Dark January - Part Two

    The weather had been hanging right above freezing for several days and I wasn't sure just how much thawing had been going on in the penstock, other than it wasn't happening fast enough for my liking. Plus there was the lower several 100 meters of steel line into the pelton wheel, it was laying in a shallow ditch covered in leaves and a foot of snow. The snow had been shoveled off most of the penstock a few days previous and  walked the line from the bottom to see how it fared. Suddenly, right there at the big stacked rocks,  I see a small creek running alongside the penstock that was not there before.
Well holy smokes if the penstock isn't split open and gushing water out the wound.

I climbed the goat trail up the mountain to the intake pond to turn off the water and had a better study of the damage when I got back down.

                          
It has blown the welded seam of the high pressure pipe enough to stick your hand in for a length of five paces. There can be only one reasonable explanation. The ice in the upper black PVC line thawed  first, enough to let the ice column start racing downhill. The inside of that pipe would be pretty slippery and any ice in the line could reach a great speed on the near vertical slope. I reckon the the lower steel section was still froze solid. There must have been a pocket of air and some water in between and the column came down and compressed it enough to blow a thick wall high pressure penstock. It must have been a pretty impressive event, as there is evidence of the explosion blown for 6 meters from the split seam.
It is a wonder I didn't hear it.
This was a pretty major problem, more so than anything I've run across before, and one that would be guarantied to be costly, and time consuming to repair.
I retreated to the lodge, lit a candle, put some wood in the stove and cooked a wiener on a stick through the door while I pondered how I was going to get myself out of this most recent jackpot.

The next day at first light I beat a trail up to the site with the Honda and hauled up some chain and a 20 ton jack. With the jack between the chain and the steel pipeline I could press the seam edges back together enough for tacking with a welder.

 

My welder is a shop job so I made tracks into town to round up a gas driven arc welder. All the way home I was trying to figure out how I was going to get it in to the site. My first choice was on a small trailer hooked onto the back of the ATV. I tried it with no load and my doubts were soon proven right. I tried with the pickup but I could only make a few feet off the road in the snow, let alone climb up the short steep hill to access the upper area where the line crosses. Its not far, just difficult.
A local Stevie suggested chains all around. I admit to a bit of an aversion to tire chains and that option never crossed my mind. Anyways we go down the road to the village of Skatin' and bum some chains. Equipped  all around the little pickup bounced and clawed its way up the trail towards the base of the falls like a champ and delivered the welding machine to the injured penstock.

The idea was to press the expanded pipe back together with the 20 ton jack, hold it with the smaller outside chains and steel wedges, moving back and forth closing it up and tacking it with the arc.

 It worked pretty good.

In an hour's welding laying on the wet ground the entire four and a half meter section was closed up.

   I slugged my way up that steep rocky mountainside once more to turn on the water. Arriving back down an hour later, I discover a regular sprinkler going on at the weld. Once the pipe filled with water and reached its operating pressure of 1378 KP (200 psi) it found pin holes in my welding job and was spraying a fine mist from several spots. Well OK I thought that might happen, I marked them with a soapstone and trudged back up the mountain to turn off the water. Arriving back down sweating an hour later I fired up the welder and re-welded the marked areas. Satisfied I took a deep breath and started up the goat trail again to turn on the water. Arriving back down again, I see there is still some pin holes making a high pressure fine mist.
Good lord, I marked them again and headed up the mountain once more to turn off the water and welded over them when I got back down. Whew, glad that's done and headed up to turn on the water. So I drag my self down the mountain aching in spots I didn't know I had, to be greeted by several spots spraying out of the weld again. Well for crying out loud. I decided after three round trips I didn't have another hillside in me and figured I would come back next day to finish up. I was able to start the pelton wheel generating and spent the first night with lights and baseboard heaters in two weeks.
An hour and a half later I was writing a post on my site here.
   Early the next morning I turned the system off and bounced and clawed my way back up to the site. I again used a soapstone to freshly mark the offending mist makers. I took another deep breath and started up the mountain to turn off the water flow. Once up there it takes only a minute to drop the flat gate in the intake and cut off the flow of water from the pond. Then you just turn around and start down. It is just as hard on you going down it seems and your knees protest the entire way. I reached the lower section where the pickup was and started up the welder to grind the trouble spots down a bit and then welded over them. I climbed back up the trail once more to turn the water back on. Before I even reach the truck I can see from up the hill there is water sprays coming out.  In fact it seemed there was more than the last time. So right back up that torturous goat trail the goats avoid to the intake again to turn off the water, only to turn around and come back down and re-weld it all and go back up to turn on the water only to find it still spraying in a couple spots. I looked at the fine mist. I looked up in the clouds towards the intake. I looked at the fine mist again. I looked up in the clouds towards the intake.
I decided it might be kind of nice to have a nice cool fine mist of water to run back and forth naked in on those really hot summer days. Actually, I plan to go up and have another go at it when I have more time and possible to get up to the intake with the Honda, and avoid having to climb that friggin mountainside.
I had other things to move on to.
    Once I opened the water pressure up to the pelton wheel the lights all came on and water to the cabin was re-established and by the time I  got back over here the puddles forming from underneath let me know there was plenty of fittings that froze and split. I had drained it all I thought but some pipes were probably frozen by the time I opened the drain. There were 8 repairs needed, including the inch and a half gate valve on the main line to the cabin. I keep spare fittings and valves around so it was not too big a deal.
When I discovered the split open penstock , there was no way I thought it would be up and running running in 3 days.
The hot tub is still down, something got froze there and leaks so I'm going to have to round up some help to get it out so I can work on it.
This will be a winter I will not soon forget.

I got an early start to go in and return the welder to its owner.

 There was a couple interesting stops along the lake.

Penstock Intake Screen

January was pleasant enough up into the second week or so. I took the opportunity to make up a new screen for the water intake up the mountain, an integral part of the water driven power system. The previous screen had been damaged in the November rainstorms so it was time to get rid of the temporary one up there.

A few zip zips with the skillsaw.

Some minus half inch screen is secured with screws. I ran short of material for the ends but had an idea.

I secured it on my trusty horse and headed up the mountain.

From here I need to pack it down a steep goat trail to the intake dam below the bridge.

I had run out of material at home but there was some scraps up at the dam I finished off the ends with.

A pretty simple affair. But it needs to flow 1363 litres (300 gal.) a minute to feed the pelton wheel generator, at the same time keep debris from entering the line.  I've tried many designs over the years. This is the only thing that ever gives me problems with the system, and only during certain times of the year with extreme weather. Like this time of year. Either high water and to much junk in the creek clogs it up or extreme cold then ice crystals clog it up. That done, I can scratch it off the list.
With some decent weather it will be a long time before I need to come up here again.

Hotspring Lodge Back On-Line. Call Off The Search Party.

Due to the cold snap and snow storm several weeks back I have been out of commission as you have probably noticed. Until about an hour and a half ago I had been out of electricity and water. I have re-established the power, but there are some issues with water lines under the cabin yet I need to deal with, now that I know where they are. No more sitting around here at night with candles and burning up my wood pile and packing water from the pond out front. Anyways there is lots to tell, there will be some posts begin to show up here in the next day or so.
So stay tuned.

Bear Repair

    After 10 years or so the bear fell down for the last time. The ants had inhabited his base and the entire lower section had become honey combed and crumbled away and over he went. I hauled him back here last summer on the meat wagon to try and figure a way to save it, and attempt to eradicate the ant colony in his legs. People were always asking what happened to him.

It sat in the way out in the shop until I finally got it all together here in the last couple days.
I screwed what was left of his toes back on and trimmed around his feet.

I had a long bit that I could bore 45 cm (18") up his legs, beyond the ant damaged interior.


I squirted linseed oil in the holes and turned in threaded rods.
Sort of like a foot canal.

All the remaining toes etc were trimmed up and screwed back on with  glue. The area was given a liberal coating of linseed oil.

This hoop is about a meter (3') across and will serve as his new base.
Arc welded up with green power.

All the weight will be carried on the threaded rods going up his legs. Once he is set up, the base will be filled with rocks to hide the interior support and look like the bear stands on gravel.

His paw had been knocked off some time ago, it was turned in to me last summer for safe keeping.

Even with out the log base the carving must still weigh 160 kilos (350 lbs). I rigged up a harness and a hand winch and cranked him up until I could tilt him up on his base to see if he stood straight.
Skookie immediately climbed up and perched on his head.

So, 'Bear' stands again. He's got more pins and screws in him than Evil Knievel, and he's not as tall as he used to be, but better than being in the scrap pile. I'm going to wrestle him outside somehow and keep him around here while I enjoy it and do some other detail work on it. Eventually I will turn him loose and he can find his way back down to oversee the hot spring area once more.

All that bending over welding and wrestling the bear has been a little hard on my back.
Theres just one cure for that, a little ice and into the hot tub.
I caught the last of the sun on Fire Mountain.

Hot Spring Airstrip

    The airstrip just kind of evolved out there after the clearing, we got the grader going by to come in and make a couple quick passes out front and roughed in a bit less than 500 meters, complete with a good sized hump right at the mid way point. I seeded it all in clover and it grew back within a few seasons, and I've always just mowed it like an extension of the lawn. A long lawn. The short length, crooked approach, and rise in the middle limited landing to small bush type planes and rugged home builts with experienced pilots. I had a wind-sock up in the early years, and it didn't look like much of a strip from the air but in 1995 a Search + Rescue Bison made repeated circuits overhead, I assume having a look and getting a position on it as soon after the front yard began to show up on maps as an emergency strip.

My buddy Gil Fanslau and I taken a few years ago with his Piper PA12.
Gil lands on a lot of gravel bars and short places, he was the first to land here in October of '95. On an invite he came up to see and just flew it straight in with no circle around to look first either.
He still comes in once a year on the last nice days of fall.

It was never unusual to have planes drop in 2 or more at one time.
I recall times early on having 6-8 parked there on the grass.

Amphibious sea plane.

Cessna 182, probably the "hottest" plane to come in.
Not for the meek of heart, coming or going.

A nice kit build on floats with retractable gear.
Before landing here he was up at 1000 meters bobbing around on Fire Lake.

A Russian fella I met, he brought this machine over with him. He brought a gal up to visit, they reached 7000 feet to clear the  mountains on the way. Note insulated suits.

My Russian friend again with a different machine. It had tandem seating and he took me across the valley and up to the head waters of Glacier Lake. It was quite a trip and a perfect day. I didn't take any pictures because I was too afraid of dropping my camera or having it blown back through the propeller.

 On final approach, Hot Spring International.

You can see how the approach is not straight, you come over the river past the campsite and squeeze your wings between the trees then skid the plane with the rudder to line yourself up, then get stopped before you pile into the cabin at the end. 

I've had my share of helicopters over the years as well.

A privately owned Robinson R44 out of Whistler.

This is the base of choice for any heli activity in the area.
Fire fighters, exploration, RCMP, and medical responders have used it for operations.

BC Medical Services Sikorsky S-76 medavac.

                                         Fire suppression base.




A-Star picking up geologists.

Exploration geologists ready to head into the mountains.

Hydro worked out of here when they had a crew replacing spacers on the power line. Quite specialised work, a lineman sits on a platform and changes the spacers with an electric wrench while machine hovers.

 

Parked planes receive a thorough inspection from Skook n Chuck.