End of Summer Update!

Yes. That's right. This is the last update of the summer (kind of). As of about two hours ago, we achieved our goal for the 2010 summer term: we finished the roof of the cabin.

We had initially hoped to get to this point by August 28th, the end of the ten-week summer work period, but then as time went by we adjusted our goal, hoping to finish all of the logwork by the 28th. This included the five largest logs, the purlins, that run along the length of the cabin, front to back, supporting the roof. Getting to this point (spoiler alert: we did) would mean that by the end of the day on the 28th, when all our now skilled laborers went their separate ways, all of the remaining work could be completed with additional help from volunteers.

We did pretty well through the last scheduled week, using halogen floodlights at night and copious amounts of caffeine to power through the tough times. Our last log, however, took quite a bit of work. The ridgepole, the large spruce log that supports the peak of the roof, was our largest spruce, with a 21-inch diameter butt. It is supported by four posts throughout the length of the cabin, and required something like twelve people standing all over the cabin to get it in place. Jordan's dad ran the chain fall for this log, and put all of us young guns to shame. So by the time Max, Kate, and Jordan, left on the 29th, all of our logs were up and it was up to me, Lucas, and Kodiak to finish the roof.

It took about a week and a half, and lots of help from volunteers (thanks Elar, Chelsea, Parker, and Rob) but here we are with a finished roof. We chose "ivy green" metal roofing, the standard for DOC cabins, and it looks great. Here's the latest picture - sorry it's so dark, we finished around 9:30 tonight!



At this point, we've got a whole list of things still left to do before the cabin is complete - put in the stove, put in windows and the door, put up joists for the loft area, etc. However, for a week or so we'll be returning to the lives we ignored all summer. Lucas is fixing his truck, Kodiak is leading a DOC First-Year Trip, and I'm going home to spend time with my family. We'll still be updating this blog periodically in the fall as the cabin gets further towards completion.