This past weekend, Leesa and I spent Sunday working on our adopted leanto, the Herbert Brook Leanto in Flowed Lands, High Peaks Wilderness, Adirondack Park. For background on our adoption, see this post from April.
It's a good feeling to give something back... in this case to the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK). Our goal was to stain the leanto. We left the Upper Works trail head at 8 AM carrying 4 gallons of stain, brushes, oakum. a saw, garbage bags, some small tools, rags etc.
We chose Sunday, partly because of the weather, and partly because there would be less people in need of a shelter on a Sunday night. The weather was absolutely perfect.
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| A beforehand look |
We arrived at the site at about 10:30. The first item of business was to cut down a small Hemlock that was jammed into the right side of the leanto. I also reattached a board to the cover of the "thunderbox" outhouse. The screws had pulled out and the board was laying on the ground adjacent to the box.
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| Partially stained |
Before beginning on the staining, we added oakum, where needed between the logs, to improve the "weathertightness" of the walls. We started on the staining at 11 AM. I quickly realized that this would take longer than I thought.
One of the issues was how to keep our dog Rev entertained while we were working. We found that we pretty much had to take turns walking her while the other one stained. She just wouldn't lay down and take a nap. There was too much excitement about being in a different place.
For the staining, we were using 3" brushes. 5" Brushes might have helped us do the job a little faster. Brushing stain on logs is slower than staining smooth siding due to the irregularities in the logs. We did the inside first so the floor could start drying. We did the whole inside except the underside of the cedar shake roof before we moved on to the exterior of the structure.
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| Bottle Gentians in the meadow |
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| The Opalescent is a short walk from the leanto. The water is still cold, but is nice on the feet. |
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| Staining complete |
It was 6 PM before our job was done. Just before we finished, we had a visit from Ranger Shawn from the Lake Colden Interior Outpost. He thanked us for the good work we've been doing on the leanto. When we were done working we had no time to relax afterwards. We still had our 5.3 mile walk back to the car. We quickly packed the empty cans and our equipment and headed out, arriving back at the car just as darkness was setting in.
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| Flowed Lands and Mount Colden at about 6:30 PM |
It was a good days work, but we were beat. Staining a leanto is tough work!
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| We usually start at Upper Works to approach Flowed Lands |
Hi Mike- I discovered your blog on tuesday 8-13 before we set out to do marshall on wed for my 43rd. Your writeup and pictures were a tremendous help and encouraging. Paticularly since my last new 46r was in 1982. I am excited to finish now, and have been studying your writeups. Thanks for the diligence! bob sachs
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'm always glad when someone finds one of my posts to be helpful. Be sure to like OOA on facebook or Google Friend Connect if you want to know when something new has been posted.
DeleteWhat 3 high peaks to you have left? Congrats on getting back into it. I did the same thing, only I had done only a handful of high peaks in the 80's.
I saved the best for last! Couchie, Allen, and Emmons. My perception from the 70's - 80's was that they would all be two day hikes, and as life has been proceeding, that became difficult. But we Did Marshall in 11.5 hours in pouring rain with one person who was not quite as fit as the rest. So I am planning to do all three as one day trips each and finish next summer. Emmons has to be last for me since it has been the bane of my climbing life, as it was for my dad. He finished on it in 1977, after three other attempts with me over two years. So I am excited to do it there. My wife's and my goal is to now do the "46 after 50!" She and I are off tomorrow to climb Old Rag in Virginia (home state now) for our 27th wedding anniversary. Weather looks great!
DeleteSounds like a great goal. I've done the 46 after 50 and I've done them all as day trips so it's possible.
DeleteHope the trips turn out great!
I've been researching heading into the Flowed Lands from the Upper Works parking area. So glad I looked again as we leave on Thursday (8/29) to spend a few day up there. Thanks for keeping us updated. This is our first time heading into the area from the south. Very excited to take the kids and the dog to a new area. Keep up the posts. Tracey
ReplyDeleteGreat! I hope you have a great time. Flowed Lands is a great place. If you have any questions before you head up there, I'd be glad to try and answer them. Good luck!
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