one day in the woods :: january

I’ve thought long and hard about ways to share my life in the woods on this space, but all I’ve come up with is a ragtag melange of random photos… interesting trees I’ve seen, roads I’ve traveled, yadda yadda yadda. And then it hit me, like a a 16-foot long bridge decking timber – why not start a blog series dedicated to these woodsy goings on? My tasks are ever-changing and always interesting (to me), and the landscape around me is a shifting backdrop of beauty.

So here for you is my first installment of what I’ve chosen to call One Day in the Woods :: the January edition.

Date: January 8th, 2014
Location: Clayton Lake, Maine

5:30am. My work day begins at 6, so I am always up way too early. I halt in my morning preparations to adore my shifty-eyed cat, who I brought out into the woods with me for the week. Taking her on the woods roads is always a challenge, as she tends to experience violent motion sickness. But she makes up for it with her ability to sit adorably on wool sweaters.

8:03am. Clayton Lake is a logging camp. We had a post office, but it closed in 2007. Nowadays, our only amenity is this shed filled with gasoline. Or as the locals pronounce it, “gazzzzzzzzzz.”

8:31am. A dastardly chill morning for watching the final stages of bridge construction. And yet every time I top a ridge and see the scenery splayed out before me all pretty like, I feel a pang of heartwarming gladness.

8:49am. I have been (not single-handedly) building a road throughout the late fall and early winter. Part of the road includes a bridge built over a small, but wide, stream. It rained heavily earlier in the week, so all the bridge decking material, to be put on today, is sheathed in a thick coat of ice. That’s what ice scrapers and chainsaws were made for.

9:58am. How many loggers does it take to pound in a 12-inch nail? I’ve done the research, and can report with confidence (statistical margin of error ±1 logger) that the number is four.

10:29am. Near-frozen ice looks like agates. Or an oil spill.

12:12pm. The comedy of errors in which I attempt to carry four 16′ bridge decking timbers underneath the weight of a spare tire and a box of nails. The timbers have been shaved at either end so as to provide minimal within-pickup stability. Note that only three timbers made it for this photo; so much for no decking timber left behind.

12:54pm. One stream stepped into, one boot soaked, one foot nearly frostbit, two pairs of socks changed frantically, one bridge built.

1:36pm. Back at the office for a quick lunch. Another perfect day in sub-zero conditions.

1:40pm. A well-heaped pile of linguine with alfredo sauce makes for a late lunch. This is the meal I could eat every day – and therefore the reason I don’t blog about savory food. My cabin’s kitchen currently features three boxes of whole wheat linguine. For when one box is not enough, duh.

2:52pm. Back in the woods. SNOWSHOEING SELFIE!

2:56pm. It might not look like much of a hill, but believe me, it sure feels like one. Nothing makes me question my fitness like having to stop and catch my breath / cough / snot rocket every hundred feet while snowshoeing.

3:12pm. I made it up the hill and achieved my singular goal of hanging this one piece of flagging.

3:15pm. Off on a hillside, a mug of tea grows complacent and cold.

3:27pm. Sunset. already.

3:42pm. Waiting on the sidelines, the dozer is poised to seek out my aforementioned pink flagging, in order to open up an old road for a timber harvesting job this winter.

3:47pm. The morning’s wet socks rest upon an impromptu drying rack – the first moose antler of the season. The antler is still bloody and has a large chunk of skull attached BTW.

3:57pm. Finishing off the last of the holiday cookies. Almond-flavored sandbakkels, one of my favorites.

4:52pm. Six months after ordering it, I am overjoyed upon my return to the office to see that our new work computer has finally arrived. Joy turns to dismay as I am told that my copy of Windows is not genuine. I then learn that I may be a victim of software counterfeiting. Turns out the new computer is just playing jokes on me.

7:46pm. I finally call it quits from work for the night around 7pm. Back at the cabin, I have a choice selection of beverages. The water is frequently unsafe to drink out here, so I run on Pabst. Just kidding.

7:49pm. Eating a primo dinner of homemade pizza (pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, fresh tomato, mucho queso). Shortly after, I hightail it to bed, to bring on the next day, and with it, the next set of unforeseen challenges.