Rachelle

Harold back, picked up a load of wood. Had a warm-up fire (no paper, tough go, finally used road flare for extended ignition), pulled the wood off the little hemlock alongside the pile by the canopy and tied the tree up straight, cut a dead leaner spruce off the north line and loaded it up. About two inches of dry snow, no trouble on the driveway. Met “Rachelle”, the older gal running the Dacha grocery, while getting weinie roast supplies. Very few tracks in the subdivision.

Final Row of Shingles

Harold stopped by on the way to an appointment in Anchorage, and brought a battery-powered saw to cut the top shingle rows. Thought about wire-brushing the ridge metal and spray painting it one of the bright colors, but it was a bit wet, time was tight, and it actually looks pretty cool the way it is, gives it a aged look, like barn wood. So, fit, cut, and installed the top shingle rows on each side, replaced the cap, threw everything inside the structure and raced to a 2PM appointment. Was only 4 minutes late, got the tendon anchor thread pulled out of right thumb, a couple more short stops, and then back to Hope. Stacked the remaining shingles in the shack (nice de-odorizers), straightened up, lashed Ben’s ladder to the roof rack, and got out just at dark once again. The gravel path towards the cabin site looks great. There is not much F-1 left, we will have to get more next year.

Cedar Shingles for the Outhouse

Another weekend of work in the Holler. Harold showed up on Friday evening (10/21) prepared to shingle the outhouse, but before too long realized that the glue and tape he had brought was not capable of holding the shingles in place as required. Also, he didn’t bring any food. So he headed to Anchorage for burgers and beer (and a hardware store run).

Saturday morning (10/22) Harold headed back to Hope and with better tools began kicking ass on shingles. “It’s actually a lot of fun!” he was later heard to say. Around 10:30 am Harold woke up a beer-bleary Matt with a phone call and suggested he come down and join the fun. A short time later Harold called Matt again with a supplemental hardware store shopping list. After waking up, getting sufficiently caffeinated, and making stops at three hardware stores, Matt had gathered all the needed equipment and realized that enough of the day had been lost so that Arran was nearly off of work and would be able to go to Hope as well. So Arran and Matt made plans to stay at the Gillespie cabin that evening (which necessitated more lost time, as overnight gear and groceries had to be gathered).

Finally (around 3 pm) Arran and Matt arrived at the Holler to find Harold, Darren, and Keri. Harold was almost done with the first roof panel worth of shingles. Within a few minutes, Nick showed up from Seward, and Nick and Matt got a fire going to burn brush. Nick, Matt, Arran, and Darren started hauling brush to the fire (which quickly became enormous). Only two or three brush piles are left from the driveway clearing effort! After Darren and Keri left for home, Nick started helping Harold with the shingles, Arran continued pulling downed logs loose brush out of the woods to feed the fire, and Matt starting cutting up some firewood for the Gillespie cabin (after learning how to/how not to use a chainsaw). As dusk approached, Matt brought a small truck load of firewood rounds to the cabin and dropped off Arran to start cooking dinner. Back at the Holler, he stoked the brush fire then helped Nick and Harold clean up in the pitch black, as the final shingles were placed. Nick and Harold then headed home.




The shingles look fantastic, especially with the painted ones thrown in; one side is fairly randomized while the other has a systematic progression. After placing the sheet metal cap along the crest of the roof, Harold realized that each side is going to need another half-row of shingles to look right. So close. Oh well, it won’t take long to finish up now.

In the morning (10/23) Matt went back to the property to check on the fire. After stirring the ash, he got the heat back and the fire going again then re-stacked the remaining logs. While waiting for it to burn down one more time, Matt placed gravel on the pathway to the yurt.

Outhouse Up!

Monday morning and reporting! Friday night and Saturday morning Harold and Nick put the finishing work into the outhouse, mainly putting in the actual seat structure. Then Harold and Nick, with some help from Jeanie, Sue and Joey, broke it down and got it onto the trailer for hauling to the property. Sue and Jeanie packed up food for the week-end and we headed out, arriving in Hope approximately 2:30 p.m. We had to clear a tree that had fallen across the driveway and then attempt to back the trailer down onto the lot. The backing down proved problematical due to the steepness and “dip” of the driveway and we had to wait for Matt and Arran to arrive for help in straightening out the truck/trailer for a second more successful attempt. Finally arriving in place everyone hustled back and forth hauling large panels and various pieces over the trail to the outhouse site. In order to level the outhouse securely, several loads of gravel had to be hand carried from the parking area and placed around the buried drum. Once the floor panel was in place, the rest of the panels came together relatively smoothly, and everything (except windows, doors, and trim) was assembled in plenty of time to head to the Gillespie’s cabin to make dinner (quinoa salad, salmon, and burgers).

After a relaxed start on Sunday morning (we didn’t get to the Holler until noon) everybody put in another solid day of work. The finishing touches (which take the most time) were put to the outhouse, and it is currently fully functional (all that remains are the cedar shingles). Jonas was the first customer. We started a large brush fire in the pit at the parking area and hauled and burned two huge piles of brush. Jeanie and Sue also assembled the white canopy shelter at the end of the parking area.

Last to leave, Sue and Harold ran into Robbie and talked about the finishing touches he would make to the driveway. He and his brother Willie were busily dumping F-1 gravel (two grades smaller than D-1; spec’ed for paths and tent sites in campgrounds)) and packing it down when we returned after a quick sandwich at the Discovery Cafe. They smoothed out the dip in the driveway hill and created a parking spot at the top. Harold took a couple pictures but we didn’t stay to see the end result. Robbie gave us the final bill, which is $3468.00 (works out to $1156 each partner). We put the check in the mail to him on Monday. They dumped a small pile of the gravel near the canopy for us to use on our paths. Robbie said if we need any more, we can go to the big pile at their property.


 

Outhouse loaded for transport!

Tricky trailer work.

Hauling outhouse panels through the woods!

Culvert Installed

Larry Harmon called from Hope, said he was standing on top of our newly installed culvert! Larry’s driveway is completely done, and he said that the 30’ culvert is not too long. He said ours has a fine-looking layer of D-1 over the culvert and the upper drive. The upper parking slot has not yet been covered with gravel, and apparently there is not yet any gravel added to the hill. 

Also, the first birch on the right (which had its roots chopped into a bit during the digging) has toppled in the wind and is blocking the drive. Our security system is in place! We will have to move a small hemlock into that spot and let it grow.

Loreto

Harold called Robbie and had a long chat.  It turns out Robbie and his wife have started a small vineyard near Loreto, Mexico, on the Baja, and they had to be there for the grape harvest!  He said their timing was off, but they had to come back anyway.  He said they have a lot to learn about making wine; they have made 60 gallon batches but have yet to get a tasty batch.  Robbie is still busy making sand in Portage (he said the excavator broke down there twice and he had to get an exchange), and could not yet make a promise on when he will get the culverts done.  He will get them fairly soon, spread D1 on the top landing, and add some fill to the steep spot on the hill.  He will leave the pit open for burning, and figure on filling there next year,  He said it’s likely to settle a bit by then anyway, and will take 3-4 loads of pit run, plus some D1 to cover.

Finished Digging the Outhouse Hole

We all met in the Holler, and finished digging the outhouse hole.  Nick, Matt, and Arran dug, and then back-filled the drum level with the ground,  while Sue, Jeanie and Jonas cleared more trails and branches (Harold supervised and stayed out of the way).  We got a fire going in the pit at the back of the parking lot and burned a lot of branches.  We are thinking of telling Robbie to leave that pit open until next year, so we can get a bunch of burning done.  When it was time to go, Nick loaded up the Ranger with birch to carry home.  Harold checked on Robbie down at Davidson’s store, and talked to Robbie’s son Drew, who seems like a real nice guy.  He said Robbie took a week-long trip to Mexico, and left his phone with Drew (that’s why we get no answer).   He is to be back on Monday, but has a sand contract in Portage that must be completed by 9/15.