FIRM FOUNDATION

This past month the posse and I have been laying a firm foundation for our cabin at Snoqualmie Summit. According to our structual engineer, we needed to lay 12 36 inch round piers to support the cabin and the extreme snow load. A couple of years ago it snowed 16 ft and back in the 1850’s the pioneers and explorers reported 25 feet of snow. We needed to be prepared for the worst possible conditions. This required 35 60 pound bags of cement for each pier–totally 420 bags of cement. This was not an easy task since we had to trudge through the forest a half of a football field to get to our cabin. We decided it would be of benefit to purchase this

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.part tractor

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.part pack mule

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.part recreational vehicle

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The boys actually would fight over who would get to load up the cement and drive the quad through the forest to our cabin. The Rancher has made our lives much easier this summer not only for packing stuff, but for exploring the endless logging roads and trails of this beautiful part of Washington State. I’m still rather timid about riding the quad by myself. I have heard many horror stories about how you can flip over and get crushed to death. BB will take me for rides at a very respectable rate of speed. In due time perhaps I will not be so afriad of it.

Bringing the cement to the cabin was the easy part now that we had the mechanical mule to help us. The hardest part was digging the holes. The holes needed to be at least 36 inches deep. Try digging holes that were entagled with old growth roots. Not the most thrilling thing to do on a beautiful August day. The boys were turning into men right before my very eyes. My what biceps they have developed! It took hours to dig the holes the old fashion way–with a pick and shovel. Once the hole was dug, we rigged up a system to siphon water out of the river to mix the cement. Like true pioneers—well almost. This feat so far has taken 6 weekends to complete. We only have two more peirs to dig and pour. What an accomplishment! BRING ON THE SNOW