Progress

It's officially summer, and we have some progress.  A LOT has changed since last fall and I'm very excited for the upcoming months to see what will transpire.  

The first big change is that we've decided to make the cabin a little bigger than we expected.  After working with Rangeley Builders for a camp design, they were awesome to work with by the way, we decided to make some very cool changes.  The camp will be 28' wide by 25.5' long with a 6.5' screened in porch, which will make it 28'x32' in total. 

The second big change has to deal with systems.  Originally, we were going to have an incinerator toilet and a water holding tank.  Well, after some discussions over the winter, we decided to have a well dug, and a septic system put in.  As of now, the well is in (320 down w/ a rate of 2 gpm) and the leech field has been dug.  Here are some shots of the leech field below.

The third big change, and one that I was surprised at the cost analysis was putting in a frost wall instead of using technoposts.  It was roughly the same amount to put in a frost wall as doing it on posts, and it will be much more sturdy over the years without having to adjust posts.  There will be a gravel floor and a crawl space, but most of my systems will be above ground.  There will be vents in the frost wall for ventilation, and insulation under the floor.  There will be a "trap door" in the floor of the bedroom to get underneath the camp if necessary.  

For heating, we'll install a propane monitor heater that I can control from my phone if I want to keep heat going all winter.  The bedroom and bathroom will have electric baseboard heaters to keep pipes warm in the winter months if I want to keep the heat on and water in the pipes.  The plumber is going to install a curb stop valve on the outside of the camp for easy water shutoff.  We're doing this in lieu of heat tape on the well pipe.  I'm still not sure if I'll keep it running during the winter or not, depends on Saddleback opening back up I guess!

Here are some photos of the foundation dig and the footers.  The frost wall should be complete this week, and we'll coat it with tar and foam board after for added insulation and waterproofing.

The kitchen will have an apartment sized fridge and a full range oven.  No dishwasher, but we'll have a toaster and potentially a microwave. There will be a Rinnai On Demand hot water heating system hung on the wall in the bathroom.  We'll have a toilet, sink and shower in there with a whole house water filtration system.  I'll have the water tested and decide about using it for drinking water.  I may install a reverse osmosis system, but again, we'll see about the water quality.  There will be a loft with stairs that will have a queen bed and a twin bed.  The downstairs bedroom will be a bunkbed with two full beds.  A ceiling fan will be in the living room area, and the screened in porch will have lighting and a ceiling fan for warm summer nights.  At 6 feet wide, I'm hoping the porch will be a nightly hangout spot for the adults and we'll have a table and adequate seating out there.

It has been a very busy spring, and COVID is causing some issues.  We're having temporary power put in this month so that we don't have to run generators for the build process.  I'm building the camp with my friend, Marc, and some other helpful folks along the way.  There are currently issues with pressure treated wood supply and prices, so I'm curious to see if that will affect us this summer.  The plan is to have the camp framed up with roof, windows and doors on by Labor Day.  

I've had more guided trips this spring than ever, and I've been very busy.  People have time to fish apparently, as many people have had their jobs interrupted.  

Below is a picture from the driveway, and a photo from some camping I did on the lot while I guided a 3 day stretch.

And for the fishermen and women, here a few photos of some awesome fish that clients have put in the net this spring. I also added in a 19" beautiful colored up brookie that I caught on a size 20 bwo nymph, and a great early season brookie caught by my friend, Greg. The fish have been very big this year.  I wonder if it's due to the mild winter with early ice out, but honestly, I have no idea.  One of my clients, Tony, caught a 23" brook trout on a nymph, and we landed it 80 yards down river from where it was hooked.  It was the first fish of the season, and it's safe to say that it's all DOWNHILL from there.  What a fish, and a fight that I'll never forget! I just feel blessed to know that brook trout and landlocked salmon are abundant and large in size right here in our great state of Maine.