Two Steps Forward, One Step Back… and Still Moving

Winter Arrived a Month Early

6 weeks ago, my plan was straightforward: get the bunkhouse closed in by December 1. That would give me a full month of cool, dry weather to finish the exterior before winter settled in.

But winter didn’t wait.

It rolled in on November 7 — a solid month ahead of schedule — and it hasn’t backed off since. This morning I woke up feeling optimistic for the first time in weeks. Two days of rain and mild temperatures had melted almost everything. I thought I might actually get a break.

An hour later, I looked outside and the ground was white again.

Just enough snow to hide the rocks… but not enough to justify putting the tracks on my ATV and risk a costly repair. And with temperatures hovering just below freezing, what I’m left with is the worst combination for hauling supplies: a thin layer of snow on top of mud. Not exactly the stable surface you want when you’re moving lumber up a hill.

Milling three snow-covered logs at The Off Grid Ark to finish the hardwood flooring for the new off-grid bunkhouse — winter showed up early, but the work kept moving.

What’s Done: More Than It Looks

Even with the weather fighting me, the project is moving forward. The hardwood floor alone feels like half the build. Between:

• making the concrete footings

• milling and hauling nine 12-foot logs for the support beams

• installing the subfloor

• laying close to 200 five-inch hardwood planks

…that stage was its own endurance event.

But the good news is I’ve accumulated almost everything else I need. This past week, I scored a 70% off deal on 16-foot 2x6s and grabbed fifteen rafters. I only need four more to complete the set. Yesterday I picked up all the lumber for the side and rear walls, and the past two nights I’ve been on my hot-wire cutter transforming a pile of 4×4 Styrofoam into neat 2×4×3.25-inch insulation panels.

I’ve got the windows. I’ve got the doors. I’ve got most of the strapping — and I can mill the rest from the beech I’ve already cut.

The final shopping list is short:

• front-wall lumber

• roofing tin

• a bit more strapping

That’s it.

My truck full of lumber for the walls. That snow on the ground, wasn't there too hours ago. And a garage full of cut Styrofoam insulation.

The Real Challenge Isn’t the Build — It’s the Weather

The only thing standing in the way right now is the forecast. It’s cold, getting colder, and there’s no reprieve in sight.

So I’m shifting gears. I’ll be cutting everything I can indoors at The Ark — every stud, every rafter, every piece of wall framing I can prep ahead of time. But either way, the lumber still needs to get up the hill. Waiting for perfect footing isn’t an option.

A few times already I've had to use the winch on the ATV to drag my bike and trailer up one of the steeper, icy stretches. That’s probably going to be the norm for the next while. It’s not ideal, but this is the reality of building an off-grid camp in November.

Calling Back the Firefighter Mindset

When frustration starts creeping in, I find myself leaning on old memories for perspective.

Back when I was firefighting in Colorado, we handled a lot of winter fires. Nothing about that job was warm or dry. None of the hose attachments were watertight, so you’d get soaked immediately — then frozen solid a few minutes later. You’d spend half the time breaking ice off your gear just so you could move.

But you dealt with it, because the job needed doing.

And honestly, the early days of The Ark weren’t much different. I took possession of the property in February. The place was wide open, exposed, and there wasn’t a single warm corner to retreat to. I worked in whatever weather I had because there was no alternative.

Compared to that, this bunkhouse build is practically a luxury. If I get cold, I can step inside and warm up. If I need to cut lumber, I can do it indoors. And that reminder alone helps me reset.

Returning to the Endurance Mindset

A few weeks ago, on the Mad Trapper blog, I wrote about what I call the Endurance Mindset. The idea was simple:
You don’t stop doing things because you get old — you get old because you stop doing things.

And the more I look at this bunkhouse project, the more that line applies.

Yes, this is harder than I expected.
Yes, the timeline has shifted.
Yes, the weather is throwing a tantrum.

But that’s no reason to quit or push everything to next year. Hard doesn’t mean impossible. Hard just means worth doing.

One board at a time, one rafter at a time, one cold day at a time — that’s how projects like this get built.

A Vision That’s Bigger Than the Build

What helps most, though, is remembering why I’m building this bunkhouse in the first place.

Last week, the Outdoor Education Coordinator from one of Ottawa’s top private colleges came for a tour. He was blown away by what we already have in place — the trails, the camp, the cabin, the crisis scenario, the proximity to the city — and even more excited about what’s underway.

He immediately started brainstorming program ideas:

• middle school outdoor ed days

• high school wilderness camps

• Duke of Edinburgh expeditions

• multi-day leadership retreats

(If you’re curious what these programs look like in practice, here’s the kind of outdoor education we run at The Ark: Outdoor Education Programs at The Off Grid Ark.)

Hearing that reinforced something important: this bunkhouse isn’t just another project on my list. It’s the backbone of a much larger vision — one that opens the door for schools, youth groups, and educators to access true wilderness learning just 45 minutes from Ottawa.

That’s the kind of future that makes a bit of early winter feel like a small price to pay.

The Story Behind the Structure

The funny thing is, once this bunkhouse finally stands in the camp — with the diesel heat going, bunks built, and students piling inside after a long day in the woods — nobody will talk about how easy it was.

They’ll talk about the early winter.
The mud.
The snowfalls that showed up out of nowhere.
The challenges that made the build memorable.

And I’ll probably look back and laugh at how dramatic it all felt in the moment.

And if you’re a parent looking for a hands-on wilderness experience with your teen, you can check out our upcoming Parent–Youth Adventure Camp

Right now, though, it’s just two steps forward, one step back… and still moving.