Comments from a skunk

Obviously the blog is not the end all in terms of communication. I thought it would be a good way to fill the gaps between phone calls, meetings, etc. Hopefully it can do that.

By way of explanation, Chris and Debra were the last ones to leave after the July 4th weekend. I suspect they do not have a key to the deadbolt ... or maybe they just forgot. I'm glad the regular lock was locked. Also, since they were headed to Oregon, it didn't make sense for them to take the towels, etc. Sorry you guys had to find them up there. Same for the trash. That should have been taken down ... oops ... don't know how that was missed. Maybe a case of having too many people on hand.

As for paying for nonmembers, I'm not sure what you mean. No one was there without one of us who pay. It was just us going up with the family. Isn't that what we agreed to? I thought the point was for people who are not regular contributors to help cover costs by paying when they go up on their own.

On another note, if you were able to get the lights to brighten up, that's fantastic! We've suffered in the dim light for too long.

How to use the Blog

Hi Denise,
Got your voicemail, and want to prove that the blog does work. Check at the bottom of your blog where it says comments - and you will see that you have more than 1 comment after your blog. I haven't checked the blog since I last wrote, and just saw the fire information. Scarey!!

The Jucksch & Chapman family had a great time at the cabin over the weekend. All the boys enjoyed the great fishing in the pond and the stream. The girls enjoyed the the great weather and the quietness of the boys being gone. We were able to see the wonderful wiled life the cabin has to offer. The big blue Jay's, deer, fish, even a bear encounter on Saturday morning, that was very exiting.
The new valves on the lights work well. We can see again. Thanks Pat and Denise. Both Jucksch & Chapman family paid our nightly cabin fee $5.00 per adult per night to Denise.
We are happy to announce that the Jucksch & Ryan Chapman family will be cabin owners starting 08/09. we have worked out a deal with Ralph Martini to purchase his share. He was more then happy to have family that loved the cabin as much as Debbie and himself. Thanks Uncle Ralph!!!
Regarding the extra stuff in the closets we are not sure who the stuff may belong to. It may have been up their for so long, it could be the cabin's? For everybody to use? Cant wait to make it back!!! James.

Portal Fire July 15th

There was a fire this week in the portal area. Sounds like all is fine now. It started at camp site #39, but I don't know where that camp site is located. Here is info that was sent to us:



From: http://www.ksrw.sierrawave.net/

A cabin-owner in the Whitney Portal area said fire started Tuesday night in Camp spot #39 and spread from there. The Inyo Sheriff's Department logged the report of the fire at about 9:35. The Lone Pine Fire Department almost single handedly put out the potentially damaging blaze.Sheriff's Department spokesman said that when deputies arrived, the fire was burning about a half acre and had the potential of quickly spreading. That kind of fire could have trapped the more than 100 campers in the area, so deputies immediately evacuated all campgrounds, including cabin housing. The Bad Water to Whitney Marathon Run was also interrupted.Some evacuees went to Statham Hall where the county had set up a shelter. Whitney Portal Road remained closed until about 7am Wednesday morning. The cause of the fire is under investigation.We placed calls to the Forest Service for more information on reports that they did not immediately respond to the fire on forest land. We did receive a press release from the USFS. It says that about 40 personnel were assigned to the fire - Lone Pine Volunteer Fire Department, CalFire, BLM and Inyo National Forest. Reports indicated that Lone Pine Fire arrived first and fought alone for a time. We don't know when the other units arrived.

A view of Skunk's Point

In case you don't know what we call Skunk's Point, here it is:

reservation: katie & james for july 24th - 26th

glad to hear everyone had a good time, and happy birthday carolyn. i got a bill from lone pine propane about the regulator & to change the line from pig tail to hog tail. did it improve the quality of light? hope so. also did mark fix the screen door? the pictures were good & is the baby chris & debra's grandson? he is very cute.

Going up again in Sept and Oct

We had a great time over the 4th so we're planning to go up to the cabin over Labor Day weekend (September 3-7) and for the weekend of October 9-12.

July 4th at the Cabin

Hi everyone!!!
When we went to the cabin for the 4th of July there was a total of 18 people at the cabin at one time. 16 people slept there, and it was definitely at it's full capacity. Even Don and Shirley Hughes made it to the cabin for the day on the 3rd.
Couple of things we noticed that need want to bring to all cabin users attention.
When we arrived and turned on the gas, we noticed that the bathroom light had been left on. We didn't notice it until we smelled it. (Could have been dangerous)
Also - the D-con which works great (no critters heard at night) needs to be left in places either up off the floor, or in the fireplace. We were hunting for it to make sure that our dogs did not find it and eat it when we weren't watching, and we did find it in several reachable spaces.
The shower was draining into the basement. There was a pipe not fully connected under the shower. Dustin crawled into the space and fixed it hopefully permanently. We are not sure how long it was draining into the basement.
The bathroom shower is beautiful!!!! Thank-you Ryan.
There was not much room on the shelves behind the kitchen door for food items - there is a lot of stuff there that needs a new home. Also the shelves over the refrigerator/stove.
I have a request - there is a lot of stuff in both closets, and it makes it very difficult to unpack and make yourself at home for the stay in the cabin. I think that if everyone purchases plastic storage containers and pops them upstairs it would be easier for everyone visiting.
Some of the men cut down a tree behind the cabin that was dead. There is plenty of wood to cut up and put under the cabin. We gave it a start - but there is alot left to do.
The cabin is a true testimony to what our parents and grandparents were trying to provide for our families, and our family had a great time last week.

The 2009 Whitney Open

For those who don't know, The 2009 Whitney Open, was a random draw horseshoe tournament that was played July 4th, 2009. There were a total of 12 participants, Chris, Jennifer, Greg, Jocelyn, Marissa, Diana, Mark, Carolyn, Heather, Alex, Andy, and Tina.

At day's end, there were victories...





There were defeats...






And through smiles...

And fierce concentration...

A champion team was determined.

In the end, Heather's toss beat out Andy's by a hair, and she went on to win it all in a last round ringer! The Champion pair were Heather McLintock and Chris Hughes. The runners-up were Jennifer Hughes and Andy Blatchford.

And good times were had by all!