"D&JTCHA" is Officially Trout Camp!

Trout camp is official!  An actual outing combined with trout caught on the fly (among other ways) occurred this past weekend.  Hard to believe, but not nearly as difficult for Jim and I.  There is not much more work to be done this year, save a few bricks to be relocated from the drive entrance to the fire pit.  I toted the weed eater and cleared out some of the ferns and weeds that have been growing vigorously lately.  After they were mulched up pretty good, I delivered on the promise that I made to my wife to spread wild flower seeds around camp.  Does she realize this will attract bears?  Ooops!  Did I type that out loud?! But that is "work", let me fill you in on the "play".

Floatman and I left for Trout Camp this past Friday and arrived early afternoon.  Working together we assembled camp quickly.  This involved leveling the pop-up, situating the easyup screen porch/tent on the deck and placing all the other supplies and stuff in a most convenient place for relaxation and enjoyment.  This was the first time that Jim had seen the deck and I believe he was impressed.  I think it really improves the enjoyment factor for camp as it is clean, level, dry and an attractive addition to our plot.

After setting everything up and cracking the metal caps from the bottles of two ice cold Yeunglings, I unveiled my surprise.  With the very generous help and laborous programming of my friend and neighbor Shawn and Millwork Design Solutions in Willoughby, Millwork Design Solutions Inc., I presented DaJtcha and Jim with our camp marker.  Without his help, there is NO WAY that this sign could have come out looking 1/4 of what is does.  THANK YOU SHAWN AND RAY!
I formulated the design with a little brainstorming, internet image searching, photoshopping, sketching and some donated materials.

The finish product resembles an ancient Eygptian obelisks to a small degree.  The main boards are pressure treated, stained walnut and attached to the 4X4 post with lag bolts and aluminum tube spacers.  The top of the post was shaped into a pyramid with a compound mitre saw and sanded smooth with a palm sander.  Using a step drilling bit, I made a 3/4" hole in the top of the post to hold a solar LED lawn light sans the mounting spike/post.  This marker illuminates Trout Camp's position in the abscence of light.  I was very surprised at how well the low power solar charged LED's complete this task.  When star gazing, which is something to behold in our location, a hat placed overtop of the peak is a must!

Each side of the post is clad with a plank of wood CNC machined with information and images of importance to camp.  Contact information, GPS coordinates and our site numbers have been smudged via photoshop to protect camp privacy.  Each plank is topped with the direction it faces:  North, East, South and West respectively.  The location was chosen with precision and the post exists only a few feet off from the actual GPS coordinates engraved into the wood.

Jim and I were in awe of how well this post made its "mark" on our little piece of Heaven.  We just kept circling it and admiring its beauty.  As we sat and waited for Packmule to arrive, we couldn't help but smile and pinch ourselves.  The camp was coming together nicely! 

We hope, by the end of the season, to have a big jamboree at camp and celebrate its majestic qualities with our close friends.  More on that to come later when we figure out the logistics.

Moving on....While we had full daylight, I ran around camp and took photos of everything as we decided to place it.  Here's a gif for you to review.  You'll notice the path cut through the woods leading down to the firepit.  Before the forest turned a dense leafy green, this path led down to the smaller old wood deck that has since been moved.  It looks pretty cool and gives an alternative route for foot traffic leading up to the beginning of our drive and out of camp.

There was a lot more to this trip.  When James finally arrived, we headed down to our favorite tavern just a short drive down the mountain and up the two lane interstate.  Jim and I introduced James to the regulars as we sat down for more beverage and our fill of food.  We ate like kings and eventually called it a night.  We had fishing to do in the morning and rest was welcomed by all.

We woke mid morning and threw our gear in the vehicle.  Packmule had us flying around forest service roads in his Jeep wrangler with confidence.  His conversion of this stock vehicle into a "go anywhere" trail-rated beast has been quite successful.  Cruising around town with the top open was the best air conditioning you could as for-full body-and a much needed relief from the heat and humidity of the mountainous hiking on a hot sunny day.

     After an exhaustive day spent driving (flying, bouncing and ripping through) ANF forest service roads, hiking up and down trails hell bent on killing you in their difficulty, fishing and flailing water...it was time to head to Cougar Bob's!  Cougar Bob's may be the best kept secret that everyone that has every traveled through the ANF knows about.  I've begun to appreciate that the best places to eat and hang out aren't always the prettiest from the outside. However, inside...you'll find great service, ice cold beers and awesome food!

  Those small bars, taverns, dives and diners are some of the coolest places to recharge the batteries and familiarize yourself with good old fashion Americana.  The spirit of the area, the surrounding towns and the people are present on the walls, the ceilings, on the faces and certainly contained within the conversations that the local patrons hold.  Striking up a conversation is as easy as saying "Hello! How are you?" and in these parts...the people aren't afraid to tell you what is truly on their mind.  This may not be the setting and atmosphere for some, but for me...it is exactly my idea of home.  Too many times us "city folk" get wrapped up in the cover and can't find the time to really seek the value of the contents inherent in the pages of the book.  Cougar Bob's is a place to remember.  From the street, it looks like a stretched out barn or old fire house.  Inside, the walls are adorned with the crazy antics of people who visit and are likely considered the bar's regulars.  Ever see a mule, a horse or a full size bison/steer in a bar?  Take a moment to inspect the photos on the walls and you will!  Ever had wings with "cougar juice"...tell the waitress you want to try one! LOL!  (Packmule attempted to verify if the sauce actually contained real bits of cougar and it appears by his description of the waitresses' face that this may not be the case! Nice one!) If you like wings, you'll love Cougar Bob's.  I'm reluctant when ordering wings finding most places either overcook or oversalt their puny wings, but Cougar Bob's knows how to make a hell of a buffalo wing.  For the heck of it, I partnered the honey mustard wings with a turkey, lettuce, tomato, bacon and cheese sub.  WOW...it was good!  Take a close look at the photos...Are you curious as to how the dollar bills are attached to the ceiling more than 12' off the floor and without a ladder or the use of tape?  For a $1.25 they'll show you, but you won't get the dollar back! LOL!  This place is a riot! 

Sunday evening came way to fast.  Jim and I wished Packmule a safe trip home and then sought out some food.  BTW, thanks for joining us James and showing us some great places to fish...even though there isn't a chance we'll ever find them again unless you revisit! LOL! 

We had to travel a good 30 minutes to find a place that was still serving food.  Unfortunately it was far from the quality of Cougar Bob's or our local Tavern nearest camp...McDonald's had me tossing and turning all night with bad dreams and indigestion.  I should have known better and just ate a bologna sandwich from the cooler! 

Finally, I'd like to leave you with a clip of a small waterfall on a feeder to a major river that the area is appropriately named after.  We found this after a 30 story descent into a canyon to fish WVa. style pocket water.  Definately my cup of tea although the hike out won't ever be repeated by either Jim and I!  UGGGHHH!!!

Mud on the tires...

This past weekend was an adventure, to say the very least. To summarize it briefly, it involved 4" of rain in a span of 8 hours, mud, lighting strikes, tornado force winds, snakes, mud, exhaustion, bruises, mud, humidity and the creation of some new friendships with a couple of great local guys that came to our rescue. 

Let's just say, that 4WD is mandatory when visiting if there is even a hint of rain in the forecast.  I've vowed not elaborate because the soreness, desperation and pain of the experience is still too fresh, but I will say that if it wasn't for two local boys and a CHEVY (that's right, a Chevy!) 4X4 PU truck, Jim and I would still be camping!

Let me focus on the positives and summarize what was accomplished this past Sunday.  The wood and bricks pictured previously were delivered and left at camp.  There...that about does it! LOL!

Monday was a recuperation day.  A day spent physically recuperation from the trauma of Sunday along with cleaning the mud off everything (tent, clothes, truck, tools, etc). 

Tuesday morning had me heading back out to finish what could not be on Sunday.  This time with the wifey and kids.  What a big help Jen was!  It was very nice to have her there, not only because of the help but because she and I don't get to spend nearly as much time together as I wish we could.  Even though this was considered work, we were still in each other's presence and sometimes this is the most we can afford. 

We started around 10-ish AM and were heading out around 5PM.  We started with a pile of neatly stack lumber and finished with a brand new deck.  What we began with was a reminder of a task left undone and in the course of 6 hours...We left trout camp with a feeling of building something sweet that undoubtedly will provide years of enjoyment for many people.

Want to see the progress?  Here  you go:

More Goodies Heading to Trout Camp...

Craig's list comes through again!  400 pavers and 200 bricks free of charge!  You just can't beat free! LOL!

Today was a busy, busy, busy weekend preparation day.  Early in the morning, I headed out to North Royalton and then to Parma to pick up back to back loads of pavers and bricks.  From there, the wife and I headed out to breakfast, then to my buddy Adam's house to pick up a generator, to Lakeland for Jen's class registration, then to Home Depot and finally Lowe's!  My day was finished at 9pm when I put the last brick atop the neat stack strategically placed top-middle of my cousin's tandem axle trailer.

The plans?  Saturday evening, Jim and I will head out to camp, sleep overnight, wake at dawn to begin deck construction and hopefully have enough time to pile the bricks neatly next to the firepit.  If time allows, I may even throw a few down to finalize the area.  I'm hoping, because there are even more pavers stacked in the truck (not pictured) that we'll have some left over for future projects.

That's all for now...updates coming Monday/Tuesday.

Dj

A weekend of 1sts.....

     There was a "human convergence at trout camp this weekend with Floatman (yes, I said Floatman! LOL!  A little ribbing humor there!) being the first on the scene having the advantage of Saturdays free from work.  I met him early in the driveway and he departed shortly there after, leaving my driveway with a fresh load of more bricks and arriving at Trout Camp sometime around 12:30 -ish, I wondered, did he recognize her? (How's that for a way-too-long sentence?)

The scenary had changed a great deal since his last visit.  An almost "grand resurrection" of the forest had occured within the past week, as signs of life had returned and the dead and barren hues of brown and black were replaced with a bright green landscape.  I received a jubilant cellular phone call sometime near late afternoon from Jim.  It seems that Verizon can cut through the mountaineous range and endless swaths of wilderness and provide coverage where my phone could only hope to get a single bar of signal. What's up AT&T?  He seemed to be enjoying himself, the local tavern and the impromptu meet & greet with the regulars!  He was quick to make me fully aware that he had arrived and was making new friends while I worked.  How nice is that?!  LOL! 

The 6PM work whistle blew and I raced home, packed the last remaining camp items, disconnected the charging cord from the camper and loaded the family up.  We were off!  Ok...with that sentence it may have seemed like we got there lighting quick and the drive was over in a blink of an eye, but let me tell you that this was simply not the case! I had the other half of the load of bricks neatly stacked in the Mountaineer along with WAY too much gear!  Did I not say that we were just staying overnight?  We're staying a day and a half people, not to next fall!  With all that mass, driving fast wasn't part of a sane driving strategy.  Coming home was another story!  Our arrival was announced to Floatman long before the headlights of the truck could be seen.  Sound has a tendency to travel further at night, there was no surprising anyone due to our SUV's low gear screaming and the uphill struggle resonating off the mountains and valleys.  I'm sure we made enough noise to notify everyone on the mountain top of our presence.  Here's the best part, that is if there were ANYONE else there besides us! 

Pulling in, we found we were being guided in by Jim's waving lantern.  I guess we had made enough racket coming up the road that taxy-ing us into place like a plane that just landed was appropriate! After a quick game of shuffle the trucks, all the bricks were piled near the fire and it was time to pop up the camper.

I had gone over and visualized the plan of attack a dozen times.  I thought I was being thorough, but it may have been a bit unfair of me to expect the 22+ year old pop-up leveling feet to elevate the camper from the current slope to a level gradient.  There was a lot of travel (almost a foot and a half) that needed to be covered.  I struggled and my temper got the best of me.  This was a test of nerves and I was losing.  One of the many inconveniences of short trips on Saturdays that I must work is  that camp setup is usually performed in the dark which just makes things go that much slower.  I instructed the wife and everyone to head down to the local pub and leave me to finish this task by myself.  My daughter stayed behind and watched the stars.  She was so quiet that I had to ask if everything was alright?  It was dark and I didn't expect her to hang out on the mini-deck by herself without company.  After 1.25 hours leveling the #*$&^ camper and a bunch of help from my daughter to pop up everything, we met the rest of the crew at the base of the mountain to grab some grub.  Thoughtfully, my wife was nice enough to order my Bubba and I some "to-go" burgers and fries which became "dine in".

The local establishment serves some great food and beverage and, as one would expect in a small town atmosphere, they are willing to go above and beyond to take care of their patrons.  Even though the kitchen was closed, we were still able to get served.  Just one of many small confirmations that this ANF property was a good choice for us all.  After finishing our food, we made the short drive back to camp and gathered around the fire.  I had to replace some clothing layers as the nighttime temps were supposed to hit a low of 38 and seemed to be sliding there quickly!  The fire was re-stoked and within only a few rootballs was throwing off some heat to warm our frontsides.  Floatman and I stayed out for a little while longer and then sometime around 12:30AM called it an evening.  The family was nestled into their sleeping bags with noses frozen.  Did I say it was chilly?  38 degrees is not warm! LOL!

The next morning we awoke to some fire grill toasted bagels and cream cheese along with a glass or two of OJ.   Jim and I worked to fill in the areas around the original bricks with more donated from a fishing friend of ours.  We've got a mish-mosh of different sized bricks surrounding the fire ring now.  What's those two words that drive me nuts to hear?  It looks "eclectic & whimsical"!  Aren't these the words that the design people throw around at a drop of dime because they can't find anything else to describe "odd, unusual, peculiar"? Anyway, it works for now and I suppose we'll be hauling a few more loads of freebies when the time arises.

Sunday was a noisey day at Trout Camp.  Today was the day that I instructed my two children in the seriousness and enjoyability of marksmanship.  We began with a $20 Walmart spring action BB gun and paper targets and progressed to firing (with close supervision from Jim and I) a .22 rifle.  Nick enjoying himself and I was sure to remind him that he was using something that could seriously injure someone if thought of as a "toy" and not respected.  He reminded me that he was paying attention when he stated on more than one occassion, "safety on, safety off, firing" when holding the rifle.  He did, however, slip a little by shooting his BB gun down range but off the lane of our target when I was helping him.  The penatly he paid?  No more target practice until next time.  Next up was my Bubba, she was hesitant, but I convinced her that she had nothing to fear as long as she followed my directions.  Firing the .22 long rifle is just about as easy as a BB gun, it just commands more respect.  After a quick overview of loading procedures and safety precautions...she was slamming the bull's eye on the targets.  She's a great shot and took to it nicely.  So much so that I found myself loading magazine after magazine to keep pace with her enthusiasm.  Sweet!

I fired off a clip in my glock and reminded myself how much I love this weapon!  I hadn't fired it in about 10 years, but she's been by my side for many trips into the wilderness.  The kick and power reminded me that I had made the correct choice in purchasing protecting and piece of mind.

I've included some photos for your viewing pleasure.

It's Campfire Time!

The trip into trout camp today was fruitful.  All but a few pieces of flagstone have been delivered and the tree stump / root pile has been cut down and separated.  In one pile, I have burnable sized stumps and in another will be the roots.  When complelety dry, they should work well for fire starting kindling.

This Saturday / Sunday, we'll organize the kindling into a neat pile and likely burn some of it!  And, we'll set out the flagstone to form a path from the steps of the firepit area up to the edge of the eventual deck and if there is enough left over...maybe even a path up to the door of where the camper will be positioned.  I discovered (which is obvious from the photos) that we're going to need a bunch more bricks, maybe even double the amount of what is there now to fill in the circle that was created.  I really want to be able to have 6-10 people sit around the ring and enjoy themselves without feeling like they are too close to the fire or too close to one another.  200 more bricks should cure that.  In the mean time, we'll have to make due with what we've got until I can score some more from the internet and haul them up!

Floatman is heading up in the morning and the family and I are heading in directly after work let's me go.  We're dragging the pop-up with us on its maiden voyage of 2010.  It looks like the weather is shaping up to be nice for us as well, but you know how that can change at the drop of a hat!

More projects...

Trout Camp's "to do" list seems to be never ending and until recently, most of the more laborous task accomplishments resulted in only relatively small noticeable changes, most of which could not be enjoyed through relaxation or rejuvenation.  This will change sooner than later!  This weekend Floatman and I hope to tackle the firepit foundation by setting the brick pavers into the recently leveled soil.  We'll also consider the location and needs of a couple car loads of flagstone that we'll be brought into camp by each of us.

It is also likely that I will take a trip out on Wednesday to drop off a load of stone because there is a high likelihood that tomorrow morning will have me picking up more reclaimed stone from another Craig's list find.  Did I mention what a great resource this free site is?!

So, here's another list of things we'll report in the blog by next Monday afternoon:

• Firepit brick pavers installed
• Fire ring set in place 
• Fire ring stone facade installed
• Flagstone paths considered and/or started
• Cut and stack root/tree trunk pile

Two areas of concern direct from the "hospitality department" are the lack of running water and a place to comfortably dispose of used water once the body is through using it!  I'm sure you already guessed that this particular concern did not originiate from the "male" visitorship! LOL!  To meet this concern (objection) and to eleviate the additional burden that the repeated voiced concerns (complaining) represents, I've begun to explore the DIY of constructing a combination outdoor shower and latrene.  Until such time, we happen to have a nylon shower/bathroom tent from the local big box camping store that will suffice.  The convenience of not having to bring it into camp, set it up and then take it down at departure has led me to consider a more permanent option.  I borrowed this photograph from the following link:  DIY Repair Guides While this model is elaborate, my more basic design will follow their design premise and hopefully include "freebies" discovered through CL.  The idea is to create a more private location that can be used for showering and using the facilities that is permanent.

I'm thinking that a modified "S" shape in a somewhat smaller setup would work for our application as seperating the latrene from the shower area is a must for obvious reasons.  Here's a photoshopped overhead of my vision.  Considering the toilet will be a portable insert and not a hole in the ground, I believe with would work well.  Just a thought that will likely evolve to something grander when the time to build comes around.

I'll give it a grade "A"

On the road again, Saturday evening, the wife, no kids and a robust list of things to do on my mind.  Two thoughts linger and almost haunt me, will my body be able to take the abuse that will come the following day and will the Grand Architect bless me with a decent day to get some work done? 

In spite of the millions upon millions of dollars invested in the most modern radar and computer aided forecasting equipment, the weather cannot be forecasted with anything even remotely resembling accuracy.  When you throw out a forecast that calls for 95% chance of severe thunderstorms, 39 mile/hour wind gusts and 1.34" of rain and all we receive are (2) 15 minute drizzle sessions...It is difficult not to call for them to find another profession!

The good news is there were no overnight storms and there was very little precipitation on Sunday while I slaved away on the property. 

The second area of concern, the abuse of the hard labor and whether I could take it...well, let's just say I'm sore AGAIN! LOL!  Nothing tylenol can't cure temporarily!  I was hoping for help this trip, but my buddy Floatman got wiped out in the middle of the week with a nasty cold and is still on the recover end of things  Feel better Float!  When you feel 100%, I've got a enough things for you to do that you'll feel like crap again when you're done! LOL!

From my previous post, you may recall that I wanted to get quite a bit accomplished.  On this trip, in a span of 6 hours, I was able to get a few of those things checked off the list.  The brick pavers I picked up off Craig's List are now neatly stacked next to fire pit area only a few feet away from their soon to be permanent home.  The deck zone and firepit zone have been brought to a very comfortable leveled gradient.  Because I wanted to know and also enjoy using math in real work situations, I took along two posts, string, a line level and a tape measure.  I sunk both posts into the hillside and then stretched a string tightly between them.  Total span of the string was 18 feet.  Bring the string to level revealed that the downhill post was nearly 2' off the soil.  Now, using what we know...a run of 18 feet and a negative rise of 2', we can figure out the percentage of grade for the spot I was about to work on.  Grade = Rise / Run * 100.   So in this case, the hillside where we wish to place the deck was at a 11.1% grade.  Negative or positive depending on which side of the slope you're standing on!  There's your math lesson for today!  That has changed drastically.  The area isn't perfectly flat, because a downward slope is necessary for drainage, but quite close to it.   

I wasn't able to chop the pile of root balls and trunks into a smaller and more manageable burn lot this time around.  I guess that is a project for the next trip out.  I also didn't have the strength to do anything with the pop up camper zone.  I guess I will use blocks to prop up the down slope side when setting it up for this year's camping season.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that next year my blog posts will be entertaining you with the mechanics of setting up a 20 foot ISBU shipping container (one of two) that will replace the popup's purpose at trout camp.

The idea that I borrowed from the interenet, the one that suggested using a rototiller to level small areas with moderate slope was a good one.  The land fought back hard and rejected my initial attempts to massage the gradient, but with determination and a little muscle...I won the ultimate battle (this time)!

The foliage of the forest is really starting to fill in the voids of the stands of trees.  Life is returning to all of the trees and ground cover and I'm very excited to see the colors as some of the bordering trees have a vibrant red leaf sprouting on them.  

I've included some photos of my work for your viewing pleasure along with a Pittsburgh Steeler's centipede!  I know, I couldn't believe it myself...PHOTOS DON'T LIE! LOL!

Next trip...chop up the wood pile, lay some bricks and/or build the deck?...Hmmm, magic 8 ball says......