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[workhike] Harrison Hut Trail Bridge Install · Fri. Sep. 15th, 2017 - Sun. Sep. 17th, 2017

Warning: This is an old trip - it already happened

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Organized by: George Hill.

Start: Friday, Sep. 15th, 12:00 pm
End: Sunday, Sep. 17th, 9:00 pm
Pre-trip meeting: Tuesday, Sep. 12th, 5:15 pm
Pre-trip meeting location: Clubroom

Description:

Just this past summer, a trip up to Harrison Hut revealed that the Barr Creek Bridge so diligently installed previously by Jeff Mottershed had been destroyed over the winter. Fortunatley for us, the VOC successfully applied for an MEC Access and Activity Grant of $6,750.00 to help us accomplish work to repair the door and floor to the Hut already and had made plans to schedule a Helicopter already. Any overhead will come from the Hut's budget - this includes travel expenses (even if Modo's are required)

Since July, Jeff has been diligently working to plan, build, treat and transport a new steel bridge to the location. Helicopters are tricky things however and the difficulty of the helicopter flights is highly weather dependant. Initially the plan was to fly the Helicopter for the 23rd/24th weekend however the weather for this coming weekend the 16th/17th is looking very favourable for flying with clear skies and temperatures 5 degrees below 30. If we were to pass up this opportunity, we would be gambling that the weather would be suitable for the Helicopter to be able to complete it's flights the next weekend and if we lose that gamble we will have people at the Hut on the 23rd and 24th without a floor or door to install. With this being said, we are scheduling this trip to take advantage of the good weather to get the Helicopter flights in so that the work that we need to do on the 23rd and 24th can be accomplished.

Project Documents

Project Team:

The trip is expected to be fairly fast paced. We are looking for a few individuals who can assist Jeff, Scott and Devlin by being at the hut itself. This could be one total beefcake (the old broken stove that should go out on the garbage run is heavy) or two less burly individuals. Previous knowledge of the trail would be advantageous, as well as some some knowledge for what is junk at the Hut and needs to be flown out.

The Activites:

Summary of Work to be Completed during the Workhike

  • Transport all materials for the Helicopter up to 19km on the Lillooet South FSR (Loading, Driving then Unloading the Truck)
  • Fly materials up to the bridge site and hut.
  • Fly out various things that should not be up there: dead heater, scrap metal, spare steel roofing, white gas coleman stove.
  • Install the Bridge.

Summary of Materials Required

  • 2007 lbs of steel bridge
  • 46 lbs of bridge fastners
  • 347 lbs maximum for galvanizing and helicopter rigging 
  • 410 lbs of 3/4 inch plywood. 6 sheets of dimensions 4 ft by 8 ft.
  • 140 lbs Styrofoam insulated Steel Door +  Door Framing.
  • 10 lbs Plaque board and engraved taf
  • 50 lbs of Tools, Nails, other Hardware.
  • 30 lbs Light Grey Paint and Painting equipment for the Floor, Paint for the Steel Door.
  • Transportation of Volunteers.
  • 50 lbs Chainsaw + Gas + Oil + Maintenance.
  • 10 lbs Food + Propane

Summary of Preperation Work

  • Design Bridge DONE
  • Fabricate Bridge DONE
  • Galvanize Bridge IN PROGRESS BY JEFF
  • Order and Fabricate Door, Frame and Hardware DONE
  • Paint/Stain plywood flooring and door DONE
  • Charter the helicopter IN PROGRESS BY JEFF
  • Rent truck to bring all materials to Pemberton. IN PROGRESS BY JEFF
  • Fix Chainsaw TO DO BY GEORGE

Summary of Helicopter Schedule during Workhike:

  1. Collect one load for the bridge, lower into place with help from the ground
  2. Fly back to the truck
  3. Collect plywood and other supplies, already in cargo mesh, from the truck, parked at the 19 km mark on Lillooet South FSR and put at hut without landing (People at the hut will empty the supplies and refill the cargo mesh with all the trash while the other flights take place)
  4. Fly old bridge remains onto the truck
  5. Fly second half of new bridge to site
  6. Continue to hut
  7. Collect cargo mesh filled with garbage, put beside truck

Rough Rough Itinerary:

  • Fri 15th - AM: Hut People head up to the hut. Jeff to go to the galvanizer's and pick up the bridge, and pick up the floor and door, drive to Pemberton
  • Fri 15th - PM: Jeff to show Andy the rigging, get his approval and drive up to the 19km mark of the FSR and go to sleep. 
  • Sat 16th - AM: Scott and Devlin wake up and head to the bridge. Jeff wakes up and waits. Eventually there is a helicopter. (It's never early, it's always late, first thing you learn is that you've always got to wait) Jeff loads and unloads at the truck, others load and unload at the hut and Scott and Devlin load and unload at the bridge.
  • Sat 16th - PM:  After the helicopter finishes Jeff to book it up to the bridge site and install. Hut crew comes down to see the new bridge.  Camp at Hut or Hot Springs, or fork.
  • Sun 17th - AM/PM: Head out, high five.

Other Details

Regarding continuity of bridges, the bridge is two beams wide and the helicopter will put them in place, so you'll be always able to cross the creek although since they'll drop off one beam, take the old bridge out and then bring the other beam there will be a brief period where walking across will be more thought-provoking.

We won't taking the old door out during this trip; just loading up the current garbage and calling that good. Options for the old door include shoving it under the hut until the next helicopter trip or peeling the skin off the door, rolling it up and hiking it out and burning the wooden interior. Usually there is a 1-helicopter trip garbage lag anyways. Helicopter comes up, brings in stuff and takes away the current garbage pile, then people convert the new stuff into garbage and it waits until next time.

The helicopter is $80/minute so spending $100 on some more rigging so that the helicopter would never be hovering waiting for rigging to be moved over is something we will be doing and is part of the reason Helicopter Schedule is ordered as it is above.

Posted: 2017-09-08 17:36:54
Last modified: 2017-09-11 08:54:32