It’s time for the second addition of the Tilly Jane A-Frame cabin newsletter. Last I wrote, winter was winding down and there were lots of plans for the cabin during the summer drive up season. Well…..the best laid plans don’t always work out especially when working with the Government. The FS ended up keeping the Cloud Cap road closed due to remaining dead trees from the Gnarl Ridge fire five years ago. The remaining standing trees have led to heightened dangers necessitating the road closure. They also planned on having them removed through a special emergency tree removal contract. This contract was delayed and the work hasn’t been completed as of this writing. Depending on when the work is completed, road access may remain closed into next year’s drive up season. More to come on this front.
Needless to say, this greatly affected our ability to plan and schedule a mid-summer work weekend. After much back and forth, the FS made an exception and allowed us to drive in, a work weekend was held on July 27th. While a request for volunteers was sent out, I attribute the lack of response due to the road closure. We ended up having roughly 9 people attend. Accomplishments included:
- A good first pass on placing blue diamonds (trail marking) on the Tilly Jane Ski trail. We plan on coming back next summer and completing this!
- We finished the remaining painting from the season before. The doors and the sleeping loft stairwell were painted.
- We coordinated having two construction outfits come up and review the structure of the cabin. The good news, while there’s extensive rot with the exterior support beams and other aspects, the structure was well built and remains in OK shape. They did identify a few issues with the roof. Next steps include determining the areas of greatest needs and beginning planning for the associated rehabilitation project(s).
Overall, reservations were down during the drive up season which was due to the road closure. We also made one change to the Reserve America reservation process. As of this season, you will be required to reserve two spots per reservation transaction. This was done for several reasons; from a winter travel safety perspective, we do not want to encourage solo backcountry travel. For safety’s sake, travel with a buddy during winter conditions! The second reason was designed to limit the number of parties that can make a reservation. Cabin capacity remains at 20 individuals per night. This means that you could now have up to 10 different parties of two people per party. We will continue to monitor cabin usage and capacity. We realize that the cabin is pretty “tight” with 20 individuals. I continue to welcome your feedback surrounding this area.
Since we’re on the topic of reservations, here’s an update on cabin finances for 2013. Gross rental income – $9330, Expenses – $2684 which includes the wood supply and delivery and estimated roof repairs of $500 (I’m still waiting for the invoice). We had some larger expenses this year including the purchase of a storage locker and a new wood cart. As of the September financials the TJ bank account is at $15,982.00. All monies will be used solely for cabin restorations and operations.
Finally, as I was outlining above, the best laid plans don’t always play out………..We encountered some crazy stuff that caused the annual fall wood haul work party to be cancelled too. This time it was due to a combination of the Federal shutdown and unexpected early season SNOW! It was originally scheduled for October 5th and had to be pushed out to Oct 12th. This was incredibly stressful as we had over 40 people RSVP for the 10/5 work weekend! I was thinking that hauling and stacking the wood would be a breeze with this kind of turnout! Well, we like excitement and that’s what we got! After many e-mails and cajoling, YOU ANSWERED THE CALL. We had roughly 35 people come together for the rescheduled event and GOT IT DONE! To the volunteers…..You know who you are…….WE ALL OWE YOU OUR GRATITUTE. Without your help, support and hard work, the cabin wouldn’t be open for the 2014 winter season. These folks will be invited to a free weekend stay at one of the ONC Club weekends between January and April. The fall work party accomplishments include:
- Hauling and stacking 5 cords of wood. Plus helping the Guard Station put up another 4 cords. This was an amazing feat because the first 4.5 cords were dumped at the “Y” intersection about a quarter mile from the Tilly Jane campground due to snow on the ground. We had two teams. The car team who brought it from the Y to the campground and unloaded it. The second team then carted it over to the A-Frame where it was stacked in the alcove. I was truly amazed! I’ve never seen the cabin so well stocked with wood! We are looking good on that front.
- The roof cap was replaced. This will give us a few more years with the cabin’s current hat. We’ll be evaluating some additional minor roof repairs next summer.
- Toilet closure. We’ve officially “closed” the left side facility and moved over to the right side. This is still a short-term solution (3-4 years) while a long-term solution is reviewed. You can help by not dumping garbage in the newly opened side and using the pit toilet located over at the TJ campground, if possible. The less use it gets the more time we buy in coming up with the funds and a long-term on-site solution.
- Finally, we installed a new locker to house maintenance supplies and gear. While the bottom two cubbies are designated as ONC storage units, you are free to use the other four during your stays.
Overall, we had a successful off season and the cabin is ready for you and everyone to enjoy! Make your reservations early, weekends are filling up. This has been an encouraging year. We’re getting some traction around volunteers and people taking an interest in the cabin. My first goal has been to get people to show up for work weekends. While the midsummer event was sparsely attended, we had a VERY good turnout for the fall event. This is a step in the right direction. If you planned on attending but the cancellation and subsequent reschedule got in your way, thank you. Please plan on attending next year’s events. We’ll have two, one mid-summer and the other in the fall. If you use the cabin and haven’t considered volunteering, plan on helping next year! The cabin won’t be available if we, as the user community, don’t give back. This is the only structure on the mountain open to anyone and everyone, 365 DAYS A YEAR! Let’s do our part to keep it going!
Finally, are you interested in getting more involved? Please respond back with areas of interest. Time commitments are minimal and every little bit helps. Tilly’s a very special place and deserves to be maintained and IMPROVED! If we don’t do it, no one will!
Andre’
Oregon Nordic club