3/18-22/24 I went up to Camp Serendipity for five days: Monday through Friday.

It was a spectacularly beautiful drive over the pass. I arrived at 11:45 and it was sunny and warm. There had been no new snow and the old snow had shrunk back considerably.

I brought my gear up in two trips, hoisted the flag, and had my lunch and a nap. When I got up, I walked to the grave and then practiced the piano. Then I called Harold Samdal and we had a nice talk.

On Tuesday morning the temperature was cool. I practiced the piano, listened to the radio for a while, and then walked to the grave. Then I had my lunch and a nap.

When I got up, I got the 30-foot chain that I had salvaged from the chain hoist I got from Leonard and brought it outside. The plan was to stretch this chain across the front of the building and use it as the anchor for lifting heavy loads. I found a perfect carabiner that fit the end of the chain and I used it to make a noose that I fastened around the second projecting wall log. The other end of the chain had the big hook still attached and I dragged it down across the front of the cabin and hooked it to a wall tie that I could easily reach. I left the chain draped across the foundation wall when I went in for the night.

On Wednesday I think I was excited about stringing that chain because I woke up at 4:30 rearing to go. I got out of bed, got dressed and went outside and finished stringing the chain. That amounted to selecting a come-along that I would dedicate for the duration of the project and a tire chain that I used to fasten the come-along hook to the Grid F3 column. I paid out all of the cable from the come-along and draped it over the second projecting wall log on the Grid E3 corner of the building.

Then without a clear plan I used some Camp Serendipity luck to see if I could connect the hook of the come-along to the hook of the chain I had anchored on the wall that was draped across the foundation. It worked. I could reach both hooks and I was strong enough to draw them together taking up the slack on the long chain in order to hook the two hooks together. That was all it took except to go back up on the porch and crank on the come-along to tighten the chain all the way to where I wanted it. I let it sag the amount I felt was safe and high enough to be effective. It was now ready for work.

That left me a full long day to take the next steps which were to make skyhooks.

I had my breakfast, practiced the piano, took a nap, walked to the grave, listened to the radio for a while, and then had my lunch and a nap. Then I had a little diversion while I blasted a couple of new hornet nests I had seen up in the ceiling of the porch. Then as a second diversion, I took a shovel outside and opened the trails so that I wouldn't need to walk on snow anymore this season unless we got a bunch more snow. I had intended to go dig Paul out from under the snow, but I discovered that the tree was already out in the fresh air and all I needed to do was to prop it up a little bit.

Finally, I got to the project for the day and that is I made the first of two skyhooks. I determined that I needed 4-foot 1x2 handles on them in order to reach them from the ground. Then I fastened the chain hook to the 1x2 by chiseling recesses for the hook and then wiring the hook tightly to the handle using rebar tie wire. I made one hook with a pulley attached and the second one will be with a shackle attached that could be used to anchor a come-along cable hook. I took a picture of the first one of these skyhooks hanging from the anchor chain.

On Thursday morning I practiced the piano, listened to the radio, walked to the grave, had my lunch and a nap, and then made the second skyhook. I finished the afternoon by vacuuming the first floor.

On Friday morning I practiced the piano, walked to the grave, and packed up to go home. I left at 12:30 after a very fun and productive week.