Buttoning up
My posts have slowed down, and will slow down more as the winter months settle in. Since Logan left, I’ve been up to Skookum 3 times to tear down the camp and prepare for winter. I hope to get up there one more time, but overall things are pretty well set until the snow melts next spring.
Tom came over to help me put a temporary ridge cap on the cabin, but the day was wet with a cold mist hanging around, making the roof too slippery, so we took down the camp and moved tools and materials into the cabin. We got the tents taken down and hung inside the cabin, and Tom cleaned out the cabin, put up a bench, and organized tools. Most of the big things got stored and we had a full day. Getting the cabin cleaned up provided a vision of what the cabin will be like when it’s done — gonna be nice!
Jan, who I hadn’t seen for about a decade, came up for a visit so I immediately put her to work. We had a sunny, dry day that allowed me to put on a temporary ridge cap made from 2 by 6’s (left photo). I put flashing tape over the wood so it should shed the water pretty well. Each end is screwed down to facia so, along with the weight, I’m thinking it should be able to handle a strong wind. We also took the plywood off the tent platforms and used some of the sheets to cover the windows. Jan has a natural talent with a screw gun and clearly should show up more often to show off that skill. She also knows how to read a weather report and high-tailed it before a cold snap moved in.
The cold snap was longer and colder than I thought it would be, with temperatures staying below freezing for about a week, dipping to the single digits. Although the only exposed pipes were down in the cellar, I was worried they would freeze because there wasn’t any insulation over the top of the cellar — I really should have taken care of that when the weather was warm. To check things out, and hopefully drain the pipes, Wylie and I hiked up. For an early snow, it was fluffy and light and it was still hanging on the trees, a beautiful day to go up even though it never got above freezing.
Above are a few shots. The left photo shows “Logan’s Log,” labeled by Wylie after he heard that Logan nearly knocked himself out when he failed to duck for the log that’s still across the door. The next photo (2nd from left) shows the solar electrical system. I removed all the electronics and wires, plus put the batteries down in the cellar where I hope they don’t freeze. I probably won’t get the panels down, so I guess it’ll be an experiment to see how well they handle the snow. I also didn’t get the 2 by 4 supports for the tent platforms taken down (2nd from right). I figure they’ll last the winter and it’ll save a day or so putting up the platform next spring. The outhouse seems good so far and I’m hoping it’ll be fine in it’s new location for next year.
The roof of the cabin looked good, and there was only a hint of drifting in the snow. A hawk was sitting on the roof when we arrived, thus making the tracks on top. I brushed the snow off the Kubota and put Sta-Bil in the tank, but the ignition was frozen so I couldn’t start it to put it under the porch, therefore I tarped it up which is probably better anyway. I also put Sta-Bil in the diesel tank and in the generator.
I opened the frost-free hydrant and hooked it to a hose to drain the cistern. The cistern probably didn’t need to be drained, but it was the only way to drain the pipes in the bottom of the cellar. Wylie enjoyed playing with the water — lots of pressure. It took over 3 hours for the cistern to drain. A blue grouse (right photo) sat in a tree next to cabin and watched while Wylie played with the water and whacked me with snowballs.
Overall, Wylie and I had a great day. It never got above freezing, but the south side of the cabin was in the sun and felt warm. We got most of what I wanted to do done — I would like to get up one more time at least, hopefully after it has warmed up some. Wylie got covered in grime from sliding down the hill and sharpened his snowball throwing skills. His gloves were frozen solid in the tips and he had an ice cycle frozen to his jacket for the hike out but he stayed warm and had a good time.