New Construction at Tustumena Ridge

New Construction
archive of winter 2001-2002 bathroom addition to the Moose Cabin located here.
archive of winter 2002-2003 log gathering for the new Grizzly Cabin located here.

pouring foundation

foundation/crawlspace

I've settled into a routine for building the wall sections. It takes 13 logs to reach the full 8' wall height. The log sections are scribe fit, plumb cut at the correct length to fit between the uprights, routered for the spline groove, then numbered and taken apart to be coated with finish in the shop. Once the finish is dry the plate log is bolted to the foundation and the other section logs are spiked together. The upright logs are also held in place by the 3" marine plywood splines and bolted to the foundation with metal brackets. It's taking me about a week to do each section. As of 11/15/03 I have 3 sections up.

We have fresh snow and cold temps (near zero) this week so things are slowing down a bit. Also have a new golden retriever puppy to keep me company. Made my first pass over the ski trail with the snow machine today. Hope to have it groomed and useable soon!

It's now January and we have been enjoying excellent ski conditions. We are seeing lots of coyote and lynx tracks and some otter sign on the river. The moose have had several easy low snow winters but this one is looking bad. Deep snow is tough on them and it is hard watching the calves struggle.

Wall construction is back on track after a slowdown for the holidays. We are gaining nearly 3 minutes of light per day and I can work till 5 pm now. It's nearly time to venture out in the woods to hunt for more logs.

fifth wall section is up

dead moose calf mired in swamp

Winter 2003-2004 Report It's October 18th (first snow of the season today, 4") and time to update the site with our activities here at Tustumena Ridge. Had a successful moose season so we won't lack for meat this winter. The berry crop was poor this year and I didn't get much for blueberries or cranberries. We had a brown bear in the yard last week playing with an old bucket that I used for curing salmon eggs. Glad he just visited and didn't decide to stick around. Susan has settled back in with her job working with elder care at Heritage Place in Soldotna. Finally got going on the next cabin we will call the "Grizzly" cabin. The cabin will be 32' x 40' with 18 - eight foot sections separated by upright logs. I've started at a doorway and will work clockwise around the wall perimeter.	foundation/crawlspace
	I've settled into a routine for building the wall sections. It takes 13 logs to reach the full 8' wall height. The log sections are scribe fit, plumb cut at the correct length to fit between the uprights, routered for the spline groove, then numbered and taken apart to be coated with finish in the shop. Once the finish is dry the plate log is bolted to the foundation and the other section logs are spiked together. The upright logs are also held in place by the 3" marine plywood splines and bolted to the foundation with metal brackets. It's taking me about a week to do each section. As of 11/15/03 I have 3 sections up.
We have fresh snow and cold temps (near zero) this week so things are slowing down a bit. Also have a new golden retriever puppy to keep me company. Made my first pass over the ski trail with the snow machine today. Hope to have it groomed and useable soon! It's now January and we have been enjoying excellent ski conditions. We are seeing lots of coyote and lynx tracks and some otter sign on the river. The moose have had several easy low snow winters but this one is looking bad. Deep snow is tough on them and it is hard watching the calves struggle. Wall construction is back on track after a slowdown for the holidays. We are gaining nearly 3 minutes of light per day and I can work till 5 pm now. It's nearly time to venture out in the woods to hunt for more logs.

fifth wall section is up	dead moose calf mired in swamp