TRAPPER'S CABIN

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As a precaution against roof sag, we laid two peeled rafter logs parallel to the front and back walls and equidistant from them. Then we added more peeled logs, parallel to the side walls and resting on the two rafters and the front and back of the cabin. Such a "ceiling" can be finished off with roofing paper or 4-mil plastic followed by a layer of earth . . . or with six rows of 2 X 4's nailed across the solid layer of trunks at right angles, covered with boards, and topped with roofing paper. We chose the second method.

The final step in weatherproofing our cabin was made easy by the fiberglass already sandwiched into the walls. Instead of mixing mud and moss to chink and caulk the cracks which remained between the logs, all we had to do was push the fiberglass in here and there with a trowel-tike of wood.

Our cabin's door was made from old lumber but could I just as well have been half-logs held together with boards on the inside. Since we expect the building to settle, we left two inches of space-filled with fiberglass—above the doors and windows.

Then came the floor. We were lucky enough to obtain old tongue-and-groove boards which we laid across supporting logs . . . and there were enough of the planks to make a double layer with roofing paper in between. It was partly this sturdy construction that has made it easy to keep the cabin warm even at 50° below zero.

With a living space only 15 feet square, we had to figure out a very efficient interior design. One of our tricks was to spin four three-and-a-half-foot-long peeled logs upright on the floor and set the bed frame on top of them. This gave us a very large storage area underneath for most of our food (the supplies close to the wall even stay even stay frozen all winter.)

The rest of our furniture is just as simple. A table to thick boards, supported by 2 X 4's and three logs, along one wall and two chairs made of split logs and poles. On two sides of the room—for its whole length and part of its height—we also spiked boards which serve as shelves. The corner opposite the bed accommodates our "airtight" stove.

And that's it. Our cabin ain't fancy, but it's home . . . and it blends beautifully with the woods, mountains, and lakes of the Yukon.

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