Few Jeep Upgrades

The past week I've been mostly studying for my OEC course, so haven't been too productive as far as the cabin goes. I've been reading a ton about anatomy and basic vitals for class on Saturday. Brings me back to the days of Injury Biomechanics. I have goten a few things for the Jeep, though. I ordered quick fists (which seem to have tons of great uses) over a month ago, but just got around to buying an ax and installing them. I've also ordered new quick disconnects for the front, but they haven't come in yet.

Clean up

I've been back in the mountains for a few days now and started cleaning things up around the cabin. The driveway was full of trash and construction debris. I bagged up the trash and cut up all the old wood (construction scraps and old wood removed from the cabin) and stacked it for firewood. The weather is still really nice here, but I'm collecting as much as I can now to prepare for the long, cold months ahead.


I spent yesterday cleaning up the inside of the cabin a little. I'm still not fully moved in and have boxes everywhere. It's slowly getting organized, though. I also built a picnic table yesterday using some of the old wood that came off the cabin. I think some of it might be over 100 years old. Some of it is old rough cut that still has rounded sides with the bark still on it. It turned out pretty well and seems pretty stable.


I haven't had much time for adventures recently, cause I've been studying for my OEC class in all my free time. I have a text book that I have to read and understand all of. I can't remember the last time I read a text book cover to cover. There is a lot of good information, though. I just finished a chapter about outdoor emergency survival, which was pretty interesting.

Back to the Mountains

I was back in Kentucky for a little over a month, and just got back to the mountains. Needless to say, I'm glad to be back, though of course I miss my family and friends. I was a little nervous to see how the Jeep and cabin had faired over the past month, but the Jeep was just the way I left it, and started right up. I guess we got plenty of rain while I was gone, cause the front lawn looked like a jungle. Some of the grass was two feet tall. I took on the task of mowing it today, which was a royal pain with a tiny electric mower that kept jamming with wet grass. The wild flowers I planted either didn't make it, or haven't bloomed, yet. I can't tell if the stuff growing where I planted the flowers are weeds, grass, or flowers, so I'm afraid to pull anything out.


Since it's been so long since I posted, I'll just give a brief summary of what I did while I was in Kentucky. I went to Nathan White and Kelly's wedding, which was a blast. I also worked two-a-days for high school soccer, which meant I had to get up at 6.30 every morning for a week. Other than that, I mostly hung out with friends, which was definitely good. You kind of take that for granted until you lose it all together (as in, move 1200 miles away from all your friends).

Right before I came back, I went on a fishing trip to Canada with my family. We stayed in a cabin on Mosher Lake, which can only be accessed by float plane. I love fly in fishing trips because everything is so peaceful. It's completely off the grid, with almost no connection to the outside world (there is a CB radio to contact the outfitter for emergencies). It makes living in the mountains seem like a cake walk. The fishing was alright, but I didn't catch anything huge (a few medium sized walleye and northern pike).

Flickr for more Canada pictures.

I'm taking an Outdoor Emergency Care course (just started yesterday), which should be pretty interesting and useful out here. I may try to get on the volunteer ski patrol at Loveland this winter, which OEC certification is required for. That'll give me something else to do and may come in handy out here.