A Winter Build Update at Cliffside Camp

Progress on the Cliffside Camp bunkhouse finally looks like progress: all eight 12-foot exterior wall sections are now standing. For anyone following along, the layout is three 12' sections per long wall, plus one section per end wall.

Each of the building’s three rooms has openings for its own exterior door (with an integrated opening window), and another window on the rear wall. The whole structure is insulated with EPS rigid insulation, which already makes the space feel more sheltered from the early winter blasts rolling through Western Quebec.

And winter has been showing off. Temperatures below –10°C and heavy snow have slowed everything down. But those weren’t even the biggest obstacles this week.

Not even close.

The bunkhouse is now house wrapped in Tyvek.

The “Charlie Brown Christmas Tree” Detour

Last weekend was supposed to be a productive one. The forecast was good, the tools were ready, and I had a full list of bunkhouse tasks lined up.

But first on the list: find this year’s “Charlie Brown” Christmas tree.

Our best conifers grow at the very back of the property, around a swampy beaver pond. I figured I’d take the ATV with the Camso tracks and zip back there, pick a tree, and be back in time to get more walls up.

What I didn’t factor in: all the deadfall and deadheads lurking just under the snow on the frozen pond. One deadhead grabbed my right rear track. A low-hanging suspended tree trunk trapped it from the other side. Before I knew it, the track had popped right off the rollers.

The ATV was stuck. I was stuck. And I hadn’t even found a tree yet.

You can see the track and the rollers here. Luckily nothing was broken.

Hiking Back With a Wet Foot and No Snowshoes

I hiked the 1.6 km back to the Ark to search to for a YouTube video that might help. On the way, one foot punched through the swamp ice. Nothing like a boot full of swamp water to add a little excitement to your return trek.

I couldn’t find the exact video for my specific problem, but I saw enough to give me the confidence to try fixing it myself.

The next question was how to get the tools back there.

Two Jacks, a Cold, a Bad Back, and a Sled Full of Tools

I loaded my pull sled with:

• a heavy 3-ton jack,

• socket set,

• wrenches,

• hammer,

• plywood (or something close enough),

• a few wooden blocks for lift extension.

I asked Monique to come because I expected to need two people to stretch the rubber track back onto the rollers. This would’ve been tough on a warm day when we were both fully healthy. Instead, I had a tweaked back the day before lifting a 9 kW generator, and Monique had a brutal cold and could barely breathe.

But it's rare we get to do the things we need to do when conditions are perfect so we started the climb.

Every direction from the Ark is uphill. I’m not proud to admit this, but half way up the first hill I ran out of gas. The 3-ton jack was simply too big and too heavy to haul through steep, unpacked snow. With 98% of the trail still ahead, I knew it wasn’t happening.

Back to the Ark we went.

I swapped the big jack for my smaller one and added some extra wooden blocks to compensate for the reduced lift. Pulling this system was still tough, but doable. At one point Monique carried the socket set up a few of the steeper pitches to lighten the load.

And then, when we finally stepped onto the pond, I realized I forgot the shovel.

Perfect.

Digging With Frozen Hands and Slippery Aspenite

Instead of a shovel, I dug out the sunken track using my quickly-numbing fingers and whatever tools I had. The “plywood” I brought was actually aspenite — which behaves like Teflon on ice. Every time we started to jack the ATV up, the board sank deeper into the swamp or the jack slid sideways.

On the third attempt, we finally got the bike high enough to work on. Barely. It was balanced precariously, but it was lift.

A lot of digging followed. We chipped away under the rollers using wrenches and a hammer, trying to make enough clearance to slip the rubber track back into place.

The videos I watched recommended removing the front roller first to make installation easier. We did that, but in –10°C temps with limited lift, it still wasn’t going on.

Then it hit me: remove the rear roller too.

Once both rollers were off, the track slipped right on like it was never off.

Why the videos don’t recommend this, I have no idea. It’s simple, fast, and in cold weather it’s a lifesaver.

I even removed one more roller to access the tensioner more easily. After all this work, the last thing I wanted was for the track to pop off again.

Success… and the End of the Workday

From the moment we left the Ark, it took exactly one hour to hike to the bike, and one more hour to get the track back on. At that point, the day — and I — were completely done.

Sunday morning was –15°C. Way too cold to work on the bunkhouse. But we still didn’t have a tree.

This time I stayed closer to home and found one of the nicest trees we’ve had in years. I couldn’t feel my face for part of the trip, but the tree looks great in the house.

This tree is so nice, I don't know if we can call it "Charlie Brown".

Real Progress: Bunkhouse Walls Standing Strong

The rest of the week warmed up. I got all eight 12' wall sections up, squared everything, and prepped the interior for the next stage.

Since this weekend calls for heavy rain, I cut and laid out the vapour barrier to protect the hardwood floors and supplies. I’ll use the above-freezing temperatures to spray foam the small gaps around the EPS insulation and cut additional foam panels in the garage.

If all goes well, I’ll start cutting rafters next. Tin order is going in today.

And if I hustle, I might have a good portion of the roof on before Christmas.

Standing back and seeing those walls in place feels amazing — like the bunkhouse is finally stepping into the real world after months of planning, digging, milling, and winter curveballs.

The vapour barrier is down on the floor. Hopefully it will protect it from this weekend's rain.

What’s Coming Next

Once the roof is on, I’ll move into:

• finishing the room divisions,

• installing the doors and windows,

• insulating and sealing the ceilings, and

• prepping the interior for heat.

This bunkhouse will soon host:

• school outdoor education groups,

• parent–youth adventure weekends,

• Duke of Edinburgh programs, and

• (eventually) overnight instructor training.

It’s exciting to see how close it’s getting.