Many Hands Over Many Years - Chapter II
The Senior Counselor Cabin
Last month's readers may remember that our theme for the year is recalling the amazing contributions of Elk Creek ranchers to the buildings, corrals, and fences of the Ranch with the 2023 ranchers' updates to those projects. Last month we used the photo above to show the starting place for the building that forty years later became our mill a quarter of a mile further up Elk Creek. In the early 1980's we also used the cleared space to build a cabin for our senior staff, which took three summers.
The work on the Senior Counselors' cabin took three years and faced a range of challenges. We dug a hole for our septic tank and found a large boulder to "play" with. The foundation was hand-formed and the concrete was not delivered — we used a small portable mixer. We built a second floor and hand-chinked the gaps between logs. The roof with hand-built trusses went on the second story at the end of the second year and the cabin extension was added the third year to complete the three-bedroom building.
Time for an Update
A work crew last summer rebuilt the back entrance to the SC Cabin, replacing large parts of two logs and rebuilding the porch and stairs.
Once the Project’s Complete
At the end of the second session of 2023, with the projects completed, half of the ranchers headed to the high reaches of the Northern Absoraka Mountains, one of ECR's favorite retreats. The weather was not the best, but the group got some great wildlife sitings--elk, grizzly bears (at a good distance!), and mountain sheep.
