11/15-17/16 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

It rained most of the way over the pass but it cleared up when I arrived at 1:15. There was snow on Nason Ridge and about a quarter of the way down Dirtyface. I carried my bag and the cooler up to the cabin and discovered a mouse in the trap behind the stove. The body was fairly limp so it probably got caught during the previous night. I wish I could figure out some way of finding out how they get in. The hole must be pretty much hidden or I would be getting more of them.

The vine maple handrail still looked nice and white so the borate must have stopped whatever started discoloring it before. I was happy about that.

After hoisting the flag, I split some wood and started a fire in the stove. Then I had my lunch and my usual nap. When I got up, I brought the wheelbarrow down to the truck and hauled a load of yard waste over to the compost pile.

On Wednesday Dave called after I had gotten a nice fire going and before I started fixing my breakfast. We had another delightful conversation. When we finished, I got my oatmeal going in the microwave and then noticed that Robert had just driven up. I went out to greet him and as we came into the cabin, I heard the microwave bell ring. Right then I knew I had a mess on my hands. I cook my oatmeal in a small bowl and I have to stop the microwave periodically to keep it from boiling over. This time it had boiled over all over the microwave tray.

Robert checked the expiration date on our logging permit and found that it is in March of 2017. He said that we can get a one year extension so that gives us until March of 2018. He said that he still plans to get going on the project. The log prices are high right now so that gives him some incentive. He also said that we are due for some snow next week. We had a nice visit, and after he left, I salvaged the oatmeal, re-heated it, and ate it for my breakfast.

I had planned to stain the vine maple rail, but since we might get snow soon, I changed my mind and decided to harvest as much more firewood as I can before it snows too much. I also wanted to know how feasible it will be to buck the big Doug fir log that had fallen across the Sequoia grove. The last time I bucked it, I had gotten my saw stuck, and I wanted to make sure that didn't happen again. I also wasn't sure how easy it was going to be to wheelbarrow the rounds out of there. And, I was apprehensive about starting the chainsaw since it hadn't been started for a while.

To improve the odds of the saw starting, I brought it inside the cabin to warm it up. Then I removed the air filter and cleaned it good. When I thought the saw was warm enough, I took it out, gassed and oiled it, and then went to work trying to start it. I worked at it for a long time and finally took it inside again to warm it up more. When I went out and tried it again, I finally got it to start. Once it gets going, it behaves pretty well and starts right up again after it is shut off.

I took the saw and the wheelbarrow into the woods and made a mistake right away. There was an old log lying alongside the trail and I decided to cut a couple sections off the end of it to use to block up the big fir log to keep it from sagging and binding my saw. The mistake was that I didn't notice that the log I was cutting was resting on a rock. I noticed it when I saw the sparks. I was a little miffed but had no choice but to go back, get a file, and sharpen the saw chain.

When I got the saw back in shape, I cut through the big log about 20 feet from the end. I was careful enough, or smart enough, so that when the log sagged, it did not bind up the saw bar.

I bucked the 20-foot section into short firewood rounds and wheeled all of them down to the cabin and stacked them. The rounds were about 15 inches in diameter so two rounds were all I could haul in one wheelbarrow load.

While I was in the woods, I walked the trails and checked on the sequoias. They all looked healthy, although I am still not happy with their growth rate. Over the weekend I had talked with Dan Cress at a Scout event and he told me that the rest of the seedlings that were part of the batch he gave me were 10 feet tall, some even as tall as 20 feet. He told me the problem was probably that mine were not getting enough sunlight. Hopefully Robert can fix that problem by cutting down the trees that are shading the sequoias.

On the trail to Andrew, a fairly big maple tree, with many 3 to 5-inch branches had fallen across the trail. Since I had my saw, I went to work and cleared the tree from the trail. That maple would make good firewood but it is so deep into the woods that it might not be worth trying to haul it out. Maybe if the snow conditions were just right, it might be possible to skid the wood out over the snow. I'll keep that in mind this winter.

On Thursday the temperature outside was 25° and it was raining. I decided to haul away some junk before the snow falls. After building a fire and having breakfast, I dismantled the temporary power pole I had gotten from Ray Aldrich and which I had used until 5/24/2008 when I got permanent power. I loaded that, an old sink, and some other junk into the truck. My hernia surgery site was still giving me considerable pain so I worked slower than normal but at least I got some things done.

I left for home at 12:45.