6/29-7/1/10 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

I arrived at 12:30. On the way, I stopped on the road and looked at the black spot on the avalanche track on Nason Ridge hoping to get a better view than I had gotten from the cabin. I got a better view but I still couldn’t make out exactly what it is. I still wonder.

Bert and Ernie greeted me as soon as I parked. After moving in and having lunch, I went to work on the electrical connections for the water heater. The hole in the heater had been punched out for a ¾” connector, so I bought a length of ¾” armored cable to connect the water heater to an overhead junction box. I did some minor repairs on the water heater connection manifold and mounted the junction Box S on a joist.

I decided to use the steel water heater stand that I have but I discovered that one leg was broken away from the top. The thing is made of 16 gauge steel so I was able to re-shape it and repair it by bolting on an additional steel strap.

Next, I worked on setting the stand on the bedrock so that it was positioned correctly and the top was level. That took some chiseling of the bedrock for a couple of the legs, but eventually, I got it positioned and ready for the water heater. I moved the water heater onto the stand and then saw that hooking up the hoses was going to be a little awkward. I decided to tackle it in the morning and I quit for the day. I fed peanuts to a chipmunk on the way.

On Wednesday, I started out by measuring more carefully how much 1-inch copper pipe I needed in order to complete the water line from the springbox. I need 73 feet. Then I checked to see how much pipe I have and I have three 60-foot coils. That means that I have 107 feet left. That should be enough to run the copper pipe loop all the way under the existing Pex pipes in the floor. My plan is to use the flow in the copper pipe to keep the Pex pipes from freezing in the winter. I’ll wrap pipe insulation around both pipes to keep the heat in. I think it will work well.

Next, I removed the 10-2 wire for the water heater that was too short, and re-strung a new, longer wire that I had brought with me. Then I went to work on the water heater plumbing.

I discovered that the two hoses were of different lengths and the pipe connectors were at different levels. No matter which hose I tried on which pipe, they were going to kink. To make the hoses fit, the water heater would have to be lowered about 8 inches. I thought about sawing off the legs of the stand, but that would be a lot of hack-sawing. There had to be an easier way.

I got out the Bulldog and started chiseling into the bedrock thinking that I might be able to lower the stand that way. That proved to be unworkable. I decided to bite the bullet and abandon the steel stand altogether. I would pour a small concrete pad instead.

I started out by making a form using 2x4s and placing it level on the bedrock where I wanted the water heater to go. I used a small trowel and a brush to clean all the dirt off the bedrock inside the form. I piled the dirt on the outside of the form to give it stability and I selected a few rocks that fit inside the form that would take up space to make the concrete go further. Then I went to work making the concrete.

I had a full sack of mortar mix that was still pretty soft so I decided to make concrete with that. Next, I salvaged about four gallons of pea gravel from my old pea gravel bin. There was a six-inch layer of pine needle debris on top of the gravel, but I was able to scoop out enough clean gravel for the job. I mixed the concrete in the mortar mixing tub and it nearly filled it to the top. It was hard work mixing that much with a hoe, but I got the job done. It turned out to be exactly enough to fill the form, along with the rocks, right to the top of the 2x4s. There wasn’t a pebble left over.

I floated, troweled, and edged the concrete pad and then cleaned off all the tools. In the process, I fed a big flock of gray jays, including the one juvenile bird. The chipmunk also joined in on the fun. When that was done, I went in for lunch and a nap.

When I came back out, I went up to the loft and installed the last receptacle box using parts I had brought with me. Then I wired up the 30 Amp breaker in the service panel for the water heater.

Next, I went down to the crawl space and installed junction Box S in the joists above the water heater pad. I fed the chipmunk and the gray jays on various occasions whenever I went outside. When I went in for the night, I took what I believe will be the last shower I will take in the trailer. It was sort of nostalgic. I have gotten used to showering in that tiny little shower stall trying not to step on the duct tape over the crack in the pan. It’s a nice shower, but I am looking forward to showering up in the cabin starting next week.

On Thursday morning, the concrete pad was hard. I laid down two layers of roofing paper on the pad and a layer of three concrete blocks on top of that. Then I set the water heater on top of the concrete blocks and checked the hose lengths. It was perfect. The hoses both reached comfortably with no kinks. I tightened up the hoses and turned the water on to begin filling the tank.

Water started running out of the drain so I shut the water off again and figured out how to close the drain valve. Then I turned the water back on and let the tank fill up. I went up to the shower and turned the hot water on in order to let the air escape.

While the tank was filling, I finished the wiring between Box S and the water heater. When the tank was full, I flipped the breaker on and was happy that it stayed on. I couldn’t really tell if it was working, but I figured I would know soon enough.

I went into the woods and checked on the sequoia trees. They all looked good and green. They all have new growth and seem to be healthy. I fed the chipmunk and the gray jays while I was out. When I got back, at about 11:00, I ran the water in the shower and was ecstatic when I felt the water get hot against my hand. For the first time I have hot and cold running water in the cabin. The only problem I might still have would be that the thermostat is set too high, so for safety’s sake I turned the breaker back off and decided to check the thermostat next week. At least now I know for sure I will be showering in the cabin from now on. I left for home at 1:30 feeling very good about my progress.