The Cabinet

 

   The philosopher Henry David Thoreau lived in a 15' by 10 ' cabin in the woods. Our cabin is 12' by 8'. Winnie the Pooh's woods were 100 acres. Our woods are 47 acres. Ever since we bought our woods with attached house, I've wanted a cabin in them. I love being with people but I also enjoy solitude. 

   There's a lot of solitude in northwest Minnesota, but there's also solitude in Boston where I grew up. I used to go hiking in the Blue Hills south of Boston. It took an hour to get to the Blue Hills, an hour of hiking to get to the place to cook my soup and then two hours back again. It was ok but it would be better to live in the the woods.

   I was very fortunate to marry Teresa who grew up on a farm just east of huge tracts of forests. We bought our 47 acres of woods that luckily for us included a small river. It took 25 years to get the big house in shape. Ten years later we had a guest house built. The Shêdeau, as we call it, was closer to the woods but not in the woods. Another .14 miles south of the Shedeau was a high spot deep in the woods overlooking the river. It was the perfect spot for a cabin.

   Many thousands of times I thought and told others that I'd like to have a little cabin there. The main thing against me was myself. I'm not a good carpenter. Our middle son Joe helped us build two wood sheds, one near the Shêdeau and the other behind the big house. After building them I thought, "I could build a cabin in the woods." I even bought plans for a "Walden Tiny House" by Lamar Alexander.

   My sons started giving me tools as Christmas gifts. Despite my intentions nothing would have happened until the boys called in early March and said they were coming in early April to build the cabin.They all work on tugboats on a two week on, two week off schedule and this was the ideal time for them to come.

  Early April is usually a muddy time of year as it is proving to be this year. Fourteen hundredths of a mile (347 steps) is not far on flat ground, but there are two ravines to cross and a narrow path through the woods. All materials and equipment would have to be carried in to the building site.

   Matt planned to be here for nine days. Joe could be here for Matt's first three days and number three son Ned would arrive for the final three days. Matt suggested concrete pads for the foundation, which I picked up and transported to the site. Getting nine 30 pound pads to the site gave me a clue to the difficulties to be encountered.

   Matt gave me a list of materials which I had delivered here before the boys arrived. On day one, Matt and his wife Heather flew to the Twin Cities and drove here, a six hour trip. Joe, friend Ellen and kids Isla and Nash arrived at the same time. After a night's rest, the first job was to inspect the site, find the most level place and set out the foundation pads. Most of us worked on clearing the site of brush and I cut down a spruce tree that was leaning towards the site.

   Matt and Joe spent the morning building the 8' by 12' floor and joists. It was a heavy structure. The lumber was pressure treated which made it even heavier. We set the floor on edge and Matt screwed on temporary handles so five adults could carry the floor on its side the 347 steps (.14 miles) across the yard, past the Shêdeau, down and up the first ravine, across the meadow, along a narrow icy path through the woods and across the second ravine, this one choked with ice, before laying the floor on the pads. Isla and Nash provided moral support.

   There's a movie about a Peruvian rubber baron who has a disassembled steamship hauled over the Andes. We know now what that felt like.

The Amazon is to the right.