Today I got a little closer to a dream...Update 10June16

Discussions about our lives, families, jobs... things may get a little personal
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toad
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Re: Today I got a little closer to a dream...Update 20NOV15

Post by toad »

It would be real nice if you can access water from inside the cabin if you get snowed in. Some kind of hand powered pump might be the ticket. That way you don't have to use energy to liquefy snow and you can get more use out of "dry" foods.
Question: How much food should be stored at the site and how much should be easily accusable inside the cabin. I'm thinking enough for two people for a year then multiply by two for insurance. :?:
How long do vitamin pills last?
I've been re-reading "Dies the Fire" and my behind is kind of puckered about the idea of being trapped on a mountain.
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randy
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Re: Today I got a little closer to a dream...Update 20NOV15

Post by randy »

HTRN wrote:Metal roofing is a good idea, from a snowload standpoint. Just make sure you get aluminum or if you've got deep pockets, copper. The downside is the noise during rainstorms
The times I've stayed in buildings with metal roofs (staff cabins at scout camps, fishing cabins along rivers, etc.), rain on it was helpful for me getting to sleep. I still sometimes open the window of my house where I can hear rain hitting my carport at night. YMMV
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
toad
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Re: Today I got a little closer to a dream...Update 20NOV15

Post by toad »

An ex-girl friend of mine said that roughing it was staying at a hotel without room service.....now that I'm much older...
Aesop
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Re: Today I got a little closer to a dream...Update 20NOV15

Post by Aesop »

I don't hate you, but I envy the ability to start working on things now. And the view from there. C'est magnifique.
I'm still a bit away from closing on my spot: Sierra foothills. No snow. Oak trees, not pine trees. But high enough and far away from citification to see stars, and not be down amidst the "ChristIts'sHot" Central Valley lowlands.

The building codes there prohibit building and living inside a reclaimed shipping container and turning it into a non-mobile home, or stacking same over 1 high. Philistines. I had plans for an any-size guest quarters complex, by building them inside 8'x20' containers, ad infinitum.
And no giant Lego castle three levels high.
But they say jack and shit about building a stick-built not-so-tiny tiny house on top of a ring of containers in a square.
A slab, an outer wall, and a 4' thick berm wall around it, and good luck getting in when I drop the portcullis.
50-50 I build it, then have a pond with an access causeway dug around it.
Only the lack of a lotto windfall prevents me from building a Vauban fort, with cannon and gatling guns.

Eventually, we'll have to come up with a network plan of the GunCounter safe havens for when we eventually retake our country from the savage hordes, and re-establish civilization.
"There are four types of homicide: felonious, accidental, justifiable, and praiseworthy." -Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"
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Mike OTDP
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Re: Today I got a little closer to a dream...Update 20NOV15

Post by Mike OTDP »

My safe haven will be a wall of skulls. :D
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skb12172
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Re: Today I got a little closer to a dream...Update 14MAY15

Post by skb12172 »

randy wrote:Have I mentioned lately how much I hate you?
+1. No offense.
There must be an end to this intimidation by those who come to this great country, but reject its culture.
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Erik
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Re: Today I got a little closer to a dream...Update 20NOV15

Post by Erik »

Aesop wrote:Eventually, we'll have to come up with a network plan of the GunCounter safe havens for when we eventually retake our country from the savage hordes, and re-establish civilization.
Maybe this is OT, but this is close to an idea I've had for a while. It's a lot easier to bug out if you have 5-15 places in various locations where family and friends live and everyone already are prepared for emergency house guests. If everyone is prepared by having extra places to sleep and extra food stored, then anyone can quickly go to the closest safe location if their own home is in a dangerous place. That way you dont have to keep up your own personal retreat somewhere far away, where you might not be able to go with short notice.

So some extra matrasses and blankets would be a good idea to have stowed away.
"Life is tough, but it's tougher if you're stupid."
John Wayne
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JAG2955
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Re: Today I got a little closer to a dream...Update 20NOV15

Post by JAG2955 »

Everyone please hate away. I'm happy to oblige. 8-)

I am planning for a fairly heavy pantry of long-term storage food up there that is also delicious, probably heavy on rice, beans, pasta, and steel cut oats. I'll probably stock a decent number of ready-to-eat canned things that can be rotated out to either be eaten while I'm up there, or dropped off at the local food bank after a resupply run. Freeze-dried food to a much lesser extent, but heavy on the dried milk, eggs, butter, etc. ProTip: Most freeze-dried #10 cans (especially the entrees) are not worth the caloric value per $$. Stick to the freeze-dried proteins, and you'll eat a lot better. IIRC, a #10 can of Chicken a-la King has something like 2,000 calories. A #10 can of powdered eggs has something like 40,000.

Once this thing gets constructed and dried in, I'll hit up a thrift store to grab some cast iron pans and a dutch oven or two. I assume :roll: that I won't have a problem finding a "pre-ban" wood stove up there. If not, it'll be me driving cross-country to grab the huge one (30" wide) from my parents' basement in PA.

Guys with bear experience, what do you do with trash while you're up there? Keep it in the cabin? At a friend's cabin, it was all kept inside until the combustibles could be burned. I'd probably do something similar, but I'd like to get the stinky stuff away from the living area sooner rather than later.

Oh, I did get an address for 911 purposes.
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Erik
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Re: Today I got a little closer to a dream...Update 20NOV15

Post by Erik »

JAG2955 wrote:Oh, I did get an address for 911 purposes.
Just an idea, but I'd also place a landmark of some kind by the road any responder (or any other visitor) will travel. Maps can be confusing and GPS can show the wrong adress for different reasons. Ideally you'll have a natural landmark like a boulder, a creek or a big tree, otherwise you could place something there as manmade landmark. It's a lot easier for someone to be sure they got the right place if they're also told it's by the "red and yellow mailbox", "pink bike chained to a tree" or "the big boulder". Preferably you want something that's easy to spot from a passing car even at night time in the winter. But probably not something that draws too much attention from people just passing by. (A stuffed moose is a bit too much.)

I've had a lot of people having problem finding where I live even when I give them my address and directions, so adding a landmark of some kind just makes it easier for them to confirm they got the right place.
"Life is tough, but it's tougher if you're stupid."
John Wayne
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JAG2955
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Re: Today I got a little closer to a dream...Update 20NOV15

Post by JAG2955 »

Erik wrote:
JAG2955 wrote:Oh, I did get an address for 911 purposes.
Just an idea, but I'd also place a landmark of some kind by the road any responder (or any other visitor) will travel. Maps can be confusing and GPS can show the wrong adress for different reasons. Ideally you'll have a natural landmark like a boulder, a creek or a big tree, otherwise you could place something there as manmade landmark. It's a lot easier for someone to be sure they got the right place if they're also told it's by the "red and yellow mailbox", "pink bike chained to a tree" or "the big boulder". Preferably you want something that's easy to spot from a passing car even at night time in the winter. But probably not something that draws too much attention from people just passing by. (A stuffed moose is a bit too much.)

I've had a lot of people having problem finding where I live even when I give them my address and directions, so adding a landmark of some kind just makes it easier for them to confirm they got the right place.
There is currently a landmark at the turn off, but it's about three-quarters of a mile away. I'm planning on having lat/long and MGRS coordinates posted inside the cabin. I also may take a trip to the fire department, drop off a box of donuts and a key to the gate (once it's installed), and let them know where it is.
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