Well, it’s that time of the year again and it was with a buzzy heart I boarded the great plane west for the Americas! :)

On the flight there were no dramas, on the ground at Chicago it was business as usual. The Customs folks read my declarations, checked my lithium batteries and all was well. Apart from my hand-baggage the main bulk of my gear was not searched. Nearby my position a Lebanese dude was having the full search done as multiple food packages were inspected. I think they were ok with him in the end though.

As I passed through the airport into the main area with my bags I thought it was going well, until the weather turned…

Great thunderous rain and clouds drenched mid-west America. Nearly all American Airlines flights were grounded and mine was no exception, 'cancelled' read the flight to Denver, as were nearly every other airline flight to the mid-west.

After taking my turn to queue at the 'rebookings' telephone quad I got talking to a woman about what to do next. I ended being routed onto a Miami-Denver flight the following morning, there was nothing to do but wait it out and people-watch until sleep claimed me for a few hours. As I drifted into sleep I wondered how my little Cabin Shed from last year fared over the hostile-winter.

I woke up at midnight and wandered around, in the main area lots of people had been given cots and blankets, but not the Ryder. They’d all be handed out already!

As I was about to head back to the fringes an older woman saw my wanderings and let me share hers instead so it wasn’t all bad. :)  We slept tail to tail on a four seat bench against the wall so it wasn’t exactly side by side action for those that wonder. :eek:

In the morning she had gone and a New Jersey Jew-dude was sat nearby instead. As I roused myself from sleep and bundled up the blanket he was talking on his phone loudly about business back east and the delays, he mentioned about how some people had been stuck at the airport for a WEEK!
I hoped I would not be there that long and headed over to my departure gate before it was too late.

The good news was I was now booked onto a direct Denver flight. Apart from some frizzy-attitude from the growling check-in woman (she was a bit over-worked) all was well.

The bad news soon became apparent on landing. I was fine with the lack of altitude sickness, but the delayed baggage had me a bit on-edge. No trace was showing up and it was a case of wait-and-see.
I had no spare clothing nor my Ram Pump project gear and of course my scout unit.

I headed to the base to the north hoping the White Baron and the other expensive gear was unmolested.
Mountain Mike was there at city-base and we set up the usual tent for me to crash out in. Mike let me borrow a tent and some old sleeping bags for mattressing. My other Canadian sleeping bag was swiftly washed and dried.

0600hrs next morning  I heard an apparition tapping on my tent. It was MM Mike.

“Emergency sorta,” he said and I got dressed to see what the fuss was about.

To my relief the baggage  had arrived, but it had been dumped on the doorstep of Mike’s house without even the courtesy of a doorbell or knock at the door. No phone-call had been made either. Still nothing had been taken, although a TSA card inside my backpack said that ‘for the security of America’ my bag had been searched.

That drama over with it was time to get prepared for the expedition.  This time I have to scout out a niche in the PNW and do some work on my land in Wyoming! It’ll be a buzzy busy time but should be fruitful!

First stop was mundane things like insurance and tags for the number plates. Then came the big project work – My Ram Pump! This would really get things going on the Hold, I could move water uphill with it! Then there's the build itself!

More to follow, watch this space...

Ok, at the databurst library now, still go this nightmare flu but the worst of it has past.

My Cabin Shed is fine, roof held up well, it held up so well that a small family of mice took up residence!

Got all the boxes out of it, let the place air out.  Apart from an old airbed and fleece hat I had to trash the contents were unscathed from the winter blasts!

The old Ram-Pipes at the spring had snapped thanks to the force of wintery snowpack.
However, this year I have big plans to fix the water once and for all!

The Great Gates of Rohan still stand true BUT one side has sagged ever so slightly. Hopefully it won't get any worse (a third hinge may be needed). I'll have to redrill and align the locking bolt lugs for that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsz8gKPW5jU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iHw-ggkNf8

I've completed the work there and the place is ready for work again. I've taken pictures but like a dolt forgot my camera so it's just text this time alas.

I've finally sold the Wolverine (my Ford Explorer)! I was sad in some ways to see it go, but at least it will be going to a local guy who wants it as a project to work on. Better that than it be scrapped.

I picked up the super-duper grip-hoist from the Trading Post, I think the owner was a bit peeved at the time my Wolverine was in storage, but should cheer up now someone is going to collect it.

I can't stay too long at the Hold, as the water filters are locked in secure storage so I have to rely on water brought up, boiled or manually filtered. That's no-ones fault though, just the way things panned out.

I have a lot to do this time. Hopefully it will mean a firm foundation for the future, but only time will tell.

In the meantime here's recap of last years doings:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0Ms4g6Cysw

This is part of a trailer project. My buddy suggested i get one to help with hauling stuff around.

It weights in at about 200 lbs and only cost me $270.

The downside? I have to build it!

Looking down from the Ryder's Redoubt...



There's not much snow now, just a few patches in the shady areas, all clear on the Golden Hill though.

I partially remove some stuff from the Cabin Shed. It stood up great to the snow! I wonder how it will fare when the heavy snow years come?



These two posts haven't moved at all either!



MMM's Cabin stands strong, it would take an Ice Age to crush this thing! I helped him put two steel beams across it as a roof! It is hardcore!



Patchy snow but it's hard to see:



My view of the world outside...

Ok, what I plan to accomplish is two-fold.

I will be over at the Mountain Hold (Wyoming area) and finishing up & Exploring my new world up in the PNW!

There's some secretive and amazing land I have set my eyes on. It's a lot of work, but, like the pioneers landing on distant shores, a new world will hopefully slowly rise up....

On the Mountain Road!

Leaving Wyoming and crossing the border into Montana was a real buzz. Green valleys and lush terrain became more and more apparent. The Little Big Horn was my next stop.

As it was Sunday the museum was closed, nevertheless I took some pics of the place.





Some of these veteran Crow scouts of the 7th Cavalry are likely to have known Lonesome Charlie who fell in the great battle of Little Big Horn. They could expect the most horrendous treatment if captured as, to the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes they were considered race traitors for taking the white man’s coin. Nevertheless after the war ended the Crow tribes ended up being awarded the area.



I stopped off at a casino run by the Crow Agency and, like their forebearers, they weren’t aloof or shy about talking to a European. One even told me she’d been to Denmark!

I left after spending two bucks for the buzz on a gambling game then left, a car full of Crow nearly struck the White Wolf as I made to turn left (they were turning across me but seemed to think a diagonal move was more suitable than a wide turn). After the near-miss I wondered if my opinion of them had come close to being a different one indeed.

I entered the Pacific North West and was swept away by the valley interstate, there were tonnes and tonnes of Trees! Here was where I would make my autumnal and winter retreat!

Arrival in PNW

The land was shown to me and although it was hellaciously hot (as I’d chosen a time in early afternoon) I looked past the heatwave conditions and looked into the BOL.





It had water close by from a neighboring well, lots and lots of trees. Some mature, many adolescent and youngling. The land was flat and it had good sun coverage too. During winter it would require an elevated solar platform to catch the mountain fringing sun though.



After making merry with the neighbor that night I set about scouting about it the next morning when it was still cool.  The markers were only partially set out for the land in question so I had to make some estimations of central masses etc. There were only two cabins close by and I had plenty of privacy...

That's all for now, WR is on the move!

See you all for the next databurst, the Adventure Continues!

Well today was the a trip to the county-seat location then a whirlwind back to sort out the mighty 30 footer!

At first all went well, I got the mighty log lifted but, on lowering it down onto the sawhorses...

Both of them met a violent end!





The sawhorses claim to be rated to up to 350 lbs... Hmmmmmm.

THis is what it did to this rotten log too:



The chainblock had to do the duty while I peeled it 'mid-hang'



Tomorrow I'll try to get it sorted for the final peel:

Today, despite it being 100 degrees in the shade, I managed to finish off the peeling and get the mighty 30 footer stacked in the racks!



This wasn't as easy as it sounds as several stumps, a tall dead tree and several small trees barred the great logs passage!



With my shirt feeling like an oven was slowly cooking me I kept on at it.
Eventually the log was tirfored into position with a post log for company.

Using G-Man's metal sawhorse I got the big log landed for peeling and it took the weight without buckling.



Just to give the impression of the awesome weight and size of the big ridge/purlin/eave log:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCWwqAeqUZc

Here is the Skywire Lifting System I use for lifting the heavy logs around:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35o83wT3ni8

Well, today was another insanely hot day in the PNW, I tell you I might as well be in the tropics with the temperature, in the shade reading 100 degrees! If it gets any hotter I will seriously considering a night shift!

Nevertheless the next stage was to be surmounted and surmounting I did in a most vigorous and pleasing fashion to our survivalist gods! LOL.

Two more purlin / ridge / eave log trees were felled. I tried to defy the direction of lean but both trees were having none of it. For one though I rigged up my Tirfor and pulled the tree in the direction I wanted and over it went – Crash!

The second tree fell back the ‘wrong’ way which meant a longer Tirforing session. This was very stomper as I had to cut about three stumps and newish trees to make a clear path. Even then some debris just had to get tangled in there. I quit for the afternoon as I waited for things to cool down a bit.

Mother Nature takes care of business.

I got the composting toilet working too. A hole was dug and I lined it with saw dust. Then it was a case of emptying  the entire black-water contents of the portapotty. I followed it up with generous helpings of sawdust on top!
That’s how you do it in the wilderness, no need for septic tanks, fancy incinerators etc. A composting toilet is simple, economical and gets the job done. The only expense are the occasional breakdown chemicals for the stuff so it goes into the ground broken down for the most part.

Then it was just a case of pulling in one of the big trees I'd felled towards the processing zone.  Unfortunately the tree has too much of a bend in it to be useful for a 30 footer. However it will still be useful as a 14 footer for one of the posts though. :)

Some Videos of the action now follow.

Getting a dead tree down:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1Ts7inW0KY

Once it has been felled the glamor is over and the hard work begins.

This is moving it with the mechanical mover:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stvclLVMYBo

On and on the move goes until it nears the processing area:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52Sdpb_QZkk

Then it's peelin' time!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iELjYnHm980

awesome



ost


eta: some of your latter YT links are broken

Nothing constructive to say other than you are living the dream and I look forward to following your progress.

Thanks HK!!

The links should all be working now.

This is my water replenishment tank!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuR3zgtFAp8

Only 35 gallons but it's a start.

Another hot day today and another tree for the felling.  This one will hopefully be the ridge-pole. I had a fun time chainsawing it down too.  I got the Tirfor deployed to make sure it fell the right way, gave it my three cuts, re-tensioned, one more cut and SWOOSH down went the great tree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0PXQQwcQJQ

After a cable-pulling session through the day (I had to move other obstacles etc), I had the mighty 30 footer ready for lifting and peeling.



I wonder how many more times I must call upon Trebor the Tirfor? I hope he lasts as I paid a small fortune for him to be deployed. He gets a daily greasing to make sure his joints are ok so we shall see...



Bit of a traffic congestion here, the other tree will have to wait a few more days as he isn't a priority.



Finally in position for lifting and peeling:



I had a quick check of the log and saw this!



A hidden stone must have done that, just as well I leave the bark on for when Trebor moves the logs around! Still the rock has helped remove the bark without damaging the sapwood. :)

I will be very glad when the long girder logs are all stacked in the racks! Two are down and I have another three to go! The difficulty isn't so much the weight of them, it's finding a tree that is near-to-dammit straight. Once you go over 13 - 16 feet in length of a tree there's a much greater chance of bends, kinks and swerves to contend with. I don't mind a slight curve but many are only suitable for posts, some barely capable for a 14 footer!

The Labors of Ryder continue...[

How much can my Trebor Tirfor take I wonder? I decided to try and find out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1-RWLNEok9Q

This tree was over 1500 lbs (est) and about 70 foot long. The Cable Puller did its duty though as it hauled ass enough for the tree to be in a position for me to trim off another 30 foot section. This tree had a dizzy swerve though so only 14 foot can be used for construction duty alas. Still, it was a good test of Trebor.

Déjà vu was setting in as I went to lift the great log from the previous day. It groaned and moved but the Harbor Freight tensioner keeping the line taut was no match for the battle and it paid out instead.

I moved on to felling the last of the long girder log-trees.

This is a fir tree, just look at all the branches I have to sned off!





This one vanished into the forest. Come back!



Two are in awkward spots to drag out with Trebor so I concentrated on the easy one first, I trimmed, de-limbed and pulled it in closer.





Tomorrow is city-visit day when I have to re-supply and do chores. No video today, hopefully there’s enough to be keeping you entertained already until the next one. :)

If anyone's wondering what I'm doing with the branches etc from all these trees I am felling, well let me present the natural foliage barrier near the gateway!





No more for today I'm afraid, it was a nearly full day going to the city to get essential supplies and gear.

Wednesday was a full day of graft!

I deployed the new cable tensioner which I hoped would be capable of getting the Sky Wire taut enough to take the great 30 foot logs.



Up we go!



The cable dipped, but was much more capable at taking the 1000-2000 lbs+++ logs.

Lifted and in place on the saw horses!



The ridge log isn't perfectly straight, but it will do for my cabin, I'll possibly hew it straight next year, for now my priority to getting it peeled and stacked in the racks for drying.

During the peeling process I used my rigging techniques to turn the log using the lifting equipment. I could have rolled it, but the risk of it falling onto the deck and breaking a limb wasn't worth it.





Indeed the saw horses collapsed 3 times, but each time the chain block prevented the log from falling very far, which was just as well.

Almost done now!



Fully Peeled! The only tricky bit is rolling the big thing on the racks (some stumps are in the way).



I get the Tirfor on the case and soon it is...

Stacked and in the racks! :)



Only another 3 of these big beauties to go!

G-Man stopped over for an unexpected visit, he was most impressed by the progress. Hopefully I'll get the entire log panoply done with more projects to spare by winter! :)

Look at all the mess from the 'clothes bark'!!



It'll take a while to pick all that up, but tomorrow is another day...

Had another day of the log dance today. I got three big trees moved from their woody fell-positions:





This one was being a PITA:



I worked until I did enough for that day. It's not wise to push things when you are working alone. So I knocked it on the head for the day and got working on my latest book...

It’s getting a pain to move the logs about now, but the mountain-like challenge is slowly showing progress. There were set-backs though, another tree I’d felled failed the final appraisal and can only do duty at a 14 footer. It means I have to yet again fell another live tree, this one at the very fringes of the land, in the midst of the All-Forest!

Here's the next girder log being brought in:



One of the issues I’m noticing with trees is getting perfectly straight ones is near-impossible. Part of the issue is in areas of powerful summers they tend to ‘lean in’ towards the sun. So a tree that is great for a 14, 17 or even 20 foot log will rarely be suitable for a 30 footer. Oftentimes I’ve had to make do with a slight bend here and there so when mounting it on the posts in future times I’ll have to just cut away, notch or shim where necessary. Some of the bends on these trees are like miniature banana angles! LOL

No way, just no way for this one, only a 14 footer for you:



This log was originally going to be a 30 footer as well (the other part is next to it), but like the quest for righteous men in Gomorrah, few make the grade. It will *only* be a 20 footer for the ridge pole now:



This is the 30 footer that just about made the grade, a slight curve but nothing too excessive.


Meanwhile the next big 30 plus footer was brought in position, I had to fiddle about with the slings before getting it balanced. It was so long it was almost too wide for the clearing! LOL



By getting the other end pushed down I could really get this moved in using just a chainblock for the central fulcrum point.



Then it's just slinging up for the central balance and up she goes onto the saw horses!

Today was a semi-rest / writing day.

What work I did do entailed getting the hanging log peeled and trimmed down to about 34 feet long. The peeling was a lot harder than normal. Despite the tree being cut down green the bark on the sunward side was actually semi-dried out!

G-Man was telling me that some people just have a log cabin kit delivered and they just put it together, that’s ok but folks like us prefer the real deal making it raw kinda thing. It’s cheaper but more importantly there’s a sense of having done it entirely yourself instead of relying on outside forces via the $$$$.





It was a working Sunday today, I peeled three logs to various states and got the big thirty-five footer stacked in the racks! It was hard work to roll being extra big and I had to get extra noggins bashed in to support the weight and length.
There is a bit of a bend on it, but I have a plan to pin it down straight once it is lifted onto the posts. ;)



As an aside I had some hatchet-throwing fun and even scored a few hits!



By the end of the afternoon I was aching all over. My left knee and side-back muscle were not very happy. Just as well Monday-Tuesday are rest and meeting days.

I saw this weird grey snake slithering towards some of the fence-foliage. It looked like it was not much bigger than a large worm but slithered into a small treeling I’d propped up near the gateway.  Hopefully it won’t slither into my tent!

After that a pair of deer showed up to say hello! It really was a day for the forest friends!

Some raw (ish) video of the hatchet-throwing fun :)

Hatchet Throwing Video!

Deer in the Forest

Had my fourth log tree felled today!

Getting it rigged up:

Run the lines out extends the range of the Tirfor! This is over seventy feet total length now! Far enough to get a good falling video with it clouting the camera or me.



The mighty tree was on the edge of the All-Forest though and I had to wade in with my chainsaw to clear a path!



“Take the Strain!”



This may look an odd knot but all it is is a bowline on the bight so I wouldn’t have to unspool 100 ft of rope from the drum.



Tree Felling Tamarack

My only slight concern is that it’s a Tamarack tree which are not the best for log construction unless used as boards. It’s a thick thing but I won’t use it as a ridge log for this reason.

Snedded and cut the lengths that were needed, dragged out the shorter log section.
Cut a banana-shaped tree down too that was intruding onto the cabin land.





Notice the tree in the midst of the All-Forest? That’s what I have to drag out! It’s about 34 Feet long too and still partly on the stump. I carried a small log to put under the stump section still holding the tree, that way when I pull it off the stump, it’ll roll along the log, making Trebor the Tirfor’s job much easier.



Gloomy weather brings a bit of rain, but it soon passes for sunshine once more:



Still, only one more big tree to fell and sort out and that’s’ the long girder poles out of the way. Then it’s just a case of getting the posts done.

Did other small jobs mostly, more dragging tomorrow, can’t wait.

The Saga of the Water Squirrel

I had a gruesome discovery today as well. As I was working on some logs near the toilet area, a foul smell was noticeable.
I knew it couldn't have been the portable outhouse as it had been emptied only recently.
As I neared the water jerry can I'd use for the outhouse system I noticed a lot of flies buzzing about the open hole for the water to come out (the lid has been lost).

Thinking there was some bad water I gave it a pour. The water was brown at first then this flesh-lump poked out! It was like something out of the Thing! As soon as I retipped the can the thing returned inside! After giving a horse-like start I donned rubber gloves and got stuck in.

I carried the jerry-can to the outskirts of the Green Havens and emptied it again, this time a pair of little feet poked out! So I took hold and boldly pulled out, like a macabre magician, a dead ground squirrel! It was mostly intact but its little guts had come out a bit.

The little thing had obviously wanted some water and tumbled-down inside the jerry can! The heat of the previous few days had acted as a cooker and removed much of its fur too! Taking the drowned corpse away by its bunny legs I hurled the thing far from the acerage. So ended the saga of the drowned squirrel.

Been a busy Ryder today getting some log moving and peeling done.

I pulled this great big tree off it's stump with a CLUMP!



Down it went onto a log for easy rolling and then it was Treboring time!

Peeling these things wasn't easy:



That's as far as this big lump for today:



This will be a road for helping turning the White Wolf around in future times...



The cabin site looking towards the sun:



The Gateway is Forming:



I have to clear this lot for getting the turn-around road made...

Today the 4th great log of girdage was peeled.

First I had to drag the thing into position using Trebor and Chainblock:



Then peeling commenced!



Ready!



It's not true straight but should do for my style of cabin. :)

Saturday started well as I stacked the next log in the racks. I cut down another blocking tree too, then dragged it to the processing area. I’ll get that peeled tomorrow.



I cleared some of the lane trees but managed to nick myself with the branch saw. It wasn’t serious but I applied iodine just in case.

When visiting a neighbor I received some excellent news! He is wanting a lot of trees cleared from his easement road due to dangers in snowtime. Many of them are superbly straight and will augment my existing stock!

Tomorrow is range-day and cutting day! Can’t wait! :)

The past few days were out on the valley heights picking out trees to cut down. I started out early in the morning too and was on my first tree felling when a most crazy thing happened.

I’d made my first wedge-cut for direction before following through with the back-cut. The tree was not happy about my direction and tried to fall back, trapping the chainsaw. I was not perturbed though as my mallet and steel wedges soon had the tree back on track to fall the way I wanted. However, at the very moment I had freed the chainsaw and the tree was falling back along the side of the road, my neighbour drove up!
It was like something out of an action movie. The tree was falling along the road as he was just driving on by with a trailer attached to his truck! Fortunately my fall was accurate as I intended and the tree landed without incident. It would have been cool to have videoed it though.
My neighbour saw the funny side too and there was no bad vibes. :)

I did another two trees along the road without any incident.

This tree looks like someone tried cutting it many years ago and decided to think better of it?



I set up a target on a friends private range.



Then it was time to get busy with a Mosin Nagant, AR 15 and the trust FN FAL! Nothing like a Sunday for a range-day