inspired a rather goofy dance.

The crew is back in camp. The next couple of days will be spent burying water line and cutting trees. Below is a video Nash recorded of the drive in to Skookumview. Short video of felling a tree.

A few complications with the tents in the wind but easily fixed! Everything is back up and ready to go! Nash has also arrived from Alabama and is ready to go!

Snow in June due to the “500 year flood”! Logan and Sabrina had to hike down through high winds and snow to get some warmth.

During this stretch we got the camp set up (thanks to Tom for the guidance, tents, and smiles), brought more materials to the site, had the tractor delivered (thanks to Gregg!), and we began laying the waterline. 

First Work day with Tom was a success! The second tent and tarp are all set up and ready to go!

Today was focused on platform and tent #1. Logan and Rand cut down and debranched trees to act as the frames. Logan enthusiastically participated in safety measures with eye protection.

Todays focus was moving a majority of lumber, outhouse pieces, and other materials. Logan and the excavator forged an easier path up the last bit of hill to the campsite.

We checked out the road since its been smoothed out with the bulldozer and it looks ready to go until the next rain. Today we had a few extra hands with Scott and Orion to help out with toting chainsaws, lumber, etc. up to the site. Wiley and Orion were super excited to carry the

Logan and Sabrina arrived and we hiked up to take a look. It’s supposed to rain for several days, and then there is going to be road construction for a few days, so we may not be able to get working until early June. Wylie reacted to this by practicing his hair combing. 

Logan had some trouble with his new-to-him truck, and thus won’t get here until late this week at the earliest. Wylie has been painting the walls of the outhouse.

I hiked into Skookum, and found around 3 feet of snow on the road in places. It’s melting fast — and it had better! The road is mostly snow covered in places.