Trip Date: October 12, 2020
Find this SpotI was excited about this trip as Bob was coming up for what would be his last trip of the year. I start getting concerned about the winter cold earlier than probably I needed to because I just am not used to it, but also, because everything typically takes us longer to do so we need to allow extra time. I got a bunch of work out of the boys when they were up October 1, and that really laid the groundwork for a promising trip with Mike and Bob.
I had picked up some 4×6 for the water tower and a bunch of trim for the cabin, so along with the 55 gallons of water I hauled up, and all the tools and parts, and pieces that always come, I again had a full load. I didn’t leave super early, and with no traffic or construction along the way, I was up top about 1:00. I had begun to unload and Bob pulled in, and it seemed like only a few more minutes and Mike arrived, so I was very relieved we were all up top and accounted for.
Bob brought his camper shell on his Tacoma and Mike was in the trailer. It had been a while since I had set up the tent, but I didn’t mind. I raked a ton of Juniper leaves into a sweet level pile and felt the softness under my back and knees all week. I knew too that this should be the last time I sleep in the tent, our primary focus of this trip being the enclosing of the cabin, so that should be my spot from here on out. I showed the guys all the work the boys had done and they were aptly impressed.
Bob really liked the big stones marking the entrance to the kitchen trail and Mike really liked the smoothness of the trails with all the dirt added. I still was in love with the near perfect positioning of the huge stone on the front lip of the RV cover in front of the cabin. I’m not sure what they thought of the water tower construction, but it didn’t receive much attention. We did wander through the cabin and get a good idea of what needed to be done and kind of prepped our minds for tomorrow’s work day.
For now it was cocktail time and we decided I would heat up the yummy casserole Kristen made for us so as not to need a fire. We had an impressive array of Whiskey as Mike brought up a Jack Daniels, Bob brought one, I brought one, and I also brought a bottle of Japanese Suntory Whisky Toki that Jordan gave me. It was a veritable smorgasbord. The grub was great, stars were awesome, and we had baseball on the radio. It was a fantastic night.
The early morning was the typical cool and calm we have almost every morning, and after coffee and a little breakfast, we got to it. I was excited for the arrival of the second water tank from the Tractor Supply in Redding, and right on time, he called to say he was at the intersection. We had a smooth transition into the bed of my truck and Jimmy was off, back to Redding and I was rolling up the hill with our second water tank. It was very exciting.
I was making trips to the bone pile for the slider window and sections of paneling to build a skirting around the bottom of the cabin walls. Mike was helping Bob cut out the sections of the walls for the window. We ran into trouble with the height of the massive southern window, but that was quickly rectified and we got her into place. They got the hole for the stained glass window resized and then we were ready for the horizontal slider on the West side.
At one point, the wind blew the window over and broke off a piece of the trim. This turned out to be a message from Jah as we quickly realized it would be better without any of the metal framing.
That West side was going to be a delicate job with the size of the glass and, now, without its frame, the amount of flex, especially with the steadfast wind that kept up all day. We decided to save it for the morning. They got the 1 original window in place and I slipped the stained glass in and trimmed them out. With that, it was “baseball on the radio” time.
Bob and I took great showers in the trailer and that really washed away the dirt and dust, but also some of the stress and exhaustion of the day. I got the fire going while he showered and he cooked up his tri-tip while I was in there, so when I got out, we had dinner and celebratory cocktails while we listened to the ballgame and waited for the star show. I heated up some pumpkin pie as we waited for the Milky Way. It was as clear as I have ever seen it. You could easily make out little arms and legs branching off instead of the more commonly visibly narrow strip of it. It was incredibly clear making the night sky seem incredibly close and part of the whole instead of so separate from us.
Sleep was pretty good, but I was really happy to awake to another calm morning, especially after the wind was so strong and steady yesterday. Bob told me he was leaving Thursday, which was really disappointing, and it took me a while to adjust my expectations and goals for the trip. I didn’t do a very good job of it really and I felt like I was pushing a wet noodle uphill the rest of the day. It was especially unsettling and disappointing when Mike said he might also leave.
We then had trouble with the generator as it seemed the battery just wasn’t strong enough to kick it over. Fortunately, Mike was able to loosen the straps, turn it around to reveal a pull start. One tug and we were back in business, for a while anyway. We got the big Western glass in place and Bob got going on the glass door. Mike and I were going after all the trim and we were finding our groove, when the generator cut out again. This time, it seemed out of gas, but fortunately Bob had his battery operated circular saw which saved the day.
He plugged along on the door and casing, only to realize they must not have been originally used together. The hinges did not line up, so he had to move them and we didn’t really have the tools for that, so Bob being Bob, he gathered what options we had and improvised. Again, he was back on track in no time and we slipped the hinges together in their new locations. There was much rejoicing. Mike and I had done a fair bit of trim work and with all the windows and door in place, we were done for the day. It was awesome to see the cabin enclosed and looking like a complete structure.
All 3 of us showered in the trailer this time. The water was a little short for 3, but we made do. I had the fire going and put on a Mark Knopfler album for the boys to enjoy while I showered and they chatted away. My brief rinse allowed me to get back to the fire in time to cook up Mike’s 2 steaks as Bob whipped up some pesto pasta. It was outstanding. I brought Bob down below the rock outcrop shelf on the Eastern side to show him a potential cabin spot and we basked in the warmth of the late sun and cocktails, tripping on the rock, the colors in the lichens, the vista out over the Madeleine Plain and up into the Warner’s. The air was incredibly clear; such a vast difference from all the smoke-filled days we had.
The temps were definitely cooling down so I dumped the BBQ coals in the fire ring and we whipped up a little fire. Even with the light of the fire, the stars were exceptional again. It was awesome to sit by the fire; needing the warmth to stay comfy, but no wind and not extreme cold made it a great night to stay up and listen to the game and a night of baseball on the radio, full belly, and great satisfaction from all we had accomplished the past 2 days.
Sleep was exceptional. I woke up to pee and saw the Big Dipper totally vertical standing on its handle. It was so cool to see it straight in front of me, right out of my tent, so clear and in such an odd position in the sky and on the Northern horizon. The morning was moody as Bob took off and Mike said he was too. Mike helped me put up a skirting around the cabin, from the bottom of the siding to the ground to minimize big critter occupancy and cold air blasting underneath. He left about 1:00.
I typically feel really good up there alone, but I was still adjusting to the unexpected departures. I plugged along and hammered out more trim, readjusted the gutter on the South side, and rolled the water tank into place. I didn’t stop working until about 6:00 so I took a cold rinse from the barrel in the back of my truck and had a sandwich for dinner. I bundled up, not wanting a fire, but staying up for the end of the ballgame with pie and Snickers. It was another amazing night of stars of planets, and satellites, and asteroids. Sleep was exceptional.
The morning was spectacular. I was excited to get as much done as possible, so I started early with trim, trim, and more trim. I did some fancy cuts and employed a few tricks Bob taught me and was most impressed with myself. I think I have every piece possible on the cabin. I filled the flashing gaps in the 4 corners of the roof where the gable flashing wasn’t quite long enough. I used all the caulking we had. I patched a couple spots of the siding and removed some rot and filled with caulk. I worked through lunch until about 2:00, then hurriedly picked up, packed up, cleaned up, locked up, and headed off the hill about 4:00. I had tons of snacks and beverages for the ride home, and without traffic or construction was in the garage at 8:05.
We accomplished a lot with Bobby leading the way and as always got a ton done in a short period of time. I was disappointed we didn’t get to the water tower, but that is a big job all its’ own and deserves plenty of time and attention. Although this will be the last trip of the year for Bob, Mike and I hope to get back up 2 more times to knock off the last of the “must-do” jobs to prepare for winter. We are also excited to get up there later in the year to experience that and really rely more heavily on the trailer, shelter, indoor showers, indoor plumbing, even maybe some heat.
Old Guys Rock, Hart Hill Photo Gallery
