Other than that we’ve been slowly putting our “Lake house” together so that Anna can have a place to live after I return to the trail. Last fall we purchased a repossessed house on Upper Lake that had sat vacant for 3 years and it’s been quite a challenge to bring this old gal back to life. The people before us vandalized the house when it went into foreclosure so it was a real challenge to repair all of the damage.
For instance, it took 3 days just to get the well working and the all of the pipe leaks repaired throughout the house. There were over 15 separate places where the pipes had been frozen apart or deliberately broken. I had water pouring out of the ceiling over 5 times during this processes. The basement was a sopping mess. It’s a long story but with a happy ending.
We now have a working kitchen, a revamped bathroom and plumbing that doesn’t leak. Wooden floors that have been sanded and re-varnished, junk tossed out and the mold bleached until it is dead. I’m still in the process of jacking the floors back into place, repairing the rotting door jambs, and the last broken window but the major jobs are pretty much done. We have had lots of grand kids up to the lake and they all say that the water is warm and I should jump in!
I’ve even put our wooden dinghy, the Michael J. in to the water and we now have a rowing boat to take around the lake. Life is good.
I’m getting the itch to get back to the trail and add some more miles up. My friend Ken also wants to hike a bit of the trail so in another week or so we are heading back and I will start walking again. Stay in tune and I’ll start posting about the trail soon.
