Hart Hill, 60 is a Big Number

Trip Date: July 14, 2021

Find this Spot

I had sent out an email to the gang proposing 3 trips over the summer. A birthday gathering was the first. It was a bit different to be away from Kristen and the kids for my birthday, let alone a pretty big one, but this is what I wanted to do. Besides, the timing worked out to continue being at the property about every other week, and at the last minute, we got the loop road in, the boulders moved down along the fence line where the robbers cut the fence, and a big hole dug, so I was anxious to see the work.

Bob has started to build his cabin and I had just gotten off the phone with him to tell him that the road would not be in before he came up Sunday, a few days ahead of the rest of us to do some more work on the foundation. Just after talking to Bob, I got the call from Mike that the road work would go in, so I decided not to tell Bob so he would be surprised that he didn’t have to carry all his tools and lumber and materials all the way out to the build site. I was stoked to get his call Sunday and hear how excited and relieved he was and just knowing how much easier it would make things. Mike even went back and put in a little driveway from the road out another 50 feet to the cabin, so Bob could literally drive right to it. It was righteous.

That set the tone for a great gathering. Ken rallied the troops and all of a sudden we had 10 guys coming. It was super exciting to think about having that many hooligans up there all at once, filling the place up with laughter, tall tales, and tomfoolery. We have an extraordinary group of gentlemen, but as with everything, it gets harder and harder to gather en masse as times go on and ages increase and abilities decrease. But we were pulling this one off. Weather was good, fire/smoke danger good, health good, wine is good, beer is good, sex is good!

After getting a head count from Ken and a field report from Bob, I was anxious to get up the Hill Tuesday morning. With K’s help, I left the house at 5:30 and was at the gate by 9:30. My first impressions of the boulders were not as I had hoped, but there sure were a lot of them. As I crept up the road with 80 gallons of water in the back, I was blown away to see the loop road coming back into the main road just above the outhouse. As I pulled up alongside my cabin, the new road stretched out before me to the West and out to Bob’s build. It was stunning.

It was definitely rough, but it was in the perfect place, and will definitely smooth out in time. It was awesome. Bob has his nose to the grindstone, so I was literally standing next to him before he noticed I was there. He was working out of the back of his truck, tunes on, singing and sawing and screwing away. He was really pleased with his work and progress, and had a few little things to button up. I got to emptying the truck and organizing the kitchen and cabin. We soon were sharing a celebratory beverage. Bob went back to work and I did too, and before long Bill, Mike, and Vinny arrived.

There was much rejoicing and scurrying about as they unpacked. Tom come up the hill next and eventually Ken and Steve arrived. The Eagles had gathered. We got some grub out and gathered in the shade and had beverages. There was talk of Kier, Kevin, and Steve S not being able to make it, although Kevin would be camping in the Warner’s with his 3 brothers, and the possibility of Reino coming tomorrow night. It was great to have so much positive energy and the air filled with fun and laughter and positivity. But there was food to be consumed.

As always Tommy had upped his game and brought copious quantities of the tastiest Manhattans in the largest containers to date. The first container was obliterated and the second sustained heavy damage. Food was needed. Bobby got our first fire in the new Craig’s List BBQ I scored and Mike brought out a whole bunch of food he had precooked; tri-tips that Bob warmed on the grill, a huge vege brew, fried taters, and a massive salad. I reheated a lasagna in a water bath and we fed the village. Mike’s food was outstanding and no one left hungry. We had copious amounts of cocktails and it was soon time for this one to go home. I crawled off to bed in pretty good shape.

I have been pretty good as of late stopping drinking before I drink enough to get a hang over. I just hate them so much; I hate headaches, and the lost time feeling shitty after drinking too much, which decreased my enjoyment of the festivities to boot. This morning was no different. I felt good, and after a coffee and water, was ready to go. The boys were less eager. After a generous morning, and Vinny making sausage and pancakes, Tom, Ken, and Steve headed out for a walkabout. They were gone about an hour which gave the rest of us ample time to regroup and think thoughts of the coming day.

I only had 2 simple jobs I wanted help with this weekend, although some of the boys were suspicious my list may have been a tad longer. However, far and away the number 1 job was to hoist the kitchen water tank up on the platform, but first it had to be emptied. Bill and I fussed with the generator and hose and extension cord and pump and finally got all the parts where they needed to be. Fortunately this was a very level transfer of the kitchen water tank to the cabin water tank. Fortunately, the pump pumped away and after an hour or so of tolerable generator noise, we had gotten about all of the water possible out of the tank. The boys were doubtful, but it really is light once empty, and I was easily able to tip it up on blocks to relieve it of that last few ounces.

Once empty, I backed the Tundra up to it and with many helping hands it slid easily upon the bed rails. I backed up right to the edge of the platform and with one easily lift she slid up top and we spun her around easily into place. It was a very simple task, but she looked great up there and it really was the cherry on top of much thought and labor over a couple months time. Hopefully she is comfortable when full. With this task complete, the boys were released to their recognizance, and we were left to individually decide what to do for the rest of the day.

I wanted to head up to Blue Lake to spend the hot dry day floating in a beautiful mountain lake. It was less than an hour away, and I could not see a better way to begin my 60th year on earth. Bob, Bill, and Tom piled into the Tundra and off we went with a picknickity basket, floaty toys, and plenty of hydration cylinders. It is a beautiful drive up the South Fork of the Pitt into Jess Valley, one of the most picturesque pastoral settings around. Once at the edge of the valley, the road splits, North to Mill Creek, and South to Blue Lake. The road is paved all the way to Blue Lake and we were there in less than an hour. It was awesome to be among tall green trees and look out over a beautiful blue sparkling lake. We went down to the boat ramp that Bob and I had to ourselves last time and where we had hoped to hang out. This time, the parking lot was full and the summer camp kids were all amassed as well. It was chaos, but it was all fun, laughter, and happiness.

We passed up the day use area bench in the shade hoping to find a bench or table closer to the water. We drove the entire campground loop to no avail. We anxiously returned to the lone table and occupied it with a burst of activity, unloading the ice chests and spreading out our grub. Ice cold beverages were enjoyed in the dense shade of the tall pines, as we sprawled out in our chairs and relaxed. We had some great grub and were considering options for getting down to the water. Bob went off on an exploratory walkabout and we waited for his report.

All of a sudden, like the giant glass pitcher of Cool-aid, Kevin burst out of the bushes, closely followed by his son Alek. This was an outstanding surprise. We knew Kevin was camping with his 3 brothers, a very rare event to even be together let alone camping together, especially since one brother lives in Saudi Arabia. Despite his camping nearby (I actually thought they were backpacking in the Wilderness out of Patterson Station), we did not expect to see him. He had texted me a happy birthday note earlier in the day, but I never imagined seeing him, so it was outrageous to see him standing there. After a warm greeting, 2 of his brothers rolled up in their truck. It was great to meet them and see them together if only for a minute. The fourth brother was down by the lake somewhere and we never met him.

After the Brothers Taylor departed, it was time for a float. We gathered our floaty toys and life jackets and ambled down to the ramp. The summer camp kids had left, but there was still a large group of people; babies, teens, parents, grandparents, dogs, boats, floaty toys, inflatables, the works. It was an awesome scene to see them all together; playing, interacting, having fun, sharing, taking turns. It was great to be among all those positive vibes. Bob didn’t have a swim suit so he wandered down the trail a bit to get away from the people and hopped into the water in his skivvies around a point. As it turned out, the buoy’s that he though delineated a children’s swim area, was actually a protected bird sanctuary, attempting to provide some safety zone for the local pair of Bald Eagles. No ranger; no headache!

Bill, Tom, and I floated off the boat ramp out into the perfectly clean, cool water. It felt exactly as I had hoped it would. We just floated lazily in the water, being entertained by all the activity of the family gathering, or staring off across the lake in tranquility. Eventually we spotted the Eagles cruising down to a log and eating a little fish or something it found. The other one swooped in and brushed the other one away. We watched it fly around the back of the island they were feeding from and shoot up into the tall pine it had it’s nest in. What a special treat. Eventually it was time to roll, so we packed up and cruised on down the road to the Likely store to restock some ice.

Back at camp, we found the boys exactly as we left them; sitting in the shade of the trailer. They said they had cleaned up some, although it was not evident. Three men sharing one gallon of water does not seem adequate. Be that as it may, we joined them for beverages and tales of the day. Rhino was a late afternoon addition and there was much rejoicing. Tommy blew us all away with yet another massive cylinder of Manhattan’s, this one even better than the last. The shit was flying and the drinks flowing and the boys were feeling fine. Mike made a nice birthday toast, and we celebrated 3 decades of being friends.

The less intoxicated, or maybe not, had the wherewithal to provide sustenance for the masses. Vince reheated corned beef and cabbage and red potatoes he had cooked ahead of time. Rhino BBQ’s some steaks and away we went. The smoke from far and wide wildfires fouled our clear skies so the stars were not visible at all. I did manage to stay awake until the moon set, but not much longer. I slept soundly and felt fine in the AM, keeping my pledge to myself to avoid hangover headaches. Unfortunately, this was moving day for most of the crew. I had expected Bill and Tommy to stay, but Tom had to take Amber back from Sac to SLO, so he went too, leaving Billy and I alone to our druthers.

After the dust settled on down the road, we cleaned up a bit and I started to find presents of bottles left behind. I had a very nice collection and several humorous cards. It was a huge lift. I still couldn’t get over the new loop road. It was just perfect, and to barely see a glimpse of the top of Bob’s cabin deck off in the distance was very satisfying. The yackity yak and commotion of the gang was replaced by a quiet calm. The air was a little less smoky this morning, and the temps seemed to have dropped a few degrees as well. I called Kristen to check in and while I was on the phone, Mr. Pry Bar got to his favorite activity and was moving the last boulder I wanted to heap upon the RV cover base. By the time I got off the phone and over to see what he was up to, he had it 75% of the way to its final resting place. We worked together to achieve resolution, and she joined her comrades in providing a significant amount of weighty rock to the base.

With that success, we resigned ourselves to the shade of the kitchen and celebrated in style. After several beverages, Bill prepared the best corned beef sandwich I have ever had. His meat was ridiculously tender and juicy and tasty. He had 1000 Island dressing, 2 kinds of Rye bread (dark for me), 2 kinds of mustard, and freakin sauerkraut. The sandwich was glorious, with chips, and hydration, we were content. I worked the phones a little, getting a hold of Dale and not only settling on a date for the gate and seeing some photos of the gate he made, made also an offer to knock out the SE fence as well. I talked to Mike and got his OK, then back to Dale to get his sorry ass up here and get to work. He is such a great dude. I can’t say enough good things about him.

It was late afternoon by the time I tossed out the idea of pumping water. I hoped it would be easy and a simple thing we could do in the shade without much physical effort. WRONG! It was quite a process of finding hose, and swapping male ends and female ends and pump fittings and connecting the generator to the propane, and situating the pump such that the hose reached and the extension cord reached, and having the heavy dank air of past failures hanging over my head, I counted on Bill to offset all o fit. Finally having it all set up, generator on, plug pump in, nothing, nada, het, nee, non, nein, nie, nao, nej, mana. No. No. No. We poured water down the hose, we sucked the hell out of one end, we poured water directly into the pump, we lubed everything again, we just did not get any flow.

Bill is such a good guy, in any situation, but especially in times of need. He had a cool little tool box and quickly and efficiently had the cover off the pump and was explaining the inner workings. I was just mad and tuned out and drinking more beers, but he patiently examined the propeller and the shaft, and the channel where the water should be pushed out. He figured out a screw that I had never noticed or thought enough about to consider a purpose was actually the self priming mechanism. Nonetheless, she would not pump. We just never could get the initial burst of flow to continue. It was a massive expenditure of energy and emotional capital with zero positive results, other than the final and unanimous proclamation that the pump was dead.

We had earned a good shower so we fired up the propane and the pump of the trailer. The water heater never really got the water hot, but it was warm enough to have a nice shower and come out clean and refreshed. We resumed our seated positions on the kitchen deck. Bill had some great tunes and although we really didn’t feel like a dinner, Biller whipped out crackers, chips, Kalamata olives, spinach dip, smoked Gouda, and Humus. It was all delicious and we consumed mass quantities. It was a spectacular evening; great temps, perfect little breeze, clear, clean air. I was so relaxed and tired, I was fading well before the moon set, but it could not be helped. I was down.

I slept great and awoke feeling good. It was downright chilly in the morning, so I donned a long sleeve shirt and my rain pants to waddle down to the shitter. We had coffee and melon and hung out on the western addition for quite a spell, eventually moving into the sun like all our lizzy friends. Bill and I emptied all our water containers into the RV and the water tanks. I started fooling with the plumbing for the kitchen tank and we soon had that attached. After some consideration, we decided to go ahead and drill a hole in the kitchen wall for the water line from the tank to the kitchen, hopefully some day replacing the big red 55 gallon barrel sitting on the counter.

Several beverages in, Bill had a genius idea of spinning the water tank on the platform around 180 degrees such that the valves would be on the deck side instead of the outer side, allowing for easier access to the plumbing, and a shorter, more direct shot to the kitchen sink. This remains to be seen though, as, for the first time, I realized the connection of the valve location to the fill hole on top. Unfortunately, the ideal fill hole alignment under the end of the kitchen roof gutter does not line up with the ideal valve location. Fortunately, we failed in our efforts to fill the tank, so we still have the ability to rotate the tank into the final position. Several more beverages were consumed as we reclined on the kitchen deck. It was so freaking pleasant just sitting there kibitzing about the many events of the past days and recalling some of the foolishness. Eventually though, we had to get up and go.

We began to pack up and organize, and prepare to leave. Bill headed on down the road and I took a few minutes to try to soak the last bit of memories and energy into my being. I walked the loop, checked out Bob’s cabin, picked up a couple peeler cores from the boneyard, then spent a few minutes by the cemetery and the rocks along the fence line. It all looked fantastic. I was sorry to have the gathering over, but filled with good stuff from it. I was exhausted, and super happy about the few things Bill and I worked on, and, of course, excited to get home to Kristen.

Thanks for a great birthday boys!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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