Octboer 12, 2023 - Fall it is!

 We were thinking that fall would come a bit late this year - but right after the 22nd of September, the air started to have a slight chill in it.  Morning walks with the dog have become own right chilly and swimming ended just around Labor Day.  Luckily, we have not had any big forest fire events.  And yet, Cal Fire continues with our burn ban.  

Jim is still working on the back deck.  But he has managed to fit a few other projects in between the deck work - including repair on the rafters in the Screen Porch (one rafter was damaged by our heavy snows last year, so he decided to "double up" on rafters for a stronger roof). We have completed most of the painting on the back of the lodge now and are in the process of removing the scaffolding for the winter.  We plan to put it back up next spring so that we can paint the pre-primed hardie panel we installed at attic level.  

VIEW FROM BACK DECK

After surgery a few weeks ago, I have been on light duty.  But I am in the process of putting away all of the summer chairs (we store them in the basement) and getting everything stored for winter.  I have also been doing caulking, priming and painting on the back of the lodge.  Light duty ends this week.  

Light duty does not free me from my long walks with Taylor.  Yesterday, we walked up to the railroad tracks and found the old road that leads down to Bear Valley.  This road was used by folks prior to highway 20 being built.  It was always a dirt road and not passable in winter -- but it is still there.  I am hoping that next week when Katie is visiting she and I can take a hike down to Bear Valley on the old road.   

OLD ROAD TO BEAR VALLEY

YUBA RIVER GORGE FROM RAILROAD

One minor change to the living room.  We moved the shuffle board down to the game room and moved the bar from the game room to the living room.  That took away some under shuffle board storage area for the kids toy box.  We also demo'd our old broken player piano.  We keyboard from the game room will be brought up for Christmas and then stored in the attic (when not in use).  We decided to start clearing out stuff we have stored with the thought that it would be used eventually.  That allows us to make donations to Habitat for Humanity (they loved the windows we donated) and Salvation Army.  We are also going to start thinning out the jackets in the winter closet.  For the most part, adults seem to have jackets for snow play.  We will keep all the bibs, snow boots, gloves and kids jackets, which have been a hit with parents.  

It is nice to walk and drive back toward the falls and take a drive up to the lake during autumn.  Although California is not know for fall colors, we do have a lot of yellows with the white oak trees and reds with the dogwood.  

STAMP ON FULDA CREEK BRIDGE

GEO MARKER AT LAKE VALLEY DAM

Last week, my neighbor and I drove up to one of the "wild" apple trees near Laing Road and picked fall apples.  I used mine to make apple butter, apple sauce and apple cider.  Here are a couple photos of Emigrant Gap in Fall. 

FALL COLORS - OAK TREE

PICKING APPLES FROM WILD TREE

It has been two years since we lost my mom.  She loved the lodge and spent a lot of time up here, helping us clear the property (in her 80s) and work on furniture and painting.  We have a memorial garden here for her which includes a lovely sculpture and a nice log to sit on.  This year I will be adding bearded iris and more daffodils. 

August 20th, 2023

Back at the lodge after a month of vacation.  The weather here is typical for August in the Sierra in non-drought years. Hot and muggy in the daytime, afternoon thundershowers and warm nights.  Because of the late winter, there are many bears out searching for food.  Most of the berries that they would normally find in June did not start setting until August and are still green.  So, bears have been breaking into cabins along our street.  As a result, we are closing our windows at night (which makes the warm nights even warmer).  

One bear had to be caught and destroyed.  This action is sad for us - but it is better to keep people safe, than risk break-ins. 

Jim is still completing the siding on the back of the cabin and I have been busy putting away the gear from our family reunion (portable garages, tables, chairs, hammocks, etc).  We are starting to get ready for fall and winter.  The pine cones have dropped early again -- which we have been told is an indicator of a long and snowy winter.  We shall see.  

We need to repair the roof over the Sunroom (screen room).  We have decided that since the snow force coming off the main roof has been getting caught in the ridges on the sunroom metal roof that we will replace the snowfall area with flat metal roofing.  Hoping for less leaks in the roof this winter.  

As of yet, I have not had time to work on the game room walls.  We installed new windows in the game room, leaving the walls pretty trashed.  My plan is to paint the damaged wall black, then add barnwood to the wall.  On another wall, I want to put in wood rounds as a tribute to my mom.  We still have one more window to install in the game room where the old broken heater is located.  I am not in the game room often because our neighbor can not tolerate our dog barking and he is with me most of the time. 

Once the back wall siding is done, Jim is going to start felling dead trees again for firewood for this winter.  We went through 5 cords of firewood last winter and I think we will do the same again this winter. 

Today is overcast due to a tropical storm that is skirting the sierra.  Our neighbors across the street are gone for a bit so, other than passing cars, it is rather quiet.  Campers are just about done since the weather has not been nice for that.  I have been picking up litter along our road all summer.  Seems like much more than we usually get.  I have tried signs  but nothing seems to help. And with the bears litter is a major issue.  We have been keeping our garbage inside.  Unfortunately, while we gone, someone dumped a bunch of beer cans and unwashed chili cans and steak containers into our trash cans.  This is a big problem with the bears being so active, so we have removed our trash cans for now.  We usually only use the cans for clean recycles and building materials.  Our compost and regular garbage is kept inside and disposed of quickly.  

SPECIAL REQUEST!

For anyone who still reads this blog.  

First:  I am still trying to fill in the History of Emigrant Gap.  In particular, I am seeking historic information about the area post World War 2.  If you know any history about the area that I have not already covered, please let me know.  

Second:  During my long walks with my very active dog, I have found a lot of blooming and now fruit filled apple trees.  The trees are located along Emigrant Gap Road and Laing Road.  Does anyone know if there was once a commercial orchard here?  If so, what was the orchard name and when was it here? Do you know the type of apples grown here?  We had a large apple tree on our property that we have been told was a great a snitch tree (neighbors gleaned the tree for apple pies while our lodge was boarded up).  We had to remove the tree because it was growing in the middle of our deck and it was damaged due to the heavy snows the first couple of years we owned the lodge.  We have a second tree which is much smaller and has been damaged over the last two winters due to heavy snow fall.  We would love to put in more apple trees, but need to know the variety that grows here.  SOOOOOO, if you have any information about the apple trees of Emigrant Gap, please contact us.  

Third:  If you have any vintage photos of Emigrant Gap that you would like to share on this blog, please send them with the timeframe they cover and a short story about the history behind the photo.  

 

July 21, 2023 - Another GAP Reunion

 After all the snow melted in early June, we were able to keep working on our re-siding project on the back of the cabin and start the finish work on the repaired fire escape.  However, we still have a lot of work to do on the winter damage to our cabin.  First, the snow load was so great, one of our 2 by 12 rafters in the screened in porch cracked.  We were able to support it with a 4 by 8 until Jim was able to repair it a few weeks ago.  Second, the staircase coming off the deck cracked (again due to the sheer weight of the snow).  For now, Jim  has patched that and will replace the stair supports before this winter.  Third - the railing on the deck (top board0 broke.  We have removed the broken board and will replace the railing before winter.  Fourth, the roof on the screened in  porch was literally peeled back by the moving snow as it migrated down the roof.  We need to order a few sheets of new roofing - this time, flat flashing style so that the ridges do not get pushed by the force of the snow.  

Since the snow was here until June, we had little time to work on projects before our every 2 year Gap Reunion (this time held from Jun 29 - July 5 (give or take).  We had about 44 people who attended this reunion.  Of course it included fireworks on July 3 in Colfax, the Fourth of July parade in Dutch Flat and Fireworks viewing from the Summit (looking down at Donner Lake).  In addition, there were a few trips to our kayaking lake, hikes to the falls, a tour of the railroad snow tunnels, our historic GAP almost %K, and lots of food.  There were a few last minute cancelations due to illness and a couple of last minute adds.  No major injuries for the reunion which was a blessing. 

After everyone headed home from the GAP reunion, my sister and her husband visited us at the lodge.  They brought along their two grandsons who were a delight and so curious about the cabin.  We took them on a tour and since they were able to spend a bit of time at the reunion, they met some of Jim's cousins and were taught how to use some of our outdoor games.  

A bit later we were visited by a 300+ lb bear.  He broke into our snow entry and got access to our spare freezer.  We had to call 911 to get him out.  Then he went over to our neighbor's cabin and stole a cake out of their kitchen.  The game warden brought in 3 bear cages and they were able to catch him (confirmed with DNA).  He went down to the state game facility for evaluation.  Apparently, he had been breaking into cabins all along our road since melt. 

The bears are particularly active this year since we had a long winter and the berries they normally eat are not bloomed yet.  We are hoping this is the last bear for our cabin.  We really do  not need that kind of excitement.  

During all of this, I was able to take a few nice hikes with Taylor.  One hike was along the railroad from the Emigrant Gap/Laing Road crossing east toward Yuba Gap.  While I was hiking, I noticed a big water pipe cage (circa 1940s  I think) with big twist water handles.  I investigated and found that there is a giant water pipe going from the North Fork of the North Fork, through Sailor Ridge. then underground to Laing Road, under the freeway, under a mountain between the freeway and the railroad.  On the North Side of the railroad is where I saw the big cage with the water "pumps" bringing water either into the Drum Canal below or the Yuba or Bear River below that.  I also saw a concrete snow wall - not sure if this wall was located by the area where the 1952 City of San Francisco train got trapped between two avalanches.  And I saw what appeared to be two broken old iron anvils along the railroad as well (photos below).  Taylor has been enjoying our walks to the Rancho Sierra and back and our walks to Fulda Creek Bridge, but he really enjoyed our hike along the railroad.  

Photos - Anvil, Tracks, Concrete Snow Wall, Water Pumps, View

And finally, a bit of lodge history.  Several years ago we found about 6 heavy plates in the basement.  I thought they were probably from the time of the hotel - but always wondered about them.  Recently, I looked them up and found that they are "army" plates and would have been from the period of time during WW2 that the hotel was rented out to the Military Police to guard the railroad.  We also have metal folding cots from that era.  SO instead of going to the donation pile, these plates will go with the rest of our Hotel History stuff.  

March 15, 2023 - Snow, snow, snow

Winter came early to Emigrant Gap.  By October, there was snow on the ground which was great for combatting our never ending drought but was not so great for seasonal prep at the lodge.  Jim had been working hard all summer and early fall on repairing the back fire escape/deck and residing project (which --- with the early snow, was left unfinished). We still had not cut and split firewood.  I have to admit that we will never let that happen again!  Digging big logs out of the snow, then cutting and splitting them in snowy conditions was not fun.  But by December we managed to have enough wood stacked to get us through a regular drought winter.  Unfortunately 2022/23 winter has been nothing "regular". 

During this time, cousin Doug and Roberta came to the lodge for a short visit.  It is wonderful to be able to share our work plans and progress with someone who is doing much the same in upstate New York.  Doug has been busy building an Event Center on his property south and east of Saratoga Springs.  Since he lives in New York, he was able to purchase the framing of an old barn to use for his building.  So, we are able to share all the fun times of moving lumber, and dirt, and rocks, and concrete and building something that the whole family can enjoy.  Doug's Event Center has recently evolved into a huge family gathering barn with extensive views of his rolling hill property.  

By Christmas we had seen at least three big  snow storms at the lodge.  This allowed for pre-Christmas skiing. The four of us spent a quiet Christmas (no big family Christmas since it is an "off" year).  Since it was just us, we did our usual morning gift exchange, followed by way too much food, silly holiday photos, a dog dress up session and our semi annual Christmas Performance. This year we performed "Santa's Yodeling Song" on our recently repaired, yet still not done back deck. With our Christmas apparel, wired hair (ala Pippi Longstocking), and Mary Beth on lead vocals and Ukulele, with Katie and me on harmony and sleigh bells/triangle and Jim singing bass, we left Taylor and Clinton to be our critics.  Of course, all of this silliness was captured on Facebook for our friends and family to see just how much we miss them when we are left to our own devices for the holidays. 

Christmas was followed by  . . .  wait for it . . .  more snow.  By Martin Luther King Holiday we had a bunch of the white fluffy stuff for our nephews Bill and James and their kids to come up for winter sledding and fun.  No worries about shoveling snow just to make our snow run.  We spent more time just shoveling to get in and out of the cabin each day.  We also managed to make a few fun crafts with the Ella.  

Presidents weekend was with sister Mary and hubby Lynn and their daughter and son in law Jess and Josh and their two sweet boys.  More snow play, skiing and . . of course. . . . more snow.  But most of the group made it down to Nevada City for Madi Gras Parade (as I watched separation anxious Taylor).  

Of course, all of this was followed by, you guessed it. . . .more snow.  Katie had a group of friends up just before our biggest snow storm (10 feet) in February. They barely got into the cabin, and later barely got out.  In fact Katie had so much snow to dig out at our front door that she was unable to get in the first night she the same nieghbor that later, they had a "Snow Bar" set up in front of the cabin while they built a snowman and also made snowcones for the kids.    

We followed after the 10 foot or more storm and dug out yet again.  Digging snow is becoming less fashionable for us.  I have to say that this year we have had the most snow standing that I have ever seen while we have owned the Lodge. There is so much snow at the screened in porch deck that you can not tell that there is a deck, or a screen porch.  In fact, the drift of the roof goes all the way up 3 levels to the lower part of the main floor bedroom windows. 

So now it is March and our snow fall is beginning to change into constant rain, our 10 foot snow banks are now 8 foot banks.  We can finally see through a few of the living room windows (they are no longer completely blocked by snow) and we are taking bets as to when the snow will finally be gone.  Oh and by the way, our firewood pile is getting really, really small . . . .  

By the end of the season we will know if this snow beats the record from the 1980s. We are currently at the 4th snowiest winter since 1946 (graph below shows when we were fifth).  

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