Log Cabin in the woods

[theislandknight]

Hi to all. If you came apon a log cabin in the woods " what would you do ". The cabin I speak of is a labour of love, well cared for and always open. The cuboards are stocked, there`s bedding on the beds, wood stacked at the fire and fuel for the lanterns. If you read my rather short profile you`d know I am a Master Furnitire Maker and expert restorer. This cabin I speak of is not your typical cabin in the woods. It is new but looks VERY OLD. Even went as far at the time of construction to do reno`s and 2 additions to it. The main cabin is a 12' x12' sadle notch trappers rift with a porch facing the pond. The porch was then enclosed with vertical logs and turned into the kitchen. A cabin needs a porch so I built another one and then used post and beam to close the new porch in and it is now the living room. I used different log styles and skill levels thoughout. The logs all died in the Great Fire of 1938 and are all silver and covered in moss. Even has an outhouse and a wood shed. Anyone who stumbles apon it would be shocked by it`s age and size, some 560 sqare feet, 2 sleeping lofts. I split the shakes with a crudle and fro, all ten sqare of them myself. It`s more of a second home in the woods. I had a local horticultualist go up with me and we hid it so well you can be 50 feet from it and not even see it. We removed all the stumps from construction, transplanted moss sod and hauled hundreds of pounds of pine needles and cones to hide the change of grade. There are NO ROADS, just a brutal climb some 400 meters in the first mile and a half. Takes a full day to get supplies and return to the cabin. No one has ever come apon it in the woods since it was built. If you came apon it in the woods " What would you do". please be honest and fourthright with your responce. Thank You. Sean

[riverrat]

That's just awesome.
What do you mean, "what would you do"?

[theislandknight]

Thanks, " what would you do " meaning. Would you come in and make your self at home. If you do please sign the guest book. Might you seek shelter from the storm or warmth on a cold day, again please sign the book. These are some of the good things that might happen if discovered. There are many other things I don`t even wont to think about that could happen if the wrong kind of person finds it. Mabey somebody has some ideas as too things I could do to gain the respect of a stranger, so they leave it as they found it. Even ideas that might make it harder to find in the first place. There is a lot of high end gear at the cabin, heck there`s a thousand dallar chainsaw and fuel, all though it`s a long walk out am I just being too trusting. Or should I lock er up like Fort Knox.

That's just awesome.
What do you mean, "what would you do"?

[riverrat]

I wouldn't leave the chainsaw, myself. I'd stash that gear somewhere nearby, perhaps, well hidden.

[rcthink]

I myself would certainly come in and make myself at home, marvelling at the craftsmanship and applauding those who spent the time to make such a wonderful cabin in the woods and above all leave whatever was already there but possibly using a bit of the stock if I was really in need.

Unfortunately I'm not alone in thinking that there are those that would gladly take any high-end gear that was stored there. The low-end gear would probably stick around as no one would want to carry it out of there. Maybe make a hidden locked gear cache under or near the cabin?

[theislandknight]

Thank you for your reply. Do come in and make your self at home. If you did would you sign the book or leave the cabin so I`d be none the wiser. Some of the bigger items at the cabin took days to haul up there, like the matress in the master loft. It was kind of like a relay race with only one runner. The woodstove was just brutal to haul in, I stripped her down to the bare minamum. Put it on my shoulders and with the door off I could see quite well. I must have looked like a deep see diver from the 1800`s, sans the bubbles. As for the chainsaw, when I first started construction I used a 16' so I could haul it in and out each time. The pictures of the cabin make it look smaller then it is, the picture where there is only a few corses of logs, well those are sixteen inch round logs over twenty feet long. Poor little saw didn`t even make it to the roof line. After buying a much bigger Still and discovering even I couldn`t haul it up in one go, I started leaving it up there in a stump that made for a good stash. Have you ever tried to find a 3 or 4 foot high stump in 12 feet of snow. As for a stash under the floor, that`s a problem. In the picture that the two Wheeners are in, you may notice the rock outside my door, that`s not rock work, it`s the mountain. I removed mabey 12 to 15 sqare yards of earth. All the earth under and around the whole cabin. Close to half the entire floor area is the natural mountain even the steps. The floor level is two feet below grade, when you sit in a chair and look out the windows you are at ground level just like the animals around you. There is a smaller pond mabey 50 feet across, that`s above and behind the cabin it feeds by way of an under ground creek the much larger pond 150 feet across that`s in front of the cabin. This under ground creek is under the only section of wood floor in the entire cabin and is my idea of "Running Water". You can hear it if your quiet. Dam I wish I were there now listening to it flow. On that note, last sping there was a mother bear and two cubs that lived not a hundred yards from my door, nice little one room den on the south east side of the pond. We would sneak over in a round about trail to the other side and watch from the hillside. There were so small then and didn`t stray far when momma was gone. Sometimes we would sneak up and they would be sleeping, snoring away for hours. Other times, they really are fiesty little creatures. Summer came and off the little family of three went, Before leaving momma placed a dead tree lims, needles and all right over the entrence of the den. December roles around and who`s back but momma and the cubs. We saw them a few times before the snow, they REALLY DO GROW FAST. As we had to move for the first of May it`s been three weeks since we`ve been to the cabin. There was still 3 or 4 feet of snow on the ground April 20th. It most be gone by now, and mabey our little family of three is gone too. One day in late summer while gorging themselves on Island Berries, she`ll meet a nice boy bear and do it all over again. I really do love the woods.

I myself would certainly come in and make myself at home, marvelling at the craftsmanship and applauding those who spent the time to make such a wonderful cabin in the woods and above all leave whatever was already there but possibly using a bit of the stock if I was really in need.

Unfortunately I'm not alone in thinking that there are those that would gladly take any high-end gear that was stored there. The low-end gear would probably stick around as no one would want to carry it out of there. Maybe make a hidden locked gear cache under or near the cabin?

[Nostradama]

Same advice from me as from others: cache the expensive gear. I'd say "Hang it in a tree a fair distance from the cabin", but in this climate, moisture would be a problem. The only other solution I can think of would be an underground cache, but it would have to be absolutely waterproof. Drag enough deadfalls, moss, etc., across what would be, in effect, a "lid", and hide it. And do everything you can to avoid dampness. Honestly, if this were my place, I'd have the place protected like Fort Knox. Who knows who's going to find it, and just destroy it, maybe even burn it just for the hell of it? Realistically, no matter what you do, if someone is totally determined that they're going to get in, they will.

If I were out hiking and found the cabin, I wouldn't enter unless it was a dire emergency. That comes from years in a family with a lot of range land to be ridden, checking on cattle out on the range for the summer, and using "line cabins" for shelter at night. There it was considered a courtesy not to enter someone else's "line cabins" unless it was an emergency, and never to damage them. If you absolutely had to do it and used food, if you knew who it belonged to (and you generally did), when you got home, you'd phone them and tell them that you'd been in, you'd eaten whatever, so that they could take replacements with them the next time they went.

[koran]

Your cabin is lovely. If I came upon your cabin in the woods I would definitely come in and make myself at home (I would knock first!!).
I would enjoy your lovely craftmanship and would replace anything I used. I would not be interested in taking anything at all,
and I would definitely sign and thank you in the guest book.
I agree with others that if anything is there of value maybe best to have a locker or something for it. Generally
I think people are pretty decent and most would be respectful.

[All Ages Music Concerts]

When one is out on a hiking/camping trip this would be a jewel to come across in your path. Especially if you were looking for shelter to get out of a very rainy night/day when camping out. What a super pleasant surprise and an honor to be able to use.

I think an engraved mission statement on the outside of the cabin would be a nice touch.

[4byfourbyeIV]

I find, generally, if people have to hike a good distance to it, they're not usually the careless or thieving type. Now if there was an access road to it. you would have more concern. I would hide the expensive gear, but not worry so much about people getting in and wrecking stuff. I for one would love to stumble on something like this that had a sign that said, "Use things as you need them. Leave things as you found them." I would use, respect, sign the guestbook, and even replenish supplies if I could. Very nice job. I am very impressed.