The Pisgah Project - Part Two (2021-2022)

TLDR: Relocated base camp, felled a tree, built a tiny A-frame. Picture heavy, don't be scared. 

It didn't take long to realize that the tent-pads I built in 2021 were a bit of an inconvenience. The dirt access road down to that section of the property was steep. Its clay base had twice gotten my vehicle stuck after a mild rain, and it's a bit of a hike from the corner of the property where the road can be reliably driven upon. A few camping trips also gave the kids some anxiety tenting it down on the pads by themselves while Leanne and I slept in the rooftop-tent on the other side of the property. 

I began scoping out other locations across the property that might have a slope suitable enough to work with as I planned to convert one of the tent-pads into an A-frame bunk house. Not too far down the hill from the top corner of the property was a section that was <50% slope. There seemed to be a foot path of sorts worn into the hill, and perhaps the section best suited to work with was occupied by an uprooted oak, leaning on another tree further down the hill.

Don't let the picture fool you...that's steep downhill.

I'm not a logger. I probably shouldn't even be allowed use of a chainsaw. That oak is probably a good 24" wide at its base. I gave it a cut, but all I accomplished was clearing the root-ball that had been unearthed. The oak was still hung up on the other tree.

Using some tow-straps and the winch on my truck, I proceeded to pull the base of the oak up the hill to dislodge it from the tree.

Perhaps this picture helps depict how steep the hillside is. 

Getting the tree down would be a minor challenge. Pulling uphill from the base turned futile and the trunk wedged itself into the soil, stalling out my winch. So, I used a block and tackle to winch the base of the tree laterally, out of the rut it dug itself into. 

I then cut the oak into three sections and winched them up the hill.

After clearing the area where the oak tree used to sit, and moving a few yards of dirt to cut a small "shelf" in the hillside, I then disassembled the 8x10 tent-pad that I built the previous year, and hauled the floor/joists up the access road to the top corner of the property. I then slid the frame down the hill to its new resting spot.

Here's the relocated bones of the deck, sitting on 4x4 posts and pier blocks (buried below the frost line), waiting to become an A-frame bunk house. Below, another view of the frame, with the perimeter of a 12'x12' deck marked out down the hill for a future build.

When I originally built the 8'x10' tent-pad the previous year, I was one joist short due to robbing it for the 8'x8' tent-pad build (Lowe's is a 2-hour trip...), so the joists weren't on 16" centers. I added a pair of joists so that 4'x8' OSB would be supported at the edges.

I added 2" rigid foam insulation and installed OSB to complete the sub-floor. The stack of 2x6 and 2x4 on each side would be used to support the A's of the A-frame.

The following pictures of the build are self-explanatory...

Rustic wood flooring...

...it's actually the deck boards from the 8x10 tent-pad. Probably wouldn't do it again; they are perpetually dirty.

I also built a pair of bunks, topped with sleeping pads.

Again, this area of the property generally has the least slope, and is arguably the easiest area to work with. A few friends have asked if I plan to ever AirB&B this as a glamping site...No! Aside from not wanting to impose on my neighbors, this property is a liability nightmare.

Here's the view of this fancy garden shed from the access road running along the top of the property. Cozy!