Yes! My first experience with snowshoes; A little story from a few years back, living at the cabin (glad I pen things soon after they occur) I don’t have cabin fever w-a-a-a-a-a-y past cabin fever it rained yesterday ice, snow, and rain make trekking somewhat entertaining if one more bird lands on my shoulder while I’m peeing I’m gonna break its tiny neck with my channel locks got out a bit helped an ol’ guy fetch his water since we live among our native American brethren, I’ve been given to naming folks what I think fits their character this fellow gets around with the help of a putter calling him Walks With Iron didn’t know what was involved with fetching water if I had, I’da just offed Walks With Iron, with a large rock ‘where’s the water?’ ‘oh, it’s just up the trail a piece’ ‘a piece’ is several hundred paces ‘up the trail’ is up, steep (gravity fed don’tcha know) turns out I’m in pretty good shape I can twirl, tumble, scream and flail several times in succession without losing a dogged trudge He normally does this on his own, but his back is out His little woman is a little woman Does art, feathers n’ things That’s her contribution I’m going to end her too He did hand me a pair of snow shoes I’ve never worn snow shoes One does not mosey, amble nor stroll in snow shoes One should stride as though slogging thru deep quicksand when in snow shoes When turning in snow shoes, one should be aware of what can occur when stepping on the back of the adjacent snow shoe Snow angels are overrated When picking one’s self outta four feet of snow, one should remove at least one snow shoe Walks With Iron now has 77 gallons of brackish brown water in his indoor tanks, 120 lbs of dog food in his feeder (don't recall seeing a dog), and three big wheel cart loads of blood stained wood on his porch I’m home now Happier Relieved My water is only a hundred paces away On flat land That’s my story today Waltzes In Snow
Many a scene of nature out there But my very best of times were towards dusk I'd be sipping a steaming hot mug of java Listening to the prairie wolves Their songs of mourning drifting thru the pines It'd give me a bit of a chill I so miss that
I miss everything about living in the mountains except all the people that moved in. They left the cities because they paved paradise and put up a parking lot. They ruined the forest and range land with their pseudo-environmentalism. They drove the real stewards of the land out with their recreational ways. I build my cabin "lodge" so it would stand for 150 years. They bulldozed it and reduced it to ashes. Now a two-million-dollar home stands with all its environmentally friendly appliances and high-tech security. Expensive horses just for trail riding have the once lust pasture where cattle roamed, all stomped to fine dust.
As @Faye Fox experienced, building with yer own hands is a profound experience Towards finishing the first cabin, I took my sweet time There's a pride and......you'll be looking at what you did for possibly a very long time I built with the ever real thought a wildfire could wipe it all out within minutes if the wind was wrong Didn't seem to matter
as a side note, I enjoy capturing nature while its not looking we get the sun rises Here's one I put words to;
Beautiful work Gary. I forged my hinges and slide bolt locks and they were a bit crude but they worked. It is crazy my cabin and "lodge" survived 6 major forest fires, 4 of them when I lived there. I was evacuated 4 times. I was also living there when St Helen's blew. It might interest you to know my outhouse maintenance. I dug 4' deep holes and always cleaned out my ashes from my wood cook stove daily and dumped them in there. My cookstove was used year around and also heated my water. I then would lime it weekly and never had a problem. When the hole was half full, I moved it. One winter I had 6' high snow walls on either side of the path. The last 5 years I live there, I had full-fledged indoor facilities.
That's above and beyond Quite remarkable A guy up the path had a forge He made me some hinges for my rustic cabinets Nothing better I'll post some pics.....when I find them
So was mine but I had it downhill 100 feet from the well which I had to abandon because of high iron and other minerals. It was a big project developing my spring on the hill. but worth it. When I was in the mountains of Montana, I had an electric composting toilet. I hated it!
That first cabin was tiny.....too tiny Did the bump outs That helped....some Still too small to live in. Can't recall the sq footage, but under 200SF As this thread travels, I'll talk about our main cabin and other buildings This is the main cabin; We lived in it six years
The subject of running into undesirables on another site reminded me of some folks Mostly renegades live around the cabin Miles away, but still neighbors They don't bother with anyone .....and they don't like to be bothered Hermits, mostly One ol' boy came down to our cabin Rare for him He brought me a gift A strange, old looking mattock You don't not take gifts from these folks It's an insult Anyway, he don't talk much So, we sat...sipped a brew Talked seasons......fires......critters Then He got up Turned Walked away No G'bye No hand waive No nuthin' I watched him walk down the path 'Til he disappeared Got to liking that trait Less to do He's got a tight little cabin His refer is a deep hole in the ground Does just enough hunting to supplement hisself Good guy to know up there