It’s gonna be an interesting week. First off, its Independence Day weekend. I know a lot of people just say ‘Fourth of July” but that makes as much sense as running around wishing people a “Merry December 25th”. Pedantic? Absolutely. But I think its a bit more respectful to the idea of the holiday to call it by it’s proper name. And its a reinforcement about what the holiday is about – the armed struggle for liberty, not just a day to take off from work and grill hot dogs.
Also on the schedule is playing with a mini-ex this weekend. This will be something of an adventure. It’ll also mark the first time I’m spending the night up there. Should be interesting. My goal is to dig the holes to bury the two poly tanks I hauled up there, a couple holes for some caches, a few holes for some concrete piers, and to move a couple larger rocks around. As I said, it should be entertaining.
For the last year or so, I’ve been kind of segregating stuff into a ‘To Be Moved To The Beta Site’ pile. So at the moment, I’ve a small mountain of stuff awaiting relocation to a hidden cache at the Beta Site. Things like sealed blue barrels full of freeze dried pouches, ammo cans full of gun stuff, etc, etc. It’ll be nice to get this stuff moved and get some space back in my house.
However, this is all predicated on the excavation project going the way I want it to…which might be a tall order since I’ve zero excavator experience and no idea how rocky the ground is. But…I’ll have a three-day weekend to figure it out. And I’ll have StarLink up there so I’ll probably make some posts on the progress of things. Assuming the bears don’t eat me.
Oh, and before I forget…speaking of caches and caching…this dropped in a timely manner the other day:
I’ve rented a miniex twice now for work at my BOL and I’ve moved A LOT of material with it. Pick a spot to start where your precision won’t matter (ie. like the center of a big hole for the tank.) Use that first hour to practice and you’ll figure it out.
Think about a couple of things while you are working.
— where to put the soil you remove. You don’t want it in your way as you dig, you want it close to hand, but without some way to move it, you’ll have a big pile next to your big hole… because you put the tank in the hole. If you plan to just spread it out, do so as much as possible while digging.
— a big pile of leftover dirt is a resource. Think about using it to accomplish another goal, like a berm that blocks a sight line, or filling in a low spot. I piled up all my dirt and waited a year before I knew where to put it. I wish I’d saved a little for some stuff that has come up since.
— think about having a couple of “nice to do” jobs that you can grab if you have time- like pulling up a rotten stump, or moving a big rock.
— miniex makes holes, a skid steer or track loader moves material. They are best used in tandem. Think about all that material, and if you need to move it. You might be renting a skid steer next…
—– and finally, there are a couple of different schemes for how the controls work. There is an ISO standard, and then there are others that evolved from different machines or manufacturers. There is a selector switch somewhere on that miniex to chose between them. If you can’t get your mind and body around how the controls work so it seems “right” to you, switch to another control scheme. I needed the bucket ‘curl’ on one hand, and the ‘reach out’ and ‘rotate’ functions on the other. That was not how they sent it from the rental yard. I didn’t have hours of muscle memory either, it’s just that one arrangement ‘made sense’ and one didn’t.
Running heavy equipment is fun, but it’s also brutal on your body. That machine with knock you all around and jostle you like crazy. Bring up some paper medical tape or moleskin to cover any places where your skin rubs on the armrest or a knee rubs on the machine. Sweat plus sand or dust equals abrasive grit. I wore holes in my arm, wrist, and knee from all the rubbing. Granted I was on the machines 10 hours a day for over a week each time…
And be careful on any inclines, wear the seatbelt, and go slow to start. Looking forward to hearing how it works out for you.
nick
Thanks, man…I appreciate the insight. Ive a list of digging priorities for this particular trip – bury tanks, dig cache holes, dig pier holes, move some large rocks, that sort of thing.
If you were in power, would you want your subjects celebrating a revolution where everyday people declared independence against the oligarchy? They call it July 4th for a reason.
Hope you are enjoying your new land. The idea of sleeping under the stars and breathing fresh air is enticing. I have a few more years of obligation here in Reno before I can break free myself.
I don’t say it enough, but thank you for keeping up this website and sharing your experience with the rest of us.
If I were in power, I would not want subjects..I’d want citizens, in the Heinlein-sense…and I’d want my citizens fully aware of their relationship to the state and the state’s regulation by the citizens.
“They call it July 4th for a reason.” But our independence was declared on July 2nd, not July 4th.
in regard to those cache barrels – you intend to fully bury them under several feet of earth? – almost certainly eliminate a wintertime access – or – leave the lid barely above ground and thoroughly disguise the access?
secondary – having lid & gasket about the surface eliminates the possibility of any ground water seepage – might not be a problem for your particular mountain clime – a problem for others with more ground water pressure …..
“you intend to fully bury them under several feet of earth?”
Nope.
I suspect that CZ would support the sides of the hole with a pallet or plywood frame and lid to keep the weight and pressure of the soil off of the sides of the barrels. Those poly barrels will collapse and compromise the lid when buried directly in the soil.
@Cmdr Zero, I forgot to mention that I think you need to get water in the buried tank pretty quickly or it can float up out of the ground. I guess that depends on conditions both for soil and for weather. Something to maybe get some expert advice on if you haven’t already.
I found the miniex/track loader combo so useful that I keep watching auctions looking to buy one of each. Even worn out and used hard they aren’t cheap… but once you’ve used them, you’ll find all kinds of things that they’d be helpful for. I’m not as rural as you so I can’t really justify the expense.
nick
Remember drainage under barrels – ie crushed rock and french drain.
You can’t be running equipment while watching over your shoulder for an uninvited guest wanting to see what you are doing.
Hopefully, you are bringing a trusted friend to be your second set of eyes.
Seconded. Operating unfamiliar heavy machinery alone is a dangerous pastime. At least set up the Starlink and ensure you can call for help before starting to dig. Chances are that nothing bad will occur, but… Shit happens.
Lots of good YT vids of what has worked & what has not. Here is one from Wales where he buried the barrel just up to the lid. Using the dry bag probably saved most of his stuff, but if really looked dry despite the lid set up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmqZqGyRwnM
Of course Wales, no firearms, but our mileage may vary…
You’ll have a great time playing with the mini.
Hopefully…there’s no underground utilities running through there. I’ve found them in remote parts of Montana that I never would have expected…
Just as important as calling our Independence Day by its proper name, is celebrating this historical moment on the correct day. July 2 is the day we declared our independence from the King.
In case nobody’s mentioned it, that mini will use about 5 gallons of fuel per day running the whole time.
The only way you’ll beat yourself up on that machine is being jerky.
Take your time and learn when to ease off the sticks.
It’s more powerful pulling in that pushing away.
When you’re digging on a slope, have the blade facing downhill so you can level the machine, it’ll make digging a lot easier.