The Squamidian Report – June 21 / 08
Issue #317
Including:
Another Adventure from 'Wildwood Warren'
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Politically correctness has reared its ugly head out here on the wet coast again. This time it involves that well know tourist attraction right here in Squamish known as ‘The Chief’ and the lesser mount known as ‘The Squaw’. After a century or so of been displayed on maps and in brochures under these names, these names are suddenly considered to be ethnic slurs with ‘The Squaw’ also being considered sexist. So to appease the local ‘First Nations’ women, The Squaw is being renamed to Slhanay. I can’t even pronounce that. Apparently, this name is, and I quote: “more respectful, feminist, and ladylike, and covers all women, not just Aboriginal women”.
Pressure is also on to re-name The Chief to Siyam, which apparently still means ‘The Chief’, only this time in the local Squamish Nations dialect. There is also pressure to re-name numerous lakes and mountains through out the province that currently have names that the First Nations have also decided to object to.
Where I am having a problem with this is that we are practicing censorship by re-writing the past based on current trends. That’s a dangerous direction to be going in because to re-write the past is to lose the past. And when you lose the past you also lose track of the mistakes made in the past making it much easier to make those same mistakes all over again. As well, many of the place names that were chosen by European mapmakers and explorers were chosen to honor the native peoples. If we re-name all these places and then the next generation decides they don’t like the names, do we re re-re-name them all over again?
*
As I look forward to our bike trip that starts a week from now, I’ve been trying to figure out just what luggage we need to bring along. After all, a motorcycle does not have a whole lot of cargo space. Electra Glides like mine do have saddlebags and a sort of trunk thing behind the passenger that is called a ‘tour pac’. So there is room for the necessities but not much more. We obviously need to bring those bare necessities, as well as some extra clothing and our riding gear. That gear includes our leather jackets and chaps, our heated vests in case we run into cold weather, our rain suits, and our mesh jackets for riding in hot weather. Don’t think ‘hot’ will be a problem out here as we are still waiting for winter to leave, but it could happen out on the prairies. Maybe.
We’ll also need things like a camera, cell phone, windshield cleaner for cleaning the bike’s windshield after plowing through all those prairie bugs that like to mash themselves into moving objects. Some maps might also be a good idea.
The bike also needed some attention. The Harley Electra Glide is supposed to be able to go about 15,000 clicks before needing the rear tire replaced. The front can go about twice that before it is worn out. My bike is just coming up on that 15,000 mark and while there was still 2 or 3 thousand clicks of usable tread left on the rear tire, I decided to have it replaced. Better to be running on new rubber than to be worried about it and looking for a replacement while riding through the wilds of Manitoba or some such place. It is also coming due for an oil change and service so that is why we will be spending our first night on the road in Kamloops. The Kamloops HD dealer’s service department has a good reputation for doing what needs to be done, right.
So we will ride to Kamloops next Friday afternoon so I can get the bike in for its 9am appointment. That first leg of the trip will also be kind of a shakedown cruise. When we pull out of the dealer’s lot sometime later that Saturday morning and turn the nose of the bike east, we will be ready for some great riding. And if everything goes right and the weather actually cooperates, about 4 days later or so we just might meet up with Sue’s sister and her husband coming the other way on their Harley. Cool.
doug
****
It has been years of hard work and Janice and I have finally full-filled a west coast dream. Our Tantalus View Retreat is continually proving to be more and more successful. We are enjoying, for the first time in our lives, stable income from our vacation rental chalet. We've paid our mortgage off two years early and for a while there, I was feeling kinda 'semi-retired!'
That is, until suddenly, it seems my work as a 'wildwood artist' has become recognized on a whole new level. Municipalities are after me now rather than the usual wealthy Whistlerites.
I think it all started a few years back when I took a two-year contract with Grouse Mountain Resorts out of North Vancouver. I fully restored about 20 dilapidated, giant chain saw carvings. Well now I’ve got city parks planners after my services from both greater Vancouver and Whistler.
Last year the city of Richmond hired me to add old growth elements to a children’s water park. The media got a hold of that which has led to the Whistler Parks Board to contact me this year. They have hired me to build log railings to the new Rainbow Park bridge. I am to follow the style from an old photo they've given me way back when this bridge was originally built around the time of the first pioneers to the area. When they told me heritage I offered to design the bridge railings from old growth yellow cedar with a mighty big price tag I might add. No problem.
I have decided to write this article on my experience in building this railing. Part One today will entail the harvesting of this old growth yellow cedar. I knew exactly where I might find this character wood I had a clear vision for. On top of Brohm Ridge. You know, as in the song Doug and I sing so well. 'Snowin' up on Brohm'. What I didn't bank on was the record amount of snowfall the mountains have received this year. My plan was to have this railing completed by the end of April this year. I've only just managed to finally get the wood down off the mountain yesterday! Let me explain my adventure so far.
Late last December I took a snowmobile up Brohm to scout out my wood. I was shocked to see the depth of the snow already. Powder so deep only the most experienced sledder could handle. My companion, Martin is both an experienced sledder and professional snowboarder. We are bartering services. I teach him log building; he helps me with this project. After 2 hours of snow shoeing about a strip of old growth timber along the edge of a cut block we ribboned enough yellow cedar snags to do the job.
The next step was to approach the Forestry in hopes to secure a cutting permit. After pinpointing the location on their maps the forester realized a small problem. The trees I was after was part of a wildlife refuge. I learned that every cutblock required a minimum 5% patch of timber left within the clearcut to serve as 'wildlife habitat'. I lucked out in that he discovered that this block, for some reason had left 15%. This was the loophole I needed. However, no one at the forestry office was qualified to make an amendment allowing me access. I had to get an RPF to write me up a letter of approval. Three hundred dollars and 2 months later I have permit in hand from Forestry with an official timber stamp.
Finally, I thought, I can proceed with my harvest. I called Martin and we set up a date to go snowmobile logging. This time with chain saw and gear to fall the trees and sling them to where we imagined the logging road......... might be. The snow of course was many meters deeper which I anticipated as I brought shovels for digging down to the necessary diameters I needed for the railings.
On the way out I was wondering how I best get to the wood down the mountain and there, around the bend sat a snowcat grooming machine. I contacted the Black Tusk Snowmobile Club and for $175.00 an hour they agreed to drag the load down to the gravel line, about a 5 or 6 km haul.
Another day and I meet Barry, the snowcat operator at the snowline. We offload his snowmobile and sled up to where the snowcat is parked. The real challenge today is to groom the final, steep grade to level as every year, here, a giant cornice of snow forms from the strong winds that blow off Howe Sound. This cornice was so large and long that the snowcat felt like a meager snowflea. It was not do-able. I called it off. How was I to get my wood home? Would I have to wait till early summer? I was sure that we would have an unusually heavy snowpack. By this time it almost April. So much for schedules.
At this point, I am getting a bit discouraged. Susie will be here soon so I'll just relax, enjoy her stay and by that time the snow should have melted enough to make the snowmobile viable for much shorter hauls. On this attempt, I decide to build a sled to haul behind the snowmobile so I can take 2 to 3 logs down at a time. Martin and I make it up to the top of the steep cut I'd mentioned earlier and would you believe it! The cornice has melted into an impassable wall we cannot get over. Failed again! I am not used to losing.
Oh well, cousin Gary will be here soon. I'll pass the time fishing with him and Max while the snow recedes farther up the mountain. Many trout meals later, Gary's gone and I hop on the dirt bike for a look- see. Still can't get to my wood. Janice and I decide to go fishing, for a few days, up to our favourite lakes near Bralorne. We need a heat wave or something. By this time it is June 14th, Father's Day. Seems appropriate, don't you think? Two hot sunny days pass and we're back home and I run up on the dirt bike again to check the snowline.
I MAKE IT TO THE TOP! But that's on a dirt bike. I need to get my half-ton up and there's 60 feet of that cornice left on the switchback 8 feet deep. The next day I take the quad up with chain saw, shovels and grub and start busting a road through this mini-glacier just wide enough for the truck. I break the handle off the shovel at about 6 feet. Fifty-four feet to go and only one other shovel left. An idea comes to mind. Seconds later my chain saw fires up and I am cutting snow blocks. 3 hours later my ice road is complete. I managed to save a ton of work for myself by cutting a track in the loose bank for the right side wheels of the truck to ride on. By doing this I only needed to cut snow blocks down half way to the road surface creating a level plain of icy snow to the dirt track I’d made on the bank. It should work. I don't need that heat wave now. I've got too much into this road.
June 18th, the big day. Martin and I four wheel up the mountain 7:00 a.m. We don't want to sink on the mini-glacier roadway. No problem going over empty. At the top we load up with 20-foot long logs. I have eyebolts that bolt thru the frame of my truck at the back of my truck box which allow me to chain bind long loads. The real test comes. Creeping down the mountain road in four-low, we approach my carved snow road. I get through ok but the rut I've made on the snow side of the truck looks too deep for the next load to get through. We fill it with rocks and gravel and continue on down. Good thing I only had to drive a few km up the highway home as the truck is riding ridulously high in the front end.
The second trip was a breeze. Job well done, Martin.
To fully appreciate this story you must view the pictures Doug has linked here.
Thank-you.
Wildwood Warren.
****
Hello
everyone!
I have
just finished cutting the grass and edging the entire yard. It’s about 24c here
and its 6:30pm on Friday. After mowing the lawn I took the mower out to the
curb and hooked up the pressure washer to the hose. The mower was looking
pretty shabby with about two months of dirt and grass stuck to both the top and
the underside of the machine. I usually clean it every time I use it but I did
notice that the last mower I had began to rust shortly after I bought it and I
attribute that to the fact that I washed it off each time I used it. I’ve
decided to only clean the new mower once a month. With a schedule of three
times a week for mowing the lawn it may take cleaning it every two weeks. I
don’t want the wet grass holding the moisture next to the steel body of the
mower either. That I’m sure would add to the deterioration of the body of the
mower too! You can’t win! Oh well, if I wash it with the pressure washer and
then blow the water off the mower with the compressor it should help deter the
rusting process. After all, I don’t want my “Ninja” biting the dust before it’s
time!
I’m not supposed
to drink much alcohol but once in a while I still enjoy a drink or two. I have
a beer or two now and then but I don’t drink hard stuff very often. I used to
like to drink scotch so when I get the urge I still have one of those as well
now and again. I’d say it amounts to about half dozen shots of scotch a year.
Not much of a buzz in that sort of drinking but at least I can still enjoy the
taste. In fact, I decided to enjoy a scotch while writing this week’s Ontarion
so, ‘scuse me while I take a sip! AAAAaahhhh that’s good stuff! I opened a box
containing three casks of St Andrew’s Scotch Whiskey. It was a gift from a
friend about 9 ½ years ago for my 50th birthday. I guess it’s time I
sampled the product! There are three different 51ml plastic casks. One is
15-year-old single malt, the second is a 6 year old blended and the third is a
blended type that does not state its age. I’m sure they’re all tasty and I
intend to find out over the course of the next hour or two. Mmmmmmmm……..Hoot
Mon…. That’s GOOOOD Whiskey!
*
The
project of the roof over the patio out back is completed and looks like a
million bucks! As I told you last week, I decided to have a professional
aluminum siding company do the finishing work on the underside of the roof with
aluminum. They were supposed to show up Tuesday morning to do the job but
instead surprised us with an appearance on Monday at 9am. They worked like busy
beavers for 5 hours and the job was done! What a beautiful job they did on the
custom aluminum coverings. They installed the ceiling first then did the work
to cover the end joists and make a cover for the main beam and install the eves
trough and down spout. I’m sure that had Adam and I tackled this job with
supplies from Home Depot, it WOULD NOT have looked as good as it does now! Not
to mention it would not have been covered in aluminum but rather in plastic
that is not as durable or stable as aluminum. I’ve attached a couple of pictures
for your viewing. I know it doesn’t do much for any of you to see these pics
but it makes me feel good to share the results of all the hard work that Adam
and I put into this project. I am very grateful to Adam for his work on this
roof and I know I couldn’t have done it without him. We enjoyed a lovely supper
on the patio this evening and the roof provided pleasant shade for the event.
We have yet to spend any time sitting under the roof during a rainstorm but
intend to do so soon. I’m sure it’ll be enjoyable and dry!
That’s it
for now folks! Thanks for tuning in and I look forward to talking to you all
again next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now….. Greg.
PS:
Something To Think About>
When
hammering a nail, be sure to keep your alternate thumb out from under the head
of the hammer! OUCH!
The roof
pics… view here!
****
Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.