The Chatter Creek road in the spring and early summer is often impassable for most vehicles.  In order to start their building project, the Chatter Creek partners had to move a new sawmill and a 20-ton mobile crane to the building site.  Besides that, all supplies for the project, food for the crew and the crew itself had to be transported over this difficult road.

This photo journal recalls some of the journey of the mill and the crane and, in general,  life on the Chatter Creek road.

A supply run ends at the Chatter Creek site. Until summer is well along, the Chatter Creek access road remains a wet and boggy affair. Having to complete Vertebrae Lodge in such a short building season, the project needed a support vehicle that could navigate the road.  Something that worked was the Hummer.  An extravagant toy, with almost no carrying capacity, it did the job and saved precious time.

The Chatter Creek Road is dotted with bogs, some quite deep. When vehicles get stuck, the excavator has to walk down the road to pull them out, at a loss of valuable time.

The start of a slow journey. Loaded on the trailer, pulled by the 4x4 F450 truck, with the truck towed by the D4 cat, the new sawmill starts its journey to Chatter Creek.

Just to make the trip interesting, the D4 cat broke down. Fortunately, the worst of the trip was behind them

The crane is well and truly stuck. Again! This is not the first time on this trip, and it won't be the last. It's down to the axles and too heavy for the excavator to just lift out.

Mud, mud, beautiful mud. Dale gets immersed in his work.
Here's even more mud    (Use your browser's 'back' button to return here)

Tug of War: Mud vs the Excavator. Trying to pull the crane out of the mud brings the excavator to its toes.  It's difficult to see, but a steel cable runs from the excavator bucket to the crane.

Here is the conclusion of this epic tale.

Easy does it! That crane is one heavy dude.  Too heavy, in fact, for this little bridge.  There was lots of repair work following this trip.

Views of magestic peaks, woodland streams, rain sqalls and mud, all part of the experience of the Chatter Creek road.

Soon after we passed it by, the little cat sank in the mud, right up to the operator's seat. Poor Jevan thought he was "going down with the ship".

Even more mud!

As the building neared 'lockup' with the roof on, a serious supply effort started.  All of the finishing materials had to be brought to the site by road.  A 4-wd farm tractor was used to tow the highway trailer up the access road to the site.  As the autumn advanced into winter, trips were made daily for almost two months.

Another load arrives after a slow cold ride up the Chatter Creek road. The mornings are frosty and the road is frozen and hard. No mud to worry about until afternoon, when the road thawed.  The trailer is quickly unloaded, and Dale heads off down the hill to make up the next day's load.  The trip started early in the morning in Golden and will end in Golden in mid-afternoon. 

Take a look at the trailer hitch on the tractor, a WalMart "Father's Day" special.

Near summer's end, the 4x4 Ford 450 is still getting stuck. Nothing is ever simple on the Chatter Creek road. It will take hours for the excavator to walk down the road to pull the truck out.

Click here to see if the load made to Chatter Creek

Kinbasket Lake with trees taking on autumn colors. The lake sits in the Columbia River valley and is the result of flooding caused by the Mica Dam.

 
Materials for the septic field on their journey up the Chatter Creek road. Looks like something's dragging.

These 40 ft. lengths of 1 1/2 in. ABS tubing were drilled with 1/8 in. holes every foot to disperse sewerage throughout the drainage field.  Inverted U-shaped diffusers sit over the tubing and disperse the spray flowing from the holes in the tubing.  The tubing and diffusers are buried under about 18 in. of light fill. 

Click here for a closer look at this load and where it came from.

One of two septic tanks arrives. Besides these two large tanks, there is a third smaller one. The tanks are never supposed to require flushing. Only time will tell.

As the autumn snows accumulate and the road becomes too slippery for the tractor, a snowcat is brought into operation to continue critical deliveries of materials to Vertebrae Lodge.  It looks like a load of plywood sheeting for the floors.

Return to main story Mountain Log Construction or next part: Chatter Creek Logging

Disclaimer

This photo journal is NOT a publication of Chatter Creek Mountain Lodges Ltd.  It is provided for the interest of readers by clients and supporters who celebrate the accomplishments of the young owners of Chatter Creek.  These people exhibit extraordinary energy, skill, perserverence and dedication.  The run a very professional, safe and effective operation and have attracted many friends and supporters over the years.

We attempt always to provide accurate information but inaccuracies are quite possible.  Readers should rely on no information presented herein without first confirming their understanding with Chatter Creek.   Click here to find contact information for Chatter Creek Mountain Lodges.