Light at the End of the Tunnel

... or in this case, survey monument at the end of the forest :-D

I've given up trying to use conventional measurements, like feet and yards, to determine how far we have left to cut trail until we hit our center marker.  I'm now using an exceptionally accurate and scientific standard of measure -- spray cans of contractor marking paint.

Yup, that's right. Every day I paint a thick solid line down the right-hand side of the trail from one trail tape flag to another, attempting to ensure a somewhat straighter line than I've managed to create up to this point. Working 4-6 hours, we normally cut and clear out about 2 paint can's worth of forest a day.  On a really ambitious day, we might make 3 paint cans.

For those more interested in budgeting your time and resources, I'd say that a tank of gas in the chainsaw lasts about 60-90 minutes running fairly continuously on small and medium trees and scrub. We refill the chain oil every other filling of the gas tank. We can normally cut a one-can paint line per tank of gas, maybe a little more if we're lucky and hit a sparse part with only a few bigger trees. Then it takes about 30-60 minutes to haul out all the brush and chuck it off the trail (including limbing and stacking anything that is a "firewood friendly" >3-inch diameter).

After today's clearing, I decided to go ahead and paint tomorrow's line to get a little bit of a head start.  After two cans, I looked up and clearly saw our "may pole" just a little off in the distance. The "may pole" is the tallest tree in the area where the 25' easements off our center marker intersect. We did some creative tossing of the trail tape (kinda like toilet-papering a tree) so that we could see it from a greater distance and be absolutely sure that it was the *right tree* to aim for.

That's right faithful readers!!  We are now only a mere 3.5 cans from our center marker.  It's possible that we might make it by the end of the day tomorrow (Mon) if we really push; but at the latest it'll be Tuesday afternoon!  Stop a moment and celebrate with a happy hamster dance:

Then it's just clearing the 1000 sq ft  building site wherever along the trail that we decide to put the little cabin. That bit of clearing is really nothing in comparison to cutting a 1500 ft x 12 ft trail. 

Looks like we might actually get the driveway straightened, widened enough for the truck, and get that gravel foundation base down and spread before the lumber gets delivered next week. 

And there was much rejoicing!!!

Family Roadtrip

Seeing as how so many people in the city were concerned about me worrying my pretty little head with the manly things like building supplies, Gungnir and I decided that we'd have to make the trip into Fairbanks together so he could fake that he was the designer and engineer of our cabin.  Gosh, don't you just love the sticks?!?

Anyway, for both of us to be gone from the tent, it meant that we had to take Ripley and Charlie with us.  Imagine, for a moment, how fun a 4 hour drive (each way) on back roads can be in a standard cab pickup with two adults, an adult-sized dog and cat who really hates traveling. All that after we had to secure the site and button up the tent so no critters ransacked it while we were gone for 3 days. Good thing I had the foresight to build kick-away stairs on our tent platform, or I'm sure some beastie would have had a field day.

So after being on the road for what seemed like an eternity, we ended up staying at a friend's house who was out of town. They have 3 dogs themselves, an poor Ripley really isn't used to other animals, or other people, or walls, or doors, or small yards. And she certainly wasn't used to being left alone while Mom & Dad went out shopping... poor baby has never been left alone since we got her as a puppy since you really can't lock a dog in a tent and it's been too cold to just stake her out somewhere. All-in-all she handled it pretty well, but she was a nervous wreck most of the time.

We managed to get the bulk of our building materials ordered and the lumber yard will be delivering them in a couple weeks. With good fortune, we should have the trail finished and the gravel pad laid before they dump our stuff at the side of the highway... no way are you getting a big rig down our muddy forest trail!  The delivery fee was a little steep, but a last minute redesign saved us enough money that we could stay in budget. Plus, it's only half of what it would have cost us in gas making 8 trips back and forth to Fairbanks.

So, our trip was fruitful, if a little nerve wracking. Everyone survived at least.  We're all totally exhausted and happy to be home in our little tent in the woods again. Time for the mad push to the "finish line" with the bush whacking so we can finally set hammer to nail and get to building.

Things That Feel Weird

After living in the bush for almost a year, I've noticed that a few things are starting to feel really weird when I go into town:

1. Driving on pavement with signs, guard rails, and painted lines on the road
2. Driving in traffic, and actually having to drive on one side of the road and not down the middle
3. Curbs and sidewalks
4. Street lights and traffic lights
5. Television and radio
6. Commercials on television and radio
7. Flush toilets & running water
8. Eating in restaurants
9. Sounds of life that don't include chainsaws
10. Supermarkets and malls
11. Central heat & AC
12. Phones
13. Clothes, cars and hairstyles as status symbols

Guess I've been living out in the sticks, roughing it, long enough to look at average "civilized life" and find it very odd.  :-D

2/3's There

Despite injuries, mechanical gremlins, and evil willow thickets we've managed to come abreast of the Sentinel Tree. Also realized that the Secret Garden and the Sentinel Tree were farther apart from each other than I'd originally illustrated. Oh well, it's all good now. We estimate that the trail is now somewhere between 2/3 & 3/4 of the way to the center marker.

 During further explorations, we also found a low ridge just NW of the center marker. There are tons of creeks running through this area, and this ridge was most likely an old bank before the creek either moved or went underground. The ground closer to the marker forms a slight depression and is soggier than the area above the ridge. Since there is a natural clearing of sorts in the middle, I'm guessing that there is probably a good chunk of permafrost or an ice lens that is preventing the spring run-off to completely drain and keeping the larger trees from taking root. 

So, it looks like we'll likely end up building the cabin somewhere between the Sentinel Tree and the Ridge, and leaving that acre or so towards the middle open for the raised bed gardens or fall pasture (as it should still be green when everything else is bone dry). There are two silver-linings to this discovery: 1) very likely to be a decent well site near the ridge if the creek just went underground; and 2) we won't have to cut the trail quite as far before we start building :-D.

A Morning in the Life -- Spring

4:30 am -- jump out of bed, run outside with shotgun in hand, wearing nothing but underwear and muck boots, because dog is totally freaking out. Scan and patrol perimeter in the meager dawn light, see/hear/smell nothing. Pet and praise dog for being a good protector (while secretly cursing her). Go back to bed and hope there really wasn't a bear out there hiding in the trees.

7:30 am -- roll out of bed because it's just too damned bright in the tent to sleep anymore. Spend 30 minutes trying to get stove burning since the wood is damp from recent rains.

8:00 am -- finally get the coffee started, open a can of bacon (yes -- a CAN), mix up some powdered eggs, dump in last night's left over potatoes and make a skillet scramble for breakfast while the coffee is perking.

8:30 am -- attempt to check email, go outside and realign satellite dish.

9:00 am -- eat your now lukewarm breakfast while checking mail and forums. Attempt to get properly caffeinated on crunchy coffee (yum, the grounds are so tasty - NOT).

9:30 am -- clean, oil and sharpen chainsaw while arguing online with Dell Customer Support... who keep wanting you to call even though you've told them there are no phones in the forest; and no streets either so, no, they can't use FedEx for shipping; and NO, I'm not spending the same amount of money in gas as it would cost me to just buy a whole new laptop (and 16+ wasted hours) driving to and from Fairbanks a few times just so they can use FedEx to service the warranty instead of USPS.

10:00 am -- give up in frustration, decide to deal with it later when your blood pressure comes down. Load up the ATV with chainsaws, gas/oil/tools, and snacks/bevs. Head out for yet another day of trail clearing.

12:00 pm -- run out the first tank of gas, scan the clearing with disappointment... only 20 feet cleared. Damned willow thickets! Decide to come back to tent for lunch and a liberal coating DEET.

Temperament and Survival

As you all know, G & I frequent several online forums, many of them focused on rural/bush living, self-sufficiency, and long-term survival/preparation. One topic that keeps coming up, over and over in one form or another, is whether it's better to go it alone or to be in a community.  This question pops up under the guise of "City vs. Rural" and "Transition Community Building" and others along those lines. I can honestly say, this discussion/argument is really getting on my nerves.

There seems to be an assumption that the only way for humans to survive after long-term catastrophe is to band together in communities, that socialization is a necessity, and that rural living is boring, etc etc.  What has become batantly apparent to me is that an individual's temperament plays a major role in determining which lifestyle and survival strategy will work best for them... one way is not ultimately superior to another.

So what do I mean by temperament?  Well, rather than going too far into the psychology of personality and all the Myers-Briggs temperaments, I'll just focus on the one factor that I think is the most relevent to successfully selecting, as a starting point, a style and strategy that will work for you - Extraversion vs. Introversion. This has nothing to do with being chatty or shy, but where you get your energy from. Keep in mind that slightly over 75% of the population are Extraverts, and that there is a full spectrum on the E-to-I scale. Most people are a little of both, and fall somewhere between the two extremes. Understanding where you fall within the scale can help you determine which style and strategy will work best for you.

Extraversion:  Extraverts are more outwardly-focused. They tend to get direction, motivation, validation and energy from interactions with other people. If left alone too long, they tend to get bored, lonely, or depressed. Their make-up actually requires them to receive a certain level of outside stimulation, particularly the human social kind.

Extraverts would be best served by remaining in the cities and attempting to enact their survival plans there, or finding/creating a medium-large rural community because they simply need other people.  If they strike out on their own or into a rural community that is too small for them they will be unhappy, which could lead them to fail in their efforts. Isolation goes against their basic nature.

Introversion: Introverts are more inwardly-focused. They tend to be self-directed, self-motivated, self-validating, and self-energizing. They require time to themselves for introspection and recharging, and very rarely get bored, lonely or depressed when they are alone. They do, however, get exhausted and depressed when subjected to too much outside stimulation, particularly the human social kind.

Introverts would be best served by moving out to a small rural community or striking out into the bush in isolation. Remaining in a city, or joining/creating a community that is too large for them will make them unhappy, which could lead them to fail in their efforts. Socialization goes against their basic nature.

Now, temperament aside, there are pros and cons to isolation vs. community. Neither is inherently better, but a basic understanding of your options allows for better decisions.

Community does provide additional resources and allows for larger-scale projects because the labor pool is larger; but it also costs more because time/effort must be spent on building and maintaining social and communal infrastructure (churches/community centers, legal systems and courthouses, etc). Community allows people to specialize in a few talents that they excel at, while relying on others to make up the difference in knowledge/skills and to help them problem-solve... which works well until your doctor gets sick or your mechanic is on vacation. Community allows for greater defense and fortifications, but also makes you a more noticeable target. Community allows workload to be shared; but also promotes resentment, slacking and competition.

Isolation reduces the time/effort you must spend building and maintaining a social/communal infrastructure, but it can limit the scale and amount of projects you can undertake to those you can complete with only one or two people. Isolation means that you must be a jack-of-all-trades and a good problem-solver since you are responsible for the whole shebang; but that also means that you are/become reasonably prepared for any eventuality regardless of the availability of an "expert". Isolation provides you the security of anonymity, but can leave you under-manned if overrun. Isolation means all the burden is yours, but so are all the benefits.

With that in mind, you need to weigh those pros and cons against your own style -- are you really great at one or two things with an extreme depth of detailed knowledge, or are you reasonably proficient at a multitude of things with a wide breadth of "surface" knowledge?  (I guess this plays into the second temperament type of Sensor vs. Intuitive... but we won't go there for now).  If you're a detailed specializer, living out in isolation may be very difficult for you since it goes against your nature.  If you're a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none, living in a community where peope have assigned specialties may not be the best fit; but you should have minimal troubles problem-solving in isolation.

There are combinations and variations of situations to fit almost every combination of temperament and style -- it's not just "live in the city" or " live in the bush". If you understand your temperament and basic preferences, you can better determine what lifestyle and survival strategy works best for you... but none of them are inherently any better or more successful than the other :)  Yes, there is a historic-survival value and benefit to combining resources. But that doesn't automatically mean it has to be a close-knit or large centralized community, because a loose federation of distributed individuals can work just as well.  The human species existed quite efficiently for a very long time in "pastoral villages" before "industrial cities" became the norm.

Rain

It's been raining for the last three days straight, so work on the trail has come to a temporary halt. A few times, it's tapered off to a mild drizzle only to start pouring again a few minutes later. Besides the risk of hypothermia getting soaked when it's only around 45F, everything is squishy and slippery back in the woods... not safe working conditions when you're handling a chainsaw (which I've already proven once this week, thanks!). 

Since the ground is mostly still frozen, all this rain has nowhere to go and is just resting in the top few inches. Notice that I said "in" not "on" -- the weird mossy thicket stuff that passes for groundcover here is really spongey and soaks up a lot of water, so it doesn't look that wet outside until you step down on it and sink 6 inches. We have a few puddles of standing surface water, but most of it is that spongey crap. Pour Ripley has found a few places that she sinks up to her belly. Of course, she's loving it, since the only thing cooler than bounding through snowbanks for a dog is digging mudholes :-D