Trip Date: July 25, 2022
Find this SpotWe have kept up our trips to the Hill just about every other week, and although the trips have been short, they have been very productive. I hauled maybe 6-6’ pallets and another 6 4×3 pallets up with me to use for the floor and framing of a wood shed I want to build off the South side of the water tower. I don’t think the load was very heavy, but it did stick up above the cab of the truck. I am sure this increased air resistance hurt my gas mileage, but I thought I had noticed last trip that it was unusually bad. I used a quarter of a tank more than usual, so I had to put 3/4 of a tank at my usual Shell stop in Standish, at $6.50 a gallon cost me another $100 in gas. Sheesh!
It was already hot by the time I arrived about 11:30, although not as terrible as I was prepared for. The cabin was like a furnace, having been locked up so long. The curtains didn’t have as much of an impact as I had hoped, as it took all evening for it to cool down. There was a little breeze, but less than usual, which didn’t help as much as I had hoped. I was already a sweaty mess by the time I unloaded everything and got stuff up to the kitchen, loaded the refrigerator and set up the water system. I already needed a shower.
We have made great progress on Bob’s cabin and this trip was to put the roof on. Bob got the metal roofing from the same place I got mine for my cabin, a place called California Steel in Galt. With his shed-style roof, he loaded up 16.6” sheets on his Tacoma and his homemade rack and brought the entire load up in one trip. Just his wooden rack and the way he strapped it all in was impressive (and effective) so it was great to see the big green mass pull up the Hill.
The first thing Bob did, before he even unloaded his truck or got his stuff up to the kitchen was to scrape the peeling white paint off the top of the wood cabinet which is part of the kitchen. This had apparently been bothering him as he had brought a paint scraper with him and eagerly got at this small task. He busted out his new dual battery Makita blower which just produced a massive dust cloud all over the kitchen, but it was amusing. Eventually, I helped Bob unload the roofing, and was much relieved when he said he just wanted to get his felt roofing material on the plywood and that would be all for the day. As that was pretty much a one man job, I retreated to the shade and pounded the cold water I had brought up with me.
At some point, I brought my new 1.25” sink drain pipe down to the shitter sink as I had bought a 1.5” piece up the Hill last time. I had to make another trip down there for my socket driver and then another trip for the right sized socket, but eventually we got the rubber connector off, only to find that I had not brought the new 1.25” piece, I had again brought the 1.5” part again. Fuck me. In putting the rubber sleeve back on, and using the new socket set tool kit Jordan gave me for my birthday, I was able to get the clamp real good and tight on the little bit of metal thread protruding from the bottom of the sink, so at this point, I may be good. This allows the sink water on the back of the shitter to drain into the hole, which I am told is good for decomposition of the dooky.
Bob was done in short order, although it was brutally hot up on the roof stapling down black roofing felt. W rested in the shade a spell before taking a sweet cool refreshing shower. It cannot be overtsta3ed how great that Joolca system is. After a celebratory beverage, Bob made his famous tostadas with all the fixins. It was delicious. We lingered a little bit, long enough to give up on the idea of the clouds dropping any moisture yet blocking out any chance of stars. The sky was a little hazy from the Oak Fire just outside Yosemite anyway, so it would not have been a great star show, although the sunset could have been colorful if not for the clouds. We were both early to bed.
I don’t recall specifically talking about getting an early start, but we both wanted to, so we were at the cabin before 7:00 am and happy for it. It was super nice and cool, and just the perfect little breeze. Although we couldn’t smell smoke, it certainly reduced visibility of the Warner’s and surrounding hills. With these full sized sheets, the roofing went really smooth. We took a minute to make sure the first sheet was square and the end caps would fit snuggly over it, and off we went. We would get one sheet heaved up top, Bob would get to screwing it in place, and I would get to peeling this ridiculous cellophane like shrink wrap off each of the 4 end caps. It took me almost exactly the same amount of time to get all the plastic wrap off one end cap as it did Bob to screw down one sheet.
After the first 4 were in place, Bob realized he had more than enough panels and not enough screws, so we double overlapped one sheet, which somehow made the next sheet go exactly to the edge, so we didn’t have to make a single cut. Bob notched the edge pieces to have the same angle as the rafters and we were done by about 9:30. We even squeezed in the stupid little foam pieces that block off the ends of the roofing to bees, or other insects that might want to make a home in there. It was incredible how smooth the job went and that we were done so early. Another big step completed on the cabin build.
Having the rest of the hot muggy day, we decided to head up to Blue Lake for the afternoon. It took just about an hour to get there, but apparently all of Cedarville had had the same thought and the boat ramp area was mobbed. We opted for the couple picnic tables up higher from the lake, but an easy walk down. Although the incredible shredding monster tractor was brushing the road a ways off, it was otherwise quiet and calm sitting in the shade having our lunch. Eventually Bob waddled down the path for a dip and I lingered back at the truck. Even with the tractor work coming closer to me, I still dozed off in my chair for a little nappy nap.
Eventually the tractor and its beeping and the crew boys came right into the parking lot of the picnic area as they apparently were done for the day. In my new awakened state, I headed down to Bob for a refreshing swim and to mingle with the locals who were passing by on the trail that circumnavigates the lake. I remember walking it with my mom and dad when we camped here years ago and a butterfly landed on my dad’s head. We took a couple dips and headed back up to the truck. After eating a little more and putting the chairs in the truck as if to leave, we looked at each other and realized we both needed one more swim. It was sweet.
That put us at about 4:30, which was perfect for not getting back down into the heat too soon. What was weird was that it was 96 degrees up at 6000’ in the Pine forest and it was only like 88 back at camp. Oh well, no climate change here. We stopped at the Likely store for ice and to check out the creepy horror movie set downstairs which, in all the times I have been to the store, have never ventured downstairs. It was a musty collection of cool antiques, touristy stuff, cast iron cookery, and lots of country miscellaneous. I was glad to see it and even happier to survive. I celebrated with a cocktail.
I got to BBQing some burgers and fresh squash from the garden. We marinated fresh tomatoes from our gardens as well and just ate them soaked in Italian dressing. It had cooled off nicely and we were enjoying a mellow evening, until Bob checked in on the Giants game and started reading the fan comments about the team and year. It was comical. We had a great evening and took a moment to tip over the now only half full stock tank that sat at the end of the trailer. It had become a viscous green fluid filled with dead bugs and probably mosquito/nat breeding pond. I was a little reluctant to dump it because we have definitely noticed as increase in animal tracks up the Hill, presumably because of the water. Now with none, the critters will not anly be out of luck, but will have made the trek up the hill for naught. We talked about leaving some water behind each trip in a smaller container; an amount that will either be consumed by critters or evaporate before it becomes an insect breeding pool.
I was off to bed early, as I again wanted to get up early and get some stuff done before it got too hot. As I was laying on my bed talking to Kristen staring out the open window, I spied a dark object not 20 feet from the window. It was just a dark spot, upright about a foot tall. I assumed it was a tree stump or a rock, but as I cleared my eyes and got a better look, it was the black kitty. It was just sitting on a rock, staring right at me. I could clearly see its ears and eyes while it just sat there. When I made a motion to get up, it ran off quick as a little wild thing. I was ecstatic to have my prior sighting confirmed and the thought of having a local critter.
I slept really well, but had some super intense crazy dreams, some quite violent. I remembered them as I lay semiconscious in bed, but they drifted out of my mind by the time I was up and making the bed and packing up everything in the cabin. I had a quick breakfast with Bob and then headed out to the shit pit behind the trailer. I hoped to get the cover on before I left so I got at it. I already had all the wood I needed to finish the framing and my vent pipe all set up. By the time Bob finished putting another coat of stain on his deck and coming up with his truck, I was ready for some advice as to how to frame the vent pipe.
With that, he was off down the Hill and I was left to get to the actual roofing material down at the boneyard. I sorted through all the pieces we have and selected 5 to bring up. I had measured 13’ to cover the entire length of the pit, but settled for these 12’ lengths so I wouldn’t have to do any cutting. It went so easily, I rejected my earlier decision not to cut a notch around the vent pipe, but using the cordless sawzall Haley and Brett got me for Christmas and the new blades, the cut was easy, although I did shoot metal shards into my eyeballs when I made that one cut without my glasses on. It was hot already working out in full sun with almost no breeze. Where is it when you need it?
I was super happy with how the material went down and how I was able to secure the 6’ vent pipe, and was even happier that I was pretty much done, but knowing how it can blow up here, I began to gather rocks to hold down the edges of the roofing material. Soon, I had hauled in a few biggies and enough volleyball and football sized rocks to line the entire edges all the way around. I tossed another 20 or so softball sized rocks onto the tops at the 2 seems where the panels overlapped. I used 2 cement framing posts to attach bailing wire guy lines to the vent and man it looked good. Maybe I can get the children to throw some dirt on it when they come up in October. Children must work for food and shelter!
It was almost noon, and I was pretty thrashed. I was pounding water, but it wasn’t keeping up. I needed to bring back the 2 unused panels to the boneyard, so I decided I would take the rest of the stuff that had been piled alongside the RV from prior jobs down there as well. This leaves just one spare panel of RV cover, which we will probably use for the skirting. It again cleaned up an unsightly pile of materials and centralized all of that below. While at the boneyard, I uncovered one of the 2 full sheets of plywood and hauled it up top alongside the pallets. That gives me just about all the wood I need to build the woodshed in front of the water tower, so we will be in good shape when we start that project.
The trip home was uneventful but for the 1 single car accident above Colfax, It looked like the sedan just launched perpendicularly off the highway, through the guardrail, and crashed head on into the trees. It was being pulled out by a tow truck which blocked one of the lanes. I had to stop at Boomtown in Reno again for $100 more gas, making it near $300 for gas round trip. That is ridiculous!
Hart Hill, Me, Bob, and the Black Kitty Photo Gallery
