Another hugely successful and enjoyable year has come to an end on the Hill. We added 1500 gallons of water storage capacity, built the shower stall, extended the kitchen deck, built the new room on the kitchen and rocked the road down to the cemetery. The kids never came up, but Kristen did a couple times and the boys made a few trips. We got a lot of help from Kelly and his tractor this year, digging holes for next year’s planting, moving rocks, improving the water bars before we rocked and then bringing the water tank. We avoided smoke from any fires and learned a few lessons. All in all, it was just a great year.

It is great coming up with no big projects on the slate as that means I am not hauling a ton of materials. Packing and loading is easy and the drive up is way less stressful. It is the day after our great country elected trump again, so I went with music from our party playlist all the way up and it was most enjoyable and beneficial to my delicate psyche. It was also a bonus to have Bob already up at the property as I didn’t have to unlock the upper gate. Just the tiniest thing like for me not having to unlock one gate can sometimes seem like it makes the whole trip easier.

It was great to see Bob up on the Hill and we chatted briefly before he got back to work and I unloaded and got settled. We were only staying 2 nights and I was really focused on all the stuff we had to do before we left, so I didn’t unload the ice chest into the freezer; that and the fact that the high was supposed to be in the 40’s and the lo in the 20’s, I figured the ice would survive. I also figured we wouldn’t use any of the rat water from the kitchen tank so I didn’t bring up the Joolca and instead started to undo some of the water lines and the faucet and shower heads. I was really anxious about getting the new cabin gutter connected to the kitchen water tank so I started futzing with it and trying to figure out how to get it attached across the 15 or so feet between cabin and tank.

Soon Bob appeared and instantly got involved with a plan. It was great to be working together again and figuring stuff out. We got enough gutter together and attached to 2×4 to reach across but were having a time getting it attached to the cabin. Bob temporarily wired it in place, but unfortunately, it failed the slope test. I knew this might be an issue when Diego had his guy attach the gutter to the cabin with the downspout. That 3 inches of so or downspout drop eliminated our slope. Bob grabbed the sawzall and started hacking on the cabin trying to make a notch for the gutter and the 2×4 brace. Soon Mike rolled up the Hill.

It has been over 4 months since Mike has been up staying away during the hot summer months and then playing so much music for October Fest in September and October. I think he was a little blown away with how much had changed. Of course, he was very impressed with the cabin but we were up on ladders and struggling with the gutter and the weight of the span of double 2×4, so he got right to lending a hand. We needed more hacking and chopping and chiseling until we had enough gaps for the gutter to get up inside the fascia as high as it could get. We tied it off with baling wire, nailed it and screwed it for good measure and we were perfectly level at best. It was as good as it was going to get this year.

I had pretty much given up on Diego coming tomorrow to finish up the cabin. It has been hard to get him back after the 2 week gap. Each time something else comes up, this job takes longer or that thing needs to be done first. In this 2 week gap between my last trip up and now, he was heading to Tijuana to get married, so there were all kinds of possibilities for a prolonged absence, not to mention the election results may have made them rethink coming back at all, or maybe they were happy about it; none of it makes any sense to me unless you are insane or worse. In any event, this is work I had expected/hoped Diego would be doing tomorrow, but since his arrival is clearly in doubt, I was stoked we got after it.

With that, we got to properly greet Mike and Bob went back to his cabin to get cleaned up for cocktails and dinner. Mike got settled in the trailer and it was soon time for libations. It was great to have Mike up top again, but it was all a tad rushed. We had a celebratory beverage and I got to unpacking the party leftovers I brought up for dinner. About 5 o’ clock when the sun went down, the temperatures went with it and it got cold. We adjourned into the cabin to eat and we were all very happy. The pulled chicken and Lima beans and turkey were excellent and a perfect hearty meal to ward off the cold.

Mike was out early and Bob not much later. I was anxious so I got started hauling the scrap battens to the truck and kind of rounding up odds and ends that would go home with me. It was fun working in the dark and the cold as it warded off the cold and gave me a little something to do as it was nary 7 o’ clock and I was not ready to go to bed. I walked the loop and then got in my cabin to call Kristen and settle in for the night. The stars were outrageously clear and twinkly. The Milky Way was stunning. I woke up sweating and had to unzip and uncover a bit to adjust the temperature setting. Sleep was good.

With no word from Diego, I set my laser like focus on rocking the road. I had called yesterday to confirm their arrival and we agreed to meet on the road at about 8:45. As I waddled over to the kitchen, Bob was already out and about as usual. He said he had been up since 4:00 am. I was grateful I slept well and late. We had a cup of coffee together and let him know the gravel trucks would be rolling early. Since he had been up so long already, he was ready to go so getting on down the Hill and out of the way was no problem. He waited for Mike to appear from his slumber and then headed on down for the last time in 2024. Hopefully we will have more nights together next year as our schedules didn’t align as much as I would have liked this year. We will do better next time.

Mike grabbed a coffee and we headed down to the intersection of Termo Grasshopper and South Grasshopper to meet the truck. We headed down a few minutes early to scope the ground next to the cemetery as a turnaround spot and to make sure we were there for the truck. Mike saw a light blue gravel truck way off in the distance before we even got out of the gate so we hauled ass down South Grasshopper and sure enough, it was a Packway truck. I should have known right away by the overreaction the driver gave when we confirmed we were the customers that this guy was going to be a bitch. Nonetheless, with much relief, he followed us down South Grasshopper and onto the property.

At the cemetery I pulled over to show him where he could turn around and he started whining about not being able to do it and getting stuck and this not going to work and I didn’t know this and he didn’t know that and he had to get out before the other driver got here. He was all butt hurt and huffy and a whiny little bitch. Eventually he got his trailer unhitched and followed me up the hill with the dump truck part of the transfer and full of tone and in a big hurry to go home, asked me where I wanted it. It seemed obvious that we needed to continue rocking the rest of the road from where we left off last time, but he needed more assurances I guess. Before our conversation was done, he was off down the hill. He didn’t ask how thick we wanted the rock or how far we were hoping to cover, he just drove off down the hill after telling me all the things he couldn’t do.

By the time I got his whining out of my head, I walked down the road to meet him. He was already done dumping the first half of the load and had slid the trailer part of the transfer into the dump truck. He decided he wanted to back up the road to dump rather than drive to the top and come down again, which seemed like a reasonable idea. He dumped the second part of the load, too thick for my opinion, but had already slid the transfer back onto the trailer and was turning around in the exact spot I thought he could. It took him 1 attempt and he was gone. All that bitching for no reason at all.

I waited at the cemetery and Mike was in his rig down at the intersection to warn the next driver not to drive up to the cemetery with both truck and transfer. It seemed like it took forever for him to get up to me, but the second truck was on site. He had already left the transfer part of the truck down at South Grasshopper so I just explained to him that the other driver suggested he too back up to where he would begin spreading his load, which was getting closer with each dump. I said he could turn around at the cemetery and he was off following Mike up the hill. Unfortunately, he didn’t know where the cemetery was and immediately passed it. I had to run him down up by the Portuguese gate and bring him back. He had a good laugh and thanked me for running after him.

He came back down and before he got ready to spread, he asked me how thick we wanted the pour and about how far we hoped to cover. With that, he easily turned around alongside the cemetery to reverse his way up the road to begin pouring where the last guy left off. Once at the spot he would begin spreading, I explained we still needed rock up top and that the other guy refused to go back up because first he said it was too narrow, then he said there wasn’t enough room to turn around (even though he had just been up there and turned around, and we had 2 belly dump trucks turn around up there) and then he said he might get stuck in the rock they had just poured. This second driver, Gary, got out of his truck to look at the thickness of the material that had been dumped and kind of smirked, suggesting he would not have a problem going over that and up to where we needed the rock. This was a huge relief.

With that he spread his load on down the road and went back to the pavement to get his other transfer. He drove all the way up top without incident and happily got out of his truck to check out the buildings and the view. We walked out to the lounge and chatted for a few minutes. We gave him a $50 tip for being so amenable and reasonable. He maneuvered his rig as best he could do drop the material between Mike’s trailer, my cabin, and the kitchen but it was tough to actually spread it in the nooks and crannies. He apologized for not being able to do better but we were super happy he got it up here and spread as much as it was. With that he was off and Mike and I had a minute to survey the impact. It was glorious.

You always wish the rock covered a little more but we were in pretty good shape, got the material up top which was in question for a minute, and the red color was fantastic. It really was beautiful and contrast with the yellow grass. It really reminded me of traveling highways 89, 44, and 36 as a kid with mom and dad. Going to Lassen National Park and Burney Falls. I remember the roads being bright red and it setting off the dark green of the pines tightly packed on either side of the road. It was very cool to again have pulled off a late season unexpected rock job and to have that childhood memory on the Hill. Now we waited for the return of the bitch with the last load. We had lunch and looked at the material that had been dumped. Mike couldn’t help but grab a rake and start moving it around. I grabbed a few more things that needed to come home with us, checked out the Yellowstone, organized some things, sprayed some leak stopping stuff on the water tanks, took down some ladders, put in the plug for the new water tank from Kelly, put some bleach in the rat water of the kitchen tank, and then we heard the beeping of the gravel truck.

We didn’t hurry down so as to limit my time with this guy, but we timed it just right to meet him as he was coming back with his second load. It was great to see as this pour would bring the red lava just about to the front of the cemetery where we had hoped to get this time. The guy was little cheerier this time, probably since he would be home soon. He gave us the bill and said not to worry about the 12 dollars and change since he didn’t have any change. I was happy to save $12.37 cents but Mike was determined to pay it. As the guy stood at my window, Mike passed over the $3500 we had already counted out in 2 piles of $1800 each. I handed it out my window to the guy and he happily accepted and recounted. Mike handed me another $20 to give to the guy, but I refused to pass it over, neither covering the $12 or tipping this guy. There was an awkward moment as the guy tried to make nice and/or wait for his tip, but none forthcoming, eventually he turned and walked away, much to my satisfaction. It reminded me of when fence Dale told Bruce whom we bought the trailer from to get the hell away from us on this very same spot. I was happy to have the negative energy away from here.

We had to go down out the gate to close up but while we were out, I asked if Mike wanted to check out the far corner. I pointed out a very large and straight trunked Juniper and the spot Ken, Bill, and I hiked up to check out the white soil area. We talked about fence Dale and Tim and Cindy the 5-G trumper weirdoes down the road. We talked about Cowboy Dale and his old place and saw the property markers, and Mike said how fun it was to drive around our property looking at stuff. Back inside the gate, we drove up our newly rocked road and were giddy about how good it looked and at the prospects of coming up earlier in the Spring. It was quite an achievement to pull off this job so late in the season but these guys were really professional and good to work with.

With that, it was time to really get after prepping to leave. Mike worked on the trailer while I cut up the last of the 15’ lengths of siding and brought a load of lumber down to the wood pile and covered it all with the huge billboard tarp. I fed the kitty skunk and grabbed the 2 roofing panels I wanted to bring home. I gathered pretty much everything I wanted to bring home around my cabin and the trailer, took pictures of the wolf tracks, and then got ready for our final cocktails of the year. I called Mike to come so we could have a long leisurely afternoon, but I was already done with my drink out on the upper terrace before he arrived as his 5 minutes is always 30.

I refreshed my drink and got Mikey one that we enjoyed on the Western Addition in the last warm sun of the day. I got a kick out of sitting in the sun at this spot because this is typically where we come for morning coffee to stay out of the sun in the summer. Just another great thing about the property is that we have different spots for different weather at different times of the year and it changes so much throughout the season. We talked about selling it and buying something closer to the coast that truly would provide summer relief for us and be closer to him. Mike is 78 and soon to be 79 and while he is in excellent shape, a 6 hour drive is a long ways for anybody. He talked about selling his cars and guns and boat and the same stuff as it ever is, but still worried about the bigger money and how often he would come anywhere with all his music and other stuff they do. I heated up the ham and the last of the cowboy chili from the party and had an excellent meal. At 5 o’ clock with the sun gone, it got cold again and we settled into the cabin. It again proved to be worth it’s weight in gold.

Mikey wanted to get a fire going in the stove so we did. Unfortunately, the heat was burning off all the chemicals from the new pipe and paint and the room became a cancer chamber. I had to get out but Mikey liked it. I had a lot of energy this being our last night of the year so I got a fire going and hauled up a bunch of juniper trimmings. Mike was off to bed about 6:00 so I poured me another one and got to the burn. It was awesome. I was happy to be burning the last of the construction debris, little pieces of lumber trim, the last of the cedar shingles we use for kindling, and a fair amount of dead sage we tore up from the cabin build or from Kelly’s tractor work. It was a big clean-up, big fire, big light and heat and awesome embers. It must have been all of 9:00 when I shimmied off to bed.

I slept really well having dialed in the open zipper on my bag the night before. My heat index was well dialed in. It was not nearly as cold at night nor this morning as I got up. I had my first coffee on the upper terrace and Mike joined me for the second cup. We brought the chairs down with us and gathered the things to stay tighter and tighter around the kitchen. We filled the new room with chairs and I filled the truck with everything coming home. Mike finished with the mouse/rat electrocution chambers in the trailer and got to unhooking the propane and batteries. I emptied my cabin and that was about it. Mike rolled down the hill about 10:30, a little ahead of schedule, and I was alone on the Hill again, for the last time of the year.

I heated up some water and washed up a little, then had a celebratory beverage. I sorted out some snacks and drinks for the drive home and then grabbed a beer to walk to loop and check out Bob’s cabin, the Yellowstone, the shitter. I noticed all the cat food I set out on the table was gone by the wood pile. Hope they have a good winter. I took some pictures of the trees and such and then took a beer out to the lower terrace and, without chairs, made a killer new seat out at the very point of the rock formation. I was in shorts, sandals, and shirtless and the sun was so warm on my back. I called K from the point and we talked for a long time. It was wonderful and I knew at that time it was not time to move on from the Hill just yet. There are always little fun projects to build and make and do, but I also know I have to be better about relaxing and being present and sinking in a little deeper here. I have barely scratched the surface of what this place has and I would love to be a part of it a little longer.

With a serious melancholy and a heavy bittersweet, I loaded up the truck and moved on down the Hill. At the upper gate a took a few pictures of the rock for Bob and then realized I didn’t have my glasses. I had to unlock the gate, reverse back up the road, walk all the way out to the point of the lower terrace and there they were. Back in the courtyard, I had to re toast everybody and then try again. At the cemetery, I stopped again for more pictures and to toast the dearly departed. At the gate, I decided to take South Grasshopper out the back door on the slow road. It was great to see Eagle Lake again and then blow out highway 36. I turned into Westwood and out Third street to intersect highway 147 coming down the East shore of Lake Almanor then into Canyondam and Greenville on 89 that are still devastated from the fire some years ago.

Once I got onto highway 70 at Paxton, there were 2 long waits for construction work that were slightly annoying, but my tunes from the party playlist were great and the day was beautiful and the fall colors were glorious and I had so many memories along the way from prior trips to keep me entertained. It was a great drive. I didn’t get home until about 7:00 but the darkness didn’t really bother me as much as it usually does so it was fine. K had pizza coming out of the oven as soon as I stepped in the door and we watched some college football before showering and heading to bed bed. What a great year and I very much look forward to many more great times on the Hill.