Cold… dang cold

It’s been a while since you may have seen a post from Rustic Pines, and with the greatest intent, we’ve planned several times to make our journey north so we can get stuff done, take photos, enjoy the landscape, and of course have things to write about.

In the last month, we celebrated the holidays like most. Katie and I had planned to utilize the long Christmas weekend to make a trip up Friday and return Sunday morning. I remember having a good reason for staying home, although I can’t remember what it was. Needless to say, we didn’t go and opted for working on the band saw mill at home.

New Years weekend offered another long weekend for a trip up, but this time, I know what kept us home… it was the cold. It would be one thing to enjoy a cold weather weekend if we had a fully insulated, electrified cabin with running water and modern plumbing, but with our meager beginnings, everything becomes important. Just considering the battery in the truck and whether or not the -24 degrees would hamper it from starting is enough to make one pause. I don’t know about you, but a good brisk 3 mile walk to the highway for help, in twenty below weather doesn’t sound like an awesome way to spend a morning to me… let alone the joy of an unheated outhouse.

Sometimes the harsh reality of what we should do versus what we want to do creeps up and ruins your fun.

So rather than risk frostbite and potential vehicle problems, the call was made to postpone our trip.  We spent the time in the house, working on neglected projects.  Believe it or not, I’m capable of distraction like any common man.  Two years ago, I decided to move the laundry room from the basement, to a utility room on the second floor.  I started the project with gusto, then somewhere in the middle, a wedding happened, a job was lost, and land was purchased… So there I sat, bored at home, trying to think of something to do inside, and I remembered what lay behind that closed door upstairs.  No, I haven’t finished it yet, but I will… No need to remind me every six months.

Following Christmas, was another reason to stay home (besides the persistent below zero weather), my nephew was married in early January.  Matt has been a major influence on Rustic Pines, his engineering knowledge and tools have been a blessing.  It wasn’t just the wedding day we had to clear our schedule for either.  Katie had offered as a gift, to cater the grooms dinner the evening before the wedding.  We don’t cater, but Katie is an awesome cook, and her lasagna recipe could kick the crap out of any famous chef (I may be biased).  To complicate matters, Katie’s job has required several trips to Florida, the last of which had her returning just hours before the dinner she was to prepare.  She pulled it off though, and everyone was fed a great dinner, complete with fresh garlic bread, salad, and dessert. Congrats to Matt & Lauren!

We planned another trip during the weekend while another nephew was visiting from Colorado… Once again, we canceled the trip due to very cold weather. It’s frustrating, because we know even a weekend cooped up in our tiny cabin has the potential for so much needed relaxation.  We were officially going through an anti-cabin fever of sorts!  Well, this last weekend we got our wish… The famed “January thaw” came to visit, and with temps predicted to hit the high thirties, we didn’t hesitate to load up the truck and go.

With memories of our first overnight trip, Katie and I thought it best to prepare for the depth of snow we would inevitably encounter.  We purchased a used snowmobile and sled to haul gear.  We figured we would be able to drive the truck to the end of the plowed road, and use the snowmobile to traverse the remaining half mile to the cabin.  Last year, I made the mistake of driving down to the clearing at the beginning of our neighbors driveway.  There was an ice crust below the top few inches of snow which allowed me to cruise right in, but resulted in four hours of digging and swearing to get out.  I thought this time I was not going to make the same mistake… right up until I reached the end of the plowed road.  I drove about twenty feet into the unplowed section of the forest road and the testosterone welled up and proudly proclaimed “we can do this!  It’s only a quarter mile to the neighbors drive…”  As my foot depressed the gas pedal, I looked at Katie and smiled… I don’t recall seeing a return smile.

About two tenths of a mile later, my truck, the twelve inches of snow, and the hill I had forgotten about, overruled my testosterone.  As I put the truck in park to get out and start digging, I glanced at Katie and the look on her face said it all.  My first step was to unload the snowmobile from the trailer, second, dig a little snow so I could build up some steam.  A few minutes later, we were moving ahead with great joy!… right up until we got to that “other” hill a hundred feet later.  Ugh.  At the top of the hill was our goal.  Just sixty feet of snow covered road separated me from fun, warmth, and maybe respite from a little transferred anxiety that Katie might have been feeling.  I walked back, fired up the snowmobile, rode passed the truck, and made a few trips over my projected path to pack down the snow.  It worked.  As soon as we hit the top of the hill, I dropped the trailer and turned the truck around, so it was pointed in the right direction for our eventual exit.

A few trips with the snowmobile and sled, our gear was in the cabin, a fire started, and relaxation commenced… well, sort of.  I’ve had a goal since our early December trip that I had been preparing for, and I was antsy to get moving on it.  It was high time that we moved into the 21st century and brought power to our land.  No, not the type that comes in across wires on poles, the type that comes with the sunshine.  Rustic Pines went solar!  We made use of some money we received for Christmas, and some online deals, to purchase a 100 watt solar kit, a deep cell battery, LED lighting, and of course, a cheap car stereo.  Katie had been given some quality outdoor speakers by a friend, so that was a bonus.  I know it sounds counter intuitive to plan to disrupt the serene beauty of the northwoods by blasting a little classic rock, but the reality is, it’s nice to listen to some music while working.  We also listen to audio books from time to time, letting the theater of the mind take over while staring at the glowing embers of a warm fire in the stove.

Since a huge storm had been predicted for Sunday (yeah, they got both time and place wrong), we anticipated an early departure, so I wanted to waste no time.  Katie and the dog got comfortable on the bed with a book, while I set out to wire the cabin.  The nice part about solar, it that it’s low voltage, so the cost of everything is rather low.  I set out with my priority task first… tunes.  I hung the inside speakers, mounted the radio, and positioned our switch box near the door.  In less than an hour, I flipped the radio switch, found our favorite station, and the sounds of 99.7 WIMI “The Storm” out of Ironwood Michigan, began to fill the air.  Katie may have taken a video… I know I can shake it…. now you do too.

My next task was lighting.  I found some good LED lights intended for RV use on-line, and purchased six of them, three for inside, two for the screen porch, and one for under the eve out by the grill.  In short order, I flipped the switch for the inside lights, and the cabin was brighter than I think it had ever been.  No more swapping AAA batteries in portable lights or straining to see in the dim light!  We were very excited to have a little more infrastructure installed.  Each step we take feels like an accomplishment worth celebrating, so because we had music and light, and it was getting kind of late, I put down my tools in favor of a beverage and spent the rest of the evening talking about our plans for the spring.  Katie has managed to salt away funds for our first major permanent project – the driveway.  We are fortunate to have a friend and neighbor just down the road who’s business is building roads.  A massive gravel pit, and all the big boy toys (loaders, dozers, graders, and skidloaders), everything needed to widen our path into a proper drive, complete drainage and a solid gravel base.  No more muddy ruts.

Saturday came with early with coffee, and snuggles from Sami the beagle.  Once we had a cup or four, we decided to get busy.  I first mounted the outside speakers in the screen porch, and ran the wire… gotta have tunes for working!  Katie made some breakfast which almost consisted of eggs & roast beef hash… After airing the rotten egg smell out the the cabin (hazards of raising chickens), we ate our hash.  It was good!  The next task was mounting and wiring the porch lights, and that went rather well.  I also mounted and wired two low voltage outlets, one inside the cabin, and one outside in the screen porch.  Each outlet has a socket like you might find in your car, as well as two USB ports.  Katie and I assembled the solar panel mounting brackets, and after drilling an access hole for the wires, mounted the panel to the south facing side of the cabin.  After mounting, we ran the cables to the charge controller mounted near the battery.  Once everything was hooked up, the glow of a flashing green LED on the charge controller let us know that everything was working and our payment to the Sun would need to be postmarked by the first of the month.

Once we were wired, the grill was lit, dinner prepared, and drinks were made.  After dinner, out came the cribbage board and the saga continued… oh, what was that??? The SECOND trip in a row where Katie got SKUNKED???  I did lose one game, so she shouldn’t feel THAT bad.  After our battle was finished, we headed to bed thinking that an early start was in order because of the looming storm.

Sunday morning we made a trip to the hill for a check on the weather… the storm was pushed off until Monday, and moved to the southern part of Minnesota… lucky them.  So after a good walk with the dog, we grabbed the chainsaws and headed out for firewood… our supply is getting dangerously low.  Life is not without it’s trials.  Chainsaws seem to be one of the few items in my life that magnify that fact every time I use them.  After hours of pulling, screaming, pulling, cussing, pulling more, and more cussing, we had harvested one tree that had fallen in a storm last summer.  ONE.  One stinking pine tree…  I did it, I gave up.  Had it not been for Katie, both of our chainsaws would be rusting in the woods today.  A few minutes of splitting, and our wood pile had grown a little…. maybe a weekends worth, but not near enough.  We offset my frustration by doing what else?  marching off into the woods with a chainsaw looking for a tree!  This one wasn’t for firewood, but rather furniture.  Katie wanted to try her hand at making a pair of lamps from a burled tree.  We found such a tree, felled it, cut out the burl, and Katie insisted on lugging it back. This should be a fun project to watch!

While Katie put the cabin to bed, I got the trailer hooked up to the truck, and drove it out to the plowed road.  I did get stuck once on the way out, but all in all, it took me less than forty minutes to drag the trailer thirty feet to the truck and drive out.  Much better than last year.  A few trips with the snowmobile and sled later, we were all loaded up and headed home.

So what’s next?  After a discussion about the differences between corned beef hash and roast beef hash, Katie has procured eight pounds of brisket to turn into corned beef.  She’ll be highlighting the preparation on “Katie’s blog spot”.  Work continues on the band saw mill.  We’re hoping to debut the machine on our first trip up in May.  As for the immediate future, we’ll take advantage of the sparse nature to clear more trails and campsites.  As soon as the snow is gone, we’ll be building the tent platform on our first campsite, I’ll need a little help on that project, so we’ll see if some of my brother’s kids want to tag along.

It’s with great anticipation that we look towards the warm summer months to come, but in the meantime, we’ll make use of the opportunities at hand.  One thing we have not done, is to take time to thank our readers that have let us know that they are following.  Sometimes, I wonder if anyone is listening, or if I’m just talking to the trees, yet in the strangest of places, people we never would have figured, comment on how they follow what we are doing.  So as long as you keep reading, we’ll keep writing.  Maybe someday, you’ll visit and experience Rustic Pines MN for yourself.  Till then, we’ll do our best to highlight the changes.  So thank you for sticking with us, and if you find the time, share us with someone you think might find us interesting!

 

Stay warm!

-J&K