This year Gentlemen's weekend ran from 09 Oct to 12 Oct. Mikey could not make it up this year but Arthur was able to come up for the first time in about a decade along with Bill and Andy. Jon, Ed, and Jim joined from Kalamazoo. The plan for the weekend was to not do work. After a number of trips heavily laden with big projects it was time to enjoy the fruits of our labors.
As usual I drove up from Cleveland on Wednesday, leaving around 2:30 PM. The trip was fine though it did take the projected 8 1/2 hours. I did drive through some areas that were below freezing. The night promised to be cold and this was the first time I was using the insert returned to the new fireplace in actually cold weather.
The Cabin was mostly in good shape following the Labor Day trip from Bill, Vittoria, and Frank. A roll of paper towel was left (which the mice enjoyed) and freezer door had been left closed. These were small issues but did slow down the opening process. In the end I did get the fire going and started the process of relearning how to get as much heat out of it as possible. For the first night I was able to keep the temperature around 60°F, but there is more that can be done.
Since I had the day to myself and the weather was great I headed out for a hike. I explored the area around and mostly east of Delton Camp. Though an area I have been in a number of times I mostly just pass through it. Now I focussed on exploring some of the off-shoot trails that I normally skip. This filled in most of the trails in the area. Overall it was a 9.5 mile hike.
I got in a couple of hour nap in the evening before the Detroit group, Bill, Andy, and Arthur (who came as a surprise to me), arrived around 10:30 PM. The Kalamazoo group, Jon, Ed, and Jim, arrived around 11:15 PM. After a not too late night we headed to bed. The weather had been nice, it had warmed up and remained in the lower 50°F over night. Arthur slept out in the woodshed. The rest of us remained inside and the insert kept the Cabin nicely warm.
Rain started over night and was supposed to continue into the early afternoon. Since we had nothing pressing we embraced the opportunity and slept in. As usual Jon prepared his patented massive breakfast using both the griddle on the stove and the flat top he brings up and sets up outside.
With the rainy weather we decided to head into town. Yes, all of us. In my defense, it had been a few years since I went in and we needed to replace two tanks of propane (which I had intended to do once two of them were empty). Now that I have made a visit I suppose I won't need to do so again for a few more years ....
We drove out Old Seney keeping on it all the way to H-58 to visit the new bridge over the Sucker River. It was not open to vehicles yet but we could walk over it. From here we drove back west into town around 2:00 PM just as the sky was clearing. Stopping at the hardware store we got the gas tanks and a few other supplies. We also picked up a few things at the grocery store. We finally ended at the Dune Saloon.
Surprisingly for a Friday afternoon the Dune Saloon was quite packed. Fortunately there were 7 seats at the bar, exactly the number we needed. The bartender walked up and asked if we wanted to start with shots of Jägermeister. Naturally somebody (or more than one person) said yes, to the surprise of the bartender. It turns out game 7 of the ALCS between the Detroit Tigers and the Seattle Mariners was to be played later that night. Ed, being a Mariners fan, wore his Mariners hat into the bar. It turns out the bartender had come from the Pacific Northwest so Ed got a free (quite large) white Russian just for wearing the hat!
Returning back to the Cabin the rain came back and lingered for a little while longer. Naturally this meant it was time to get the fire going. Jim got it started and we burned through the pile of brush I had collected. To further build up the fire Arthur split some of the large logs from the fallen tree limb that had been processed two years earlier.
Since this was not a working trip we actually took some time to go on a bit of hike. Heading down McCloud Grade and swinging by the ruined camp (and the two seater outhouse) we headed out to the Barfield Lakes. As always it was a nice hike and the ridge was a pleasant break. On the way back we did a little exploring ending at the Sucker River. It was not going to be easy to cross so we did turn back and returned the normal way.
As has become a tradition Jon and Ed led the baking of apple pies. Once again they came out great. In addition to the usual food, Bill also cooked some summer squash over the fire. This also came out great.
While tending the fire and working on the food we heard a crash in the forest on the other side of the creek. Wandering over we found a large (ash?) tree that had just fallen. Apparently if a tree falls in the forest and there are people there to hear it, then it is heard.
While little work was planned for this trip, there was some that did need to get done. Andy finished sealing the new countertop originally installed a couple of gentlemen's weekends ago. Bill continued his work on removing the moss from the Cabin roof. He is also installing some zinc strips which will hopefully prevent it from returning (at least not as quickly).
As always it was a great trip. It was nice being able to enjoy some time at the Cabin. It was also good to take a bit of a break from working, but I am sure we will be back at it again next year. There is always a lot to do and all the work pays off making trips like this possible. I am already looking forward to the next trip.