The Cabin Ordeal Begins

We waited all winter for the time to come when we could procrastinate no longer, and the time has arrived. It's time to face the damage that happens when a wildfire and a flash flood conspire to bury the cabin.

The Cabin Master rented a mini excavator from a rental company in Longmont, then had to rent a truck large enough to pull the trailer and, more importantly, to stop it. Saturday was a bit nerve-wracking as he learned how to use the equipment, and figured out the best way to start moving the dirt, mud, and rocks away from the walls. Then, just before they were going to stop working for the day, the rubber track came off on one side. 

I went to Ted's Place (a store and gas station) that is the nearest place to get a cell phone signal. The rental place was closed for the day, wouldn't be open on Sunday, and the voice mail said they don't check their voice mails so, if you want to talk to them, call on Monday. 

We couldn't do any work today because of the equipment failure, and can't even get the excavator back onto the trailer to return it. I'm hoping the rental place will be reasonable about this. I want them to go up into the mountains, get their badly maintained piece of equipment, and I want them to offer to refund us all of our money.  If they don't offer, I'm going to tell them that's what they should do. The Cabin Master has to miss a day of work tomorrow (if they can get up to the cabin to get their machine), and we lost an entire day that was crucial for digging out the cabin.

Even with the problem, the recovery has begun. Unless another flash flood hits it again.

An optimistic beginning

Getting the front of the cabin unburied

Happier times