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Cabin Index
Cabin 1 |
The Cabin
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| Introduction |
The first idea of a stick structure in the woods was not developed by any member of this group. Rather, my brother, Kevin, and his friends were the first ones to tie some sticks together, line the frame with more sticks, and cover it all in bark. Given, they were no older than Jr. High at the time and the structure was no more than 3 feet tall, but the concept had begun. I picked up the idea after Kevin grew out of it, but began to build little huts here and there across the woods. This, however, was only the beginning of the concept, the actual structure of what we now refer to as "cabin one" was started a little later, and by a somewhat different means. (1996-1997) Two logs, large compared to a sixth grader, lie across each other. Nearby sticks are placed over top of both, creating a small cove underneath them. Soon, this became too small, so the sticks were removed, more logs piled on top of the originals, boards laid down for a floor, and the sticks returned. Over the course of 2 or 3 summers, the back wall was installed and the form grew to a large box frame, covered by plastic tarp, with a "dungeon" below the floor, which was just enough crawl space for a small Jr. High kid. After the collapse of the frame, the "dungeon" grew linkin'-logs style to nearly 5 feet tall: The actual Cabin 1.
The ruins of Cabin 1 The structure of cabin 1 was supported by the large log shown leaning against the stump. The stump, in the time of the cabin, was a whole tree, dead, but tall. The original hole dug for the dungeon is still present, and the leaning log prevents falling into it as long as you are paying attention. (1997-1998) Perhaps a season or a year after its primary construction (it really can't be called complete), Cabin 1 collapsed. The idea, however, did not. The straight logs were relocated to the middle of what had become known as "Dragon Nest", the 12 yr-old's name for his fort. The logs were again stacked linkin'-logs style, but with no door. The structure was about 4 or 5 feet long, 3 or 4 feet wide, and roughly 5 feet tall. The way in was a small ladder to the top where a flap of tarp opened and a child could easily climb in. This not only had a ready-to-use fire pit (though it never was used), but it also had a drainage system, which may have been used a few times. This may have lasted, in various reconstructions, for a year or two. This structure (still not called a cabin at the time, only now looking back) never collapsed. The construction was sound. However, there was no working door and it was too small to have more than two cramped kids in it at one time. It was decided, as my older sister's graduation party (June, 1996; 13yrs, after 7th grade) as a matter of fact, that a new cabin must be constructed.
Ruins of Cabin 2 Though theres not much there, the log was the length of the cabin and the width may have extended to the small tree on the right. (1998: May-October) With the help of a couple older and/or stronger cousins, heavy logs were rolled from the middle of fort nest, the destructed cabin 2, to the front outside of the fort. With their help, a foundation was laid: 7 or 8ft wide and at least 5 feet deep (the foundation remains to this day and the ruins of Cabin 3 are on "memory lane"). After about an entire summer of construction, Cabin 3 rose to about 6 feet high. This cabin had actual benches around the fire pit that held at least 4 people comfortably, with room on the ground for sleeping bags (this was the first cabin that people actually slept in). The entire thing was covered with the same brown tarp that covered Cabin 1, making the cabin a virtual sauna when a fire was lit and a pan of water was boiled over top of it. One lesson learned from this cabin: do not extinguish a fire in an enclosed area with urine; it boils. Cabin 3 Ruins This cabin went up and down a number of times before sophomore year, always falling because of the East wall, the wall supporting the door, the wall that had 2 ft long sticks supporting it in a linkin'-log box all the way up. Finally, after years of torment an a sudden urge to have a bigger, better cabin usable for movies (Mr. Sizer's Health Class, A Father's Abuse starring, written, and directed by Bryan Roll, Joey Scott, and Andrew Link), the cabin that was restored one day was destroyed and pieces relocated the next. (1998-1999: Early Spring) The first big move of the cabin took place between cabins 3 and 4. Instead of being located in or near Fort Nest, this cabin was built within throwing distance of the field. Utilizing a large, dead log as a base log, the cabin was constructed with four logs and a similar door support as cabin 3, only larger. The dimensions were roughly 8 ft wide by 12 ft deep with a fire ring against a corner tree. The downfall of this cabin began with the attempt at a roof. Before the roof, the cabin was about 6 or 6 1/2 feet tall, but the roof of sticks and bark pulled the height down to nearly 5 feet high. To compensate for this, I installed a log in the center of the cabin to operate as a pillar. This pillar apparently gave way in the middle of a night, bringing down the roof and most of the cabin along with it. As I was not entirely satisfied with the design of cabin 4, I decided not to directly rebuild it as it was. (1999-2000: Spring) Cabin 5 was the first cabin to have a second story, though it was only over a small portion of the cabin (picture). The weak wall of this cabin was always the west wall (long wall on right side of picture). The longer the wall, especially next to doorways, the weaker it was. However, this cabin lasted, with occasional re-buildings and even one or two complete tear-down/ build-ups, from the beginning of Jr. year through half of senior year. Many campouts were held here, some of the greatest and most remembered. Potato guns were experimented at this cabin, as well as various home movies and plenty of capture the flag. Airsoft was introduced in this cabin and a few games may have been played here. At this cabin, Mavrick introduced the idea of a "piped" fire pit, which is a metal pipe running from the bottom of the fire pit to a hole outside the cabin. In essence, it fed the fire air from outside the cabin to the bottom of the fire directly, making a hotter flame and a better burning fire. It worked and was therefore installed into each and every cabin henceforth.
Cabin 5 It was at this cabin the "Intimate Intruders Incident" took place. Here is the tale: The church Youth Group was to leave for a weekend camping trip one Saturday morning and we needed the Marshmallow sticks, which were still at the cabin. My sister Jessica went back to find them, but soon came back (empty handed). She asked me if there was a dummy with a wig on in the cabin. I said there wasn't, which confused her, which confused me. I told her there is nothing that looks like people in the cabin. She replied that there must be real people in the cabin. This intrigued, and upset, me. Enough so that I geared up with all the weapons, tools, and everything else I could, including a boot knife, a machete, a bb pistol, a CO2 pellet gun, and a couple of bottle rockets. I also threw on my camo pants and jacket. Taking Jess to show me the people, we snuck back into the woods as quietly as possible until we could just see the cabin. I immediately noticed hair falling over the edge of the second story, and a body in a sleeping bag attached to it. The first thought in my head: shit, someone left a dead body in the cabin. Second thought: No, she moved. What the hell is she doing in my cabin? I told Jess to wait along the trail as I took a closer look and attempted to retrieve the marshmallow sticks. As I entered the cabin, I saw another person lying on the second story, closer to the inside, wearing jeans and a flannel jacket. The guy. A girl and a guy, sleeping still, in my cabin. After the initial shock, I was pissed, but didn't have any time (or courage) to confront them. Instead, I went back to Jess, gave her the Mallow sticks and told her to start down the trail, that I'd catch up to her. I then took out two bottle rockets, put them into the ground lose enough to take off without getting stuck, angled towards the cabin. I lit them and ran, turning just enough to see them POP over the cabin, but hearing no shouts or anything afterwards. We soon left for the camping trip, and nothing was amiss with the cabin when I returned 3 days later. This story may vary from Jessica's, but is how I remember it. (2000- 2001: Fall) The previous cabin was up for a long time, and had been the strongest model to date, but after continual failures to keep the walls around the second story supported, I finally decided to "un-build" the entire structure in the spring of 2001. In its place, or, technically, off to the side and swung around a bit, cabin 6 was built. As can be seen in the picture, the second story was still in place, just without the walls. The old door to cabin 5 was blocked with a wall. This cabin, unlike all previous cabins, did not have any "weak" wall. The wall left of the door had slightly dislodged from its correct position, which eventually led to its final destruction, but this was later learned to be a cause of neighborhood kids rather than structural instability. The roof on this cabin was extensive, donated from the Donaworth's old porch when they got a new roof. Not as complete as cabin 2 or 3, which had complete wall and roof coverage, but much more durable, though strong winds frequently lifted un-tied pieces off the cabin and relocated them a few yards away. Various rains were waited out under that roof.
Cabin 6 This cabin housed the first experiment with "Kool-Aid", which was, in short, spontaneous chemical combustion using two pool chemicals. These later turned to bombs (not powerful enough to do anything, but loud noisemakers to the unsuspecting visitors). The potato guns were still fairly active this summer, and many a golf ball was shot into the woods. This, in fact, was the very summer that the "war with the neighbors" took place. In response to the 4-wheeler trails built in the woods by the neighbors, we booby-trapped the trails. Eventually, a confrontation occurred between 4 of us and two of them. To keep things discreet, golf balls went this way and that, there were no casualties, but one 4-wheeler was injured. The resulting phone call from the neighbor's parents led to the agreement to no more 4-wheelers and no more flying golf balls. Proof of the incident and of a little over-protection (and some paranoia) lies in "the shoe". That was the name of the bunker, seen on the right, that was made of a log stack and two walls of vertical sticks, creating a "U" shape. While no 4-wheelers were ever trapped in the tiger trap 3 feet in front of it, nor anyone gouged or piked by the sticks protruding from the dirt mound at the base of the west wall, the bunker proved useful in airsoft battles, though more for the attackers who shot through the holes than the defender inside. "The shoe" was also a vital part in a sneak attack performed on my brother who had a fire going with some college friends one weekend as we snuck through the bunker and used it as a staging point for a fireworks attack. Ah, the memories at this cabin are detailed and exciting...But, as mentioned before, due to crazy kids running amuck, the cabin eventually came down late in the fall of 2002 and the lumber was again relocated, a little further from the field this time. (2001-2003: February) The original design of cabin 7 held 2 full sized doors, the one present in the picture and one straight through, where the wall is seen. As could be guessed, this did not last long. the wall between the two door had 2 segments and consistently fell. After one or two re-buildings, it was decided to complete the wall and have only one door. Before this, however, one memorable game of airsoft was played, including George brandishing a yet-working SPAS, though his presence was known, he did not effectively participate in the game, leaving 2 defenders against 3 offenders (standard attack/defend odds). A laser pointer attached to an MP5 SD3 was the ultimate reason for an offensive victory, if memory serves, but the back door was very convenient in the attack. When I realized the door wouldn't hold, I was disheartened and kept the idea in mind. No roof was ever attempted for this cabin because it was, by far, the largest area ever covered by a cabin. It's general shape, with and without the back door, was an octagon, and so nicknamed "the octagon" or something like that. I know, not very creative, but it worked.
Cabin 7 The back door was constructed over (this required, as usual, the complete destruction and restruction of the cabin), and campouts went on as usual. One unique thing about cabin 7 that was attempted in Cabin 5 and never really took good shape in either was the second fire pit. The thought was one fire for warmth/ fireworks/ screwing around with while the second fire could be for cooking, or a second group if there were enough people, or a place to burn trash. As it turned out, trash was dumped in the pit (even after the cabin came down), and never really burned. Some time while I was at school, kids came back to this cabin, dumped the bottles (some glass) out of the locker, busted everything they could, went through bottles, containers, and stole an ammo box. Having been violated so badly, and finding shards of glass all over the ground, this cabin, too, was to be torn down because of dumbass kids. Some may say it was for the best, but a little piece of my heart died with that cabin as well. (2003- 2006: May) And so, the story comes to cabin 8. Up to this point, each cabin had something special about it, whether a window, a back door, a good roof, an upstairs, complete insulation, or a "piped" fire pit. Cabin 8, in my personal opinion, is (or has the potential to be) the best cabin ever. This is because all the aforementioned special features are combined into this cabin in some way. A front window helps the log-to-fire process, the half-back door is nice to get to the back side of the cabin quickly, or in from that angle, the half roof allows light in most of the cabin while keeping half the cabin covered from rain and snow, the loft (same as the first one) is good for lookout, the vertically stablized west and north walls are the start of a well- insulated cabin (and private), and the fire pit is, once again, "piped." One wall, part of the "armory" (where we store our weapons when not in use), is a "strong wall", which is a wall of logs that are not connected to the other walls and are wedged between 3 trees, free standing and closely packed. Very few holes are in the wall and it it strong enough to climb up on.
Cabin 8 We've played a few airsoft games there and the back door is nice, but attacking it is a difficult task.
(2006- Present) More like Cabin 8, version 2 since most of it is the same. However, since destructing the entire thing and rebuilding it with a different design kind of makes it different, it has been re-named. The major difference is the wall structure. the back walls are identical to cabin 8, but the front walls (and long wall) are more fort-like. Taking the idea started in cabin 8 with the vertical logs stacked against the wall, the horizontal logs were removed entirely, leaving only the vertical logs. The addition of space was another step forward with this version, thanks to the new wall type. This type of wall is good mainly because of how easy it is to make the wall more wind/ sound proof. Simply adding new logs on top of the old ones helps insulate the walls and make them more solid. Also, the walls stand independent of each other. If one wall collapses due to wind, erosion, or neighborhood kids, the other walls remain standing.
Cabin 9 The back door is full-sized in this cabin, enabling EVERYONE the opportunity to access it (even Smyth). The roof was eliminated entirely, partly due to the fact that the roof often caused collapsations, and partly due to the need for the solid metal as insulators in the back walls and nearby bunkers.
2002:Fall- Present And then Smyth wanted to build a cabin, requesting my help as chief engineer (the self-proclaimed title). He wanted something more like a fort, something that would stand up to crazy neighborhood kids (he's got a couple) that like to destroy structures. He already had a location picked out, between numerous trees fairly close together. This turned out to be the best possible position as each wall could be a "strong wall". There are five strong walls, with wall 5 being made of very large logs, many dragged to location with the 4-wheeler. I, personally, am pleased to announce that each wall is strong enough to hold my weight and the official fire had been lit in the fire pit (not yet "piped") by the 3 officers (Mavrick, Smyth, and Link). Currently, the total height is no more than 5 feet, but at each gathering of Smyth and Link, it increases little by little. After the walls are finished, there is much talk of a roof that covers most of the cabin while allowing smoke to escape. With the structural integrity of the walls and connecting trees, a lookout post is being considered. Once finished, this cabin will be a force to be reckoned with, extremely strong, windproof (mostly), rainproof (mostly), and an excellent place to defend.
Smyth's Cabin Throughout each building and destruction of all the cabins, many of the group members helped me out, including family at graduation parties and siblings on occasions. Many ideas are collaborations of different people's visions and the most effective compromise. The most important part of any cabin is the friends I've shared time in them with. Cabin 5 was the best because we had so many campouts in that year and a half, with all sorts of different people, doing so much of a variety of fun activities, from airsoft to spud guns, to fireworks and movies, we had many blasts.
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| Cabin 1 | |
| Cabin 2 | |
| Cabin 3 | |
| Cabin 4 | |
| Cabin 5 | |
| Cabin 6 | |
| Cabin 7 | |
| Cabin 8 | |
| Cabin 9 | |
| Smyth's Cabin | |
| Conclusion |
