In Loving Memory

In Loving Memory
Of My Brother
Henry Rolland "Tad" Harrington
December 31, 1937 ~ July 29, 1969.
He Was Born 71 Years Ago Today At Silver Creek, Nebraska.

Life To Him Was An Adventure, I Was Able To
Share Many Of Them With Him. My Only Regret,
He left Us Before My Children Got to Know Him
As Their Uncle.

He Would Have Loved The HITW, You Think
I Pull Practical Jokes ~ He Was My Teacher!

So Many Stories ~ So Many Memories

In Loving Memory

In loving Memory to my Mother.
On this date, ninety five years ago,
she was born to Fred and Ella Riley in
Silver Creek, Nebraska.

She would have loved camping at the Hole In the Wall.
Although she would have made a great camp cook,
just do not eat her pancakes with boiled water and sugar
syrup.

She was a special lady but best of all,
she was my mother.

Christmas at HITW

As we viewed the humble tree
a lot the lights did tell us.
For around that tree the love was free
and would have made Chuck Brown jealous.

It may not be spectacular.
It may not scream of gold.
Our little tree with love around
made a story to be told.

Upon the wall the heater burned
and warmed our foot and hand
but the joy I felt on Christmas eve
could have warmed the entire land.

As goodies left upon a plate
were a picture of good cheer,
there were cookies for the jolly elf
and corn chips for his deer.


The gifts were opened by the girls,
we had coffee in our cups.
The dogs got some Christmas treats
and, even, some new pups.

A warmest thanks to Stan and Terry
for putting forth so much.
It never would have been so grande
without their special touch.

To gather and exchange some gifts
- the time with spirits furled -
Was closeness that cannot be matched
with anything of this world.

A warm thank you to all of those
who shared their precious time.
This Christmas meant so much to me
with love and peace sublime.

Be safe and have a happy new year, clans.
Looking forward to many more hours
with you this coming year.

Did someone say, "Fire"?

Our First Christmas at the HITW

Christmas Eve

• Wolf Den – Chili Dinner, Drinks, daycare and a place for people to warm up.
• Bear Den- Decorate the Family Christmas Tree
• Fire Pit - Holiday Cheer and maybe some carols.

Christmas Day

• Eagle Nest -Christmas Dinner around 3pm? (call her about food)
• Wolf Den - Snacks, Drinks, daycare, and a place to warm up.
• Bear Den - gift exchange ... with a twist. Your gifts must be used.

Gift exchange rules!

Everyone playing brings a gift and we do it all at once, Kids included this time (there are only 4 young ones now)... I would love nothing better than to get a truck (or a pair of pretty princess shoes) from Buddy.

• Say maybe you have something lying around the house that you always think of someone in family when you look at it… Wrap it up.
• Say maybe you borrowed something from someone in the family and never returned it… wrap it up.
• Say maybe you have a REALLY ugly tacky thing that you never liked… wrap it up.
• Say maybe something useful you never use… wrap it up.
• Say maybe something beautiful you are tired of dusting…wrap it up.
• Say maybe you already bought gifts (ha! like we are that prepared)…wrap them up.
• Say maybe someone left something at your place and never retrieved it… wrap it up.
  

We draw Numbers… #1 one goes first, #2 can steal or pick a new, so on and so forth… after 3 steals the gift is safe and can no longer be stolen. If a gift is stolen, person who was robbed gets to choose to steal or open a new one at the time of theft. They may not steal back the gift that was stolen (not at that time, if their gift gets stolen again and the thing they want is not safe they may then get it back).

**** and NO PETS as gifts....unless you want not one but TWO wiener dogs.

*Only Heidi retains the right to change rules.

And since the kids are playing, I hope the adults, will be adults and not break a child's heart on Christmas.

Merry Christmas

As the snow is falling and a good north wind howling, the Eagles are comfortable and warm in their nest.

Good memories of the past fill our thoughts and we want to wish all of you our best.

To the Bear, Buffalo, Wolf, "Pope", Wood Pecker, Raven, Lynx, and Beaver Clan we wish all of you a very Merry Christmas.

But what is that noise I hear, I raise from my recliner to see what is a matter, from my window I peer, to see a red sleigh not being towed by tiny reindeer but by four Moose just clearing the trees.

A circle they did fly, as I ran to the loft to see them go by. So I could see, I had to rub the ice off the pane.
Just in time to see them bank hard right and make a perfect approach on Bronco Lane.

As the Sled came to screeching stop in front of the fire pit,
It was amazing, a roaring fire appeared in just a bit.

I could hear talking and laughter fill the night fire glow. Children shrieking with joy as they played in the snow.

I wonder to myself, who could these intruders be?
Grabbing my shotgun, I head for the trees.

Peering down from the bluff, I cannot believe what I see. All of the Clans have gathered to share the season glee.

As if by magic, lawn chairs appeared around the fire and the table laden with treats.

I stood amazed, that they could all fit in that one tiny sleigh pulled by the Moose.
To the nest I did go back
and put my shotgun back into the rack.

With Granny in hand, down the hill we did trek
To all those that don't believe we say go to heck! We had just seen Santa deliver our gifts and we believe.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Day Dreamin

The Hole In The Wall has been plowed with care,

Knowing that the little ones would soon be there.
The slopes are now laden
Making it ideal to go sleddin
Fire wood is covered and stacked so neat
The fire pit is awaiting to give out much needed heat.
The gazebo is dry and clear
A great setting to share a toddy of cheer.
So bring your warm clothes and clean out your sheds
So, you do not forget to bring your sleds.
A new HITW record will be set,
On this I am willing to bet.
I can rhyme no more
My ability to do so is so poor.
Will see all of you soon,
To bad, we will not have a full moon.
Forget any sun,
We will just play in the snow and have some fun.

Work Up In Smoke

Several days of labor from this past summer has been eradicated by fire. If time was money, these piles of stumps and trees would represent a tidy sum, not to mention the cost of tools and equipment that was destroyed in the process of the timber clearing process. The pile of wood also represented a lot of fun, who could ever forget the Plumma surfing down the driveway while standing on a log towed by the snow plow. Good memories all.

Majority of the debris piles have now been burnt with the exception of the big pile that straddles Kroc Creek. This pile will have to wait until the "Kroc Pond Leeches" complete the spawning process and go back down the creek to layover the winter in Kroc Pond. On normal years, the spawning cycle and downstream migration is completed around Thanksgiving.

Mexican Drive is now clear for plowing and parking. The larger logs that are water soaked and would take about 5.5 years to burn were skidded to the end of the drive utilizing the faithful snowplow blade. Come spring and more hands, they can be loaded and hauled to the beach in order to shore up the critical habitat area on the high tide line.

New Service At The HITW

For those that have school age children, but would still like to spend a little more family time at the HITW, a new service has been added for the benefit of those residing at the HITWRA.

I was not aware of it until this afternoon, while basking in my chair on Mexican Drive watching the slash pile burn. I could not help but notice this yellow vehicle stop at the intersection of the Old Sterling Highway and Private Drive. With warning lights flashing, the doors opened and out popped a student on her way home from school. She was met Private Drive by her much younger brother. Although, a thick cloud of smoke enveloped the area they were not aware that anyone was around. The young boy, could not resist making an attempt to scale the sand hill. Nearing the top, he heard Ruger barking and looked in our direction. I was holding Ruger by the collar as not to scare the poor little kid to death. But, just the bark sent him scurrying back down the slope and heading up the drive to catch up with his sister.

Now that school bus service has been established, perhaps with time we can petition the bus contractor and see if we can get them to update their bus line, at least something in the 1960 vintage range.

The Wild Bunch, 1900, Photo by John Swartz, 705 1/2 Main Street, Ft. Worth
Left to Right: Standing, Bill Carver and Harvey Logan ("Kid Curry")
Seated, Harry Longbough ("the Sundance Kid"), Ben Kilpatrick ("the Tall Texan"), Robert Leroy Parker ("Butch Cassidy")

Thought this picture was only appropriate for our "new site"! Took me by total surprise this morning when I clicked onto the HITW site. What a great looking layout. The "antique western" appearance is so fitting for the HITW. Very nice job, "She Wolf"! The only problem that I have ran into, I cannot figure out how to make comments. I click on the comment line and get nothing! No comment box appears. Is this an error or a secret to keep me from commenting? Love Ya.

Like the new look??

Let me now if something does not work or if we should add something! K?

Shots to Remember

"Taking the High Ground"

"This Is Our Hill"

"The First Night Of Shore Power"

Rain, Flood, Landslide, Pumping and Shoveling

I need not tell anyone that we did get a lot of snow, turning to rain over the past 30 hours. Being awakened several times during the night by just the sound of the rain, I was not looking forward to daylight and seeing the effects on the Hole In the Wall. It was much worse than I had even expected. Not only from the rain storm but also from the mud slides that the heavy rain created by over saturation of the soils. Two mud slides occurred, one at the normal location next to the Buffalo Wallow. As it did last year, Grannies Gully flowed mud out into the parking lot area but bypassed the Buffalo Wallow. The second mud slide occurred at the Wolf Den. John's Creek which feeds from John's Glacier, jumped the normal creek bed at the location where the "new" water line crosses the creek. It then followed the bed of the water line into the side yard of the Wolf Den. The pump system was rigged and de-watering started at 12:30 p.m. The pump has been steadily pumping since that time, currently it just passed the eighth hour mark. Although the pump is working, it is only maintaining the water that continues to flow into the pit area from Bear Creek and John's Creek. The new ditches that were dredged to channel the water was only partially effective. The upper portion of each of drain ditches did fill with sand and gravel either from normal washing or from the mud slide such as was the case in the area of the Buffalo Wallow. However, we were not the only ones to flood out. The Anchor River has reached flood stage and like the Hole In the Wall, has not reached the peak. Note the new log jam at the lower end of my favorite fishing hole.

Anchor River 10/10/08 Noon

Aerial View Of The Hole In the Wall

Ground View Of The Fire Pit Gazebo and Claire Allen's Flower Bed

The success story learned is from Bear Creek, the natural rock and clay mini wall that was built last summer is the most effective. With Bear Creek flowing a full head of water, equivalent to what we see in the spring run off, no water spread into the area of the Bear Den with the exception of one small tributary that was not blocked at the top. It has since been blocked and all water is being contained.

Bear Creek Falls

Bear Creek

Mud Slide Into the Wolf Den. Upon finding this, it made me sick but after looking at it in closer detail, no damage occurred and it could be a blessing. We have two options, this is all loose packed material, predominantly sand and gravel mixed with some clay. First option is to move it to the rear of the build where it will fill up the lower ground that collects water. 2nd Option is to level it off and the build the side and rear deck over the top of it. The foundation blocks are o.k., the center block is the only one that is covered, each block is visible

John's Creek Falls


John's Creek drainage area. I shoveled out the creek from the base up to the falls and reinforced the embankment to attempt to keep the stream confined to the drainage area. The upper portion of this creek is very rocky and with natural erosion, we should eventually be into the bed rock which will help in the stabilization.

Grannies Gully and Stream Bed. Where this stream hit the area of the gate and the new drainage ditch was dredged was covered in the mud slide that occurred at the top of Grannie Gulch. Due to the light soil and shale in this area, the newly dredged drain ditch past the Moose Wallow and into the Bronco Lane drainage canal filled up with sediment for the majority of it's length. I have re-shoveled this area and it is draining well.

I am treating this as a "learning experience". All along, I have been working with the concept of "blocking the water out" of the parking lot area by dredging the ditch so John's Creek funnels into the drain pit. After seeing how effective that the rock wall bordering Bear Creek has work, I am now under the concept of "blocking the water in". With a brief history, a drainage ditch in this area will not work due to the sediment that flows down the creek. With the tenants agreement and I would appreciate feed back. Forget the ditch concept to force the water into

the pit area. The two cabins sit about three to four feet higher in elevation than the parking lot area. Build a rock wall similar to Bear Creek from the new spruce tree to the edge of the drainage pit. Faced both sides with rock and plastic liner. Back fill with top soil and plant flowers or shrubs. The water flowing down Johns Creek will hit the wall and follow it into the pit area. If the pit is full, it will back up but it is going to have to get three deep to effect the cabins. By that level, it is over flowing into the parking lot and it does not matter what we do, we have a hell of flood. The draw back to this concept is that we will need to construct a small walking bridge over the wall to make easy and safe access. Unless the bridge is large, it will also restrict driving up to your doors. Ample parking is available and it really is no further than your present drive way to your front doors at your homes. The same concept will be used on the other drainage ditch at the Moose Wallow. The reason that we have had more than normal flooding this year is the cleared lots so we may consider a couple loads of top soil or a cultivator to break up the clay mixed soil and see if we can establish a lawn in this area to absorb some of the run off. As for the "old" Wolf Den and the Buffalo Wallow. The storm had no effect on either of these locations. At the Wolf Den, we may want to consider building some type of retaining wall or sand bags along the top of bluff to stop the flow of any mud slides that John's Creek may create in the future. We can never out smart mother nature, but we can wage an effective battle. Time to go check the pump and see if the water level has dropped.

Fall Storm

Late Monday night, a premature seasonal williwaw blew through the Hole In the Wall Recreational Area dumping record levels of snow for this time of the season. A total assessment has yet to be completed, however, early indications do not preclude the request for emergency disaster funds from the State of Alaska and the Federal Government. At the same time, our Congressional delegation will be contacted to explore the possibility of having some type of emergency "bailout" as a economic stimulator to the area. With the majority of the trees in the area still holding 73% of their foliage, a large number of them were bent to the ground under the heavy, wet snow loads. Egress from the Eagle Nest was blocked with Alder Trees laying in the driveway from the snow load. Rather than spending an hour on the chain saw cutting the trees down, the ole ford F-150 managed to break through on the third attempt.

Bear Den's First Winter Snowfall

Note the "Bear Marking" Tree in front of the cabin, as of

6:00 p.m. this evening, it had not yet corrected it self under the snow load.

Wolf Den's First Winter. The Apple Tree Sustained No Damage. However, from the photo it appears that some of the deck roof painting washed off.

Other news, the "new" construction is still underway. Completed trimming out the roof today, water proofing the skylight frame and laying felt. The building is now roughly dried in and hopefully under clear sky, tomorrow the shingles will magically appear on the roof in neatly arranged straight rows.

HITW Drain Project

Amidst The Colors Of The Season, The National Colors Are Once Again Retired

At The "Hole In The Wall"
The "Excavator" moved onto the site on Saturday and begin dredging the "bowl drainage system". The primary "settling pond" was enlarged to 6' x 8'. A very strange composition of soils was discovered. Just a few inches below the clay that halted the digging process by hand during the summer. A very nice seam of sand and gravel was struck, unfortunately it was only about six inches thick and then it reverted back to a "black" clay that was as hard as rock. The excavator kept going deeper,hoping to find more gravel, however, we could not get out of the clay. The dredging stopped when he reached a depth of six feet.
The next step was to dredge the drain ditch from "John's Glacier". A similar ditch was dredged from the gates to "Grannie's Gulch" to the established drain ditch along the driveway. Although it appears threatening, the drain ditch is only about six inches deep, just enough to get the water to move to the collection point. The "snow plow" and wheel barrow will make short work of the debris and it will be taken to the the pad at the Moose Wallow. The dredged material from the "pit" has already been transported and semi leveled in that area with the bobcat. With some work and material, it will be a good R/V site or a parking pad for the Moose Den. Since the drain ditches are shallow, with a little typar liner and back filled with several pick-up loads of medium size round beach rock, it should work as a "french drain".
I was caught by surprise, I was not expecting to put the new pit to the test until after I had finished the construction of the decking and screening. I also did not realize that it had rained so much and partially mixed with snowed overnight. Upon my arrival at the site this morning, this is what I had discovered. The new pit, despite being five times larger was filled and back flushed up and into the drainage ditch. However, the good news is that no water had back up even close to the fire pit area so the system will work and be very effective once the improvements are made.

Somewhere under this mass of water and leaves, there is a little blue sump pump working to it's maximum performance. With this amount of water, it took exactly two hours to pump it down. Sitting in my lawn chair and monitoring the drop of the water, I came to the conclusion that the acquisition of another 100 feet to 150 feet of 2 inch fire hose is a necessity. I had dismantled all of the piping for the excavation, with fire hose it would have taken five minutes to attached and lay out. My sit down time also provided me time to reevaluate the design of the cover and holding tank. I am going to build it the same way as I finished the pit in the Duck House. A cofferdam is necessary, even with the clay soil as it will erode under the water pressure. The cofferdam will also produce a solid foundation for the cover decking on the pit. It will make a great stage and sun bathing area. Prior to construction, someone is going to have to go into the hole and level the sides and scoop out any erosion that has occurred, for some strange reason, I think it will be me on the end of the shovel this time. I am just holding my breath that winter will hold off so I can finish all the projects, including the water tower.

HITW Log Posting

Was good to see a new posting on the personal sites of the Buffalo Clan and Bear Clan. At the HITW, still enjoying sunny fall weather, although today the wind was cold and we did get one small sprinkle. Lost a lot of our leaves from the wind today so we are now halfway through the fall.

The mornings are cold and frosty but turning into shirt sleeve weather by noon. Yesterday morning the Lower Crock Pond was frozen over and it remained that way all day. I hear Claire Allen on a daily basis, but have not seen her. I guess she has finally figured out that the "free handouts" are over with for this season. I do get a daily visit by the Canadian Jay, he / she always comes to the new site of the Duck Hose and chatters.

As for the Duck House, still on track to be finished by spring!:) Completely sided, soffitt boards on, and the overhang (whatever it is called) rafter on the rear of the building. Before closing down today, I installed the skylight frame which I had prefabricated on the ground. After applying two quarts of gorilla glue and spiked it in with six inch spikes, it is not going anywhere. As my dad use to say when he built something, "not much for pretty, but it is hell for stout". I love my gorilla glue and my "palm nailer", handled those six inch spikes like they were finishing nails.

Tomorrow, the building will be slowed down somewhat (according to Lady Eagle) it "can't get any slower"! The heavy equipment will move in and start excavating one pit and two ditches which I have referred on the Bear Den site so I will not be redundant. I will also not dwell on the O.J.Simpson verdict that just came in at 10 pm our time because I talked about that on the Buffalo Site so I will not be verbose and redundant. But, I will not have a sleepless night because poor O.J. is going away, possibly for life!

That is all!

Duck House ~ "How To Tips, Part VI"

Contrary to popular beliefs and a previous comment made, I have been working! The weather was just to nice to pass up and it is so nice and quiet at the HITW. Well, except when I have to turn the generator on to power the air compressor which seems to have a problem with the length of the secondary extension power line. The normal power tools don't seem to mind but my antiquated air compressor begs for more power. Sure wish I had my other air compressor back, then I would have solitude.

Today, the rafters were put in and secured. I am happy to report that all of the little birdies kept their mouth shut and they fit snugly into place. Bird blocks are also installed and secured. In case I am to busy to blog tomorrow, I expect to install the nailers and finish the siding at the front and rear peaks. Cut out one of my form fitting rafters and frame in the sky light, install the soffits as well as the gable end at the rear of the building. Perhaps, if time permits start laying the plywood on the roof.

For some reason, I think the birds believe that I am building them a new home. After I finished the cofferdam on the pit, a Magpie stopped by to visit while I was sitting in a nearby chair. He walk all around the perimeter of the cofferdam, peering down into pit. Today, while sitting in the same chair and continuing my contemplation, a Canadian Jay stopped by and had to inspect the the ridge beam by strutting back and forth. The first sea gull visited the HITW by landing in the middle of the parking lot, but that is a different story which I will not go into. While on the subject of birds, although I have not actually witnessed their presence. They seem to like the color of the trim on the Wolf Den. The ridge beam that extends beyond the roof line must make a nice perch, the "Blueberry" color is now highlighted with patches of white. I assume, they could not wait for the "Duck House" to be completed. This morning each of the roof tops on the cabins were white with frost, would have been neat to see a little smoke curling up from a chimney, but I guess we had better install a stove first.

Duck House "How To Tips" ~ Part V

The rain is gone for a few days and we have been enjoying two days of fantastic fall weather. Frosty and even a little ice in the early morning hours, but shirt sleeve weather once the sun shines on the Hole In The Wall. I have finally got back to work and spent the past two days continuing on my current project, Duck Hose II. At the closure of the work day today, I am now prepared to go aloft and commence installing the ridge and rafters.

Finished up the siding today and installed the roof beams. The structure continues to remain true to square, well at least within a 1/4 inch tolerance. The main lesson I learned the last two days, "do not reflect on what you have done or currently doing but concentrate on the next step".

I got the two windows framed in, so we should have plenty of light. The larger window will be on the south side with a smaller window to the right of the door. In our "old" Duck House" it was always difficult to tell if the facility was in use, so I thought a front window would eliminate this problem.

Finished up the siding this morning and a very good lesson was learned in this process. When laying on siding, one should cut out the door opening prior to installing the last of sheet of siding. Although, I could have possibly found the door opening from the outside, however, I chose to insure that I did not cut the door where it should not have been cut. With the assistance of a ladder, I was able to access the top of the frame, raise the ladder and lower it into the inside of the building to access the floor. It was then simple to cut out the door and plate between the door frame.
I must admit, it did take a period of time and several practice cuts to determine the right angle for the roof support beams on the deck. Once again, I put my "palm nailer" to good use when "spiking" the timbers to the base and overhang. Although, most will laugh at my "crude skills" but when pricing lumber, I discover that 4" X 4" dimensional lumber is very expensive and perhaps over kill on a project this size. In place, I chose to use two 2" x 4"s and made a laminated beam. Using one quart of Gorilla Glue, I laminated the two beams and then insured the security by driving forty three nails on each side of the beam. They may fall down, they may break but they will never come apart. I love Gorilla Glue!

Side View Of The Duck House From Rear of Cook Tent

So far all things have went well, no bodily injuries but have been having equipment problems. Yesterday, I had to take time off to re-install the pull cord on the generator. Some how it fell off. Today, went to plug in the grinder to sand off a little excess Gorilla Glue that was seeping from the sides of the glue lam. Went to straighten one of the prongs on the plug to plug it in and it broke off. A quick trip to the hardware store for a new plug and 15 minutes to install. The biggest problem was that someone left the damm air hose to the nail gun laying in the same area that I was cutting framing materials, a rubber hose is no match for a circular saw, however, the excessive noise of rushing air will definitely get your attention. Now I know why contractors like to bid a job on "material and time". But, I am having fun!

Duck House ~ "How To Tips Part IV"

The first day of "fall", we had our first frost. The second day of "fall" we had our first freeze. This morning at 0900 when I went to work, the temperature was improving, but still a balmy 36 degrees. During the first couple of hours, the thermos of coffee was perfect but by noon, it was back to shirt sleeve weather.

Finished up the framing today, the four walls are now standing and squared. I can fully appreciate that it is much easier to place the siding on the walls and then stand them, however, working with a "short crew", it is really not an option especially when you have to build them "off site" and carry them to the construction site. Squaring things up required a little ingenuity, I know some prefer to use a "coffin jack", an option that I had available to me, however, I chose the "Old Navy" (1960'era) method of putting a strain on an object called a "Mexican Windless". All you need is one piece of line, doubled up and a object to twist it to the desired tension. In this situation, I used a nylon line and a stub end of a 2" x 4" as the windless (pictured across the front of the framing). It worked perfectly and the alders that I was using as an anchor remained rooted. If it is not raining come first light, the next step will be to side the frame and move on to the cutting and installing the rafters. If a certain person who was the Foreman on the the "Cabin II Project" is wondering, yes! I got the California corners installed on the right side and even remembered to nail them completely instead of free floating them. Having fun, putting a few "tricks of the trade" that I learned this summer to use and discovering others.

Duck House ~ "How To Tips, Part III

What a beautiful, pre-fall day to be outside and getting a little work done while Pump Station #1 was de-watering the area once again. Enlargement of the "settling pond" is slowly moving up on the "To Do Thing List". But first, had to make a quick trip to the lumber yard in Kenai and pick up the material that I needed for construction. Always such a joy to shop at Home Depot. Good thing I do not know anything about construction or their employees would be talking over my head. When shopping there, I always get the feeling that I am on equal level with their experts.

Didn't Need A Fork Lift To Unload This Shipment Of Material

(Notice The Refurbished "Work Truck" ~ Comes Equipped With

Air Compressor And Generator. Both Very Noisy, Whatever

Happened To The Nice Quiet Generator That Was Given To Me As a Gift?)

My Apprentice Is Not Much Help, But He Keeps An Eye On What Is Going On. The Hole In The Ground Arouses His Curiosity. Site Had It's Final Grading And The Foundation Laid. Perhaps, With Another Good Day Of Weather, The Decking Will Be Laid And Some Walls Standing.

To add to your "How To" notes, foundation is formed from green, treated all weather wood, 2"x 6" in dimension on 16" centers. Leveled and tied into the rim of the pit cofferdam. When building, insure you check on a regular basis to insure that the foundation remains square as well as level. It is fully appreciated that the "green wood" is laced with known contaminants, however, knowing that the water table is at least eight feet below the surface, a little leeching of arsenic should have no immediate harmful effects.

HITW "STRIKE"

The rain backed off long enough today to get a few chores accomplished at the Hole In the Wall. After three hours of pumping and some shovel work, the area is now de-watered. However, it started to rain again this evening at 1600 so it is safe to assume that the pump will be required come first light. Bear Creek did dry up overnight with John's Creek and Granny's Creek flowing water. Terry did take some time to trench John's Creek a little deeper to insure that it stays within the containment area and not behind the cabin site.

Brought the "Little Mole" in today to assist in the re-excavation of depository site. It was only after I lowered her into the hole and removed the ladder, that I realized that this was the second septic system that she has dug this season. She was a trooper, no breaks even when I called for one, the five minute breaks were reduced to two minutes. Due to the depth of the pit and her vertical handicap (5'1") the dirt had to be transferred out of the site by the use of two five gallon buckets and pulling lines. The first lesson learned, DO NOT FILL A FIVE GALLON BUCKET FULL OF SAND AND GRAVEL. The pulling engine did not have enough horsepower so the transfer was reduced to half buckets. The first hundred or so buckets were used to back fill the cofferdam with the remainder being leveled off surrounding the pit foundation. We exceeded the original depth, to an actual pit depth of 7 feet 10 inches. From original ground level, it is approximately nine feet deep. Although a few "unique" rocks were discovered showing some color, no gold in nugget form was discovered. However, we did go deep enough to STRIKE water. At this point, we called off further dredging to keep from entering the aqua firm, however, it may be something to keep in mind. The water level is likely to be in the nine to ten foot range in the area of the HITW. Useful information in the event a water system is considered in the future.

"My Mole"

Following the dredging, the site was leveled with a very good quality of sand and gravel from the dredging operation in preparation for laying the foundation of the building. Should provide some excellent drainage and excellent building platform. It is hope, that weather permitting the foundation and decking will be taken care of tomorrow. In the event of rain, perhaps a trip to the big lumber yard to pick up a supply a dimensional framing lumber and siding. I am here to tell you, all of you are missing out on a lot of fun!

Great Flood of "September 08"

"Bear Creek" Looking Downstream"Lake View From Deck of The Wolf Den"

"Bronco Drive Overflow"
Moose Park and Emergency Evacuation Boat
Granny's Gully Creek
John's Glacier Creek
"Ruger" Eyeballing Situation

and On Guard For Claim Jumpers

As I sit here, the weather is clearing to the south, the sun has even peeked out from the dense, rain laden clouds. It appears that the worst is behind us, although those living in the LA area can expect a few more hours of rain. If you received the same amount of rain that we did, then you will know what I am speaking of. It started raining last evening and since then we have had monsoon rain for the past twenty four hours. Needless to say, no work was done on the new project today. However, the good news is that the erosion cofferdam was successful. Due to saturation from the rain, that was some erosion but it was kept to to the confines of the cofferdam with no new deposits at the bottom of the pit. Eventually the cofferdam will be filled with erosion or back fill material and become stabilized.

The other news, we flooded out big time. Not as bad as the "spring run off" floods but it was the highest water level we have ever had during the summer rainy season, which has been quite long this year. As I speak, the pump has started and pumping at full velocity. The good news, each of the run off areas that we identified are clearly visable with the run off. "Bear Creek" is running a full head of water. John's Glacier Creek broke over the rim this evening and it is also running a full head of water. Granny's Gully is also running full volume.

The "rock and clay" breakwater built along Bear Creek is working exactly as planned and diverting all run off directly into the "collection reservoir". Since I have never had the opportunity to explore "Bear Creek" due to the snowfall, I took advantage of just the rain to contend with and explored it today. The creek bed is very rocky with a good number of small tumbling waterfalls. Atop the bluff it forks into three different tributaries and it does drain Moose Meadows as does Johns Glacier Creek and Granny's Gully. It is to bad that we cannot keep this little stream going throughout the summer.

Johns Glacier Creek followed the same exact path that was clearly marked this summer, until someone decided to clean up the area and removed all the survey tape. It is clearly marked by mother nature now so it should not be difficult for the excavator to find. Granny's Gulch is into the bare rocks and gravel, outside the Buffalo Wallow. I temporarily diverted it into Moose Park to keep it out of the parking area. Moose Park is draining well into the drainage canal.

Lesson's learned from this rain. With planned improvements and expansion of the drain system reservoir, our problem should be resolved. A reservoir will be required at the base of Granny's Gully, but it is also a natural place to use a manual drain system with a back up pump in case of an emergency. A soil containment barrier should be installed in the event of erosion at higher elevations of the gully. The cleared cabin areas, will need some top soil or tilled up, leveled and planted in grass to help absorb some of the run off. Each of these lessons can be corrected with a little work and a few dollars.

Sorry that the posting is so short, but I need to go check the pumping process.