Friday, August 7, 2015

August 6, 2015- Worked a full day up on Bell Mtn

Bruce Bell and I completed our micro project expanding the first switchback on his jeep trail up to the summit so we could transport the 200 odd pieces of clapboards which are about 10 foot in length up to the cabin site.

After the switchback was done we loaded up the pick up and did 2 trips hauling the clapboards up the mountain.

It was hard back breaking work to be sure. Tomorrow we will be nailing the clapboards onto the framing members.

Last Wednesday I gave my good friend, Alex Komodore, a tour of the cabin site. He remarked about how walking the jeep trail up to the cabin was a great cardio workout and this comes from an athlete who runs marathons.

When I get home I immediately plunge myself into heart stopping freezing cold water( I have no hot water) in my huge cast iron tub with the clawed feet to clean the grime and sweat off. Since my old frame is so racked with pain and stiffness its all I can do just to read and fall fast asleep in my bed.

The soles of my feet remain blazing hot from standing/working all day on steep slopes and hard rocks while my hopelessly blistered hands throb with pain from a million odd splinters from handling the rough clapboards.

It's very difficult to get a good nights sleep even though I'm extremely tired.

Oh well, the final product will be worth it for sure! I plan on writing my book in this cabin. The book will be about my experiences walking across the Plains between Colorado and Illinois, peoples reactions to my unorthodox life style, current state of the Church in America and my winter stay up on Bell Mountain in a cabin partially built with my own hands.

My book I can assure you will be unvarnished look at many topics including some not mentioned in the preceding paragraph. I will not pull any punches nor engage in political or religious correctness.

The pics show Bruce Bell helping to unload the clapboards at the cabin site. Bruce says to tell you that his left side is his best side! Ha-ha! The humor this 86 year old has. Very pointed and well honed humor I might add. Even though Bruce is 86 he can work me into the ground any day of the week!

Bruce is my Homer Davenport. Read Peter Jenkins book, Walk Across America, to see what I mean by that.

The other pics show the clapboards we will use for the cabin siding and Clear Creek about 2 miles west of Bell Mtn where I usually take a 10 minute break from hiking from town to Bell Mtn each day.

Well, its time to go. Shalom and grace to you all.

BR Schoenbein

1 comment: