People use the terms "rustic" and "camp" rather loosely in our opinion. HRHQ really does fit that definition. It's designed to serve as a ski cabin. And it's the ONLY way we could afford to bring you all those quality Trip Reports, pictures and videos each season.
It's heated with wood and really costs us almost nothing, when you compare it to ski gear, lift tickets, gas, food and all that other stuff.
The cabin was built in 2001 by Rand Fosdick of Chestertown. He and I drew it on a napkin one night at Garnet Hill Lodge over drinks.
The building is 12' x 18. One room with a loft. It sports the smallest Vermont Castings woodstove the Intrepid II. While the stove is rated for up to 800 square feet, we find we need everything she can put out, as we leave no heat on when we are gone. At times we are heating the building up from as cold as 20 below zero when we arrive.
In 2004, we were considering adding a generator, but determined that in the long run, being on the grid would be cheaper, easier, quieter and much more environmentally responsible. We dug a 500 foot trench from the road and ran a cable capable of handling a 200 amp service, and a phone line. We added a panel and two 15 amp circuits inside. Having real adequate light for writing our reports felt like a huge improvement.
In 2005, we did a major upgrade. Our (very) long range plan is to build a proper house on the site capable of handling the entire Harvey Road staff and guests. The cabin would serve as a guest house or an art studio. On the spot where the house would go we put another small building - 9' x 12' - on skids, with no true foundation.
The carpentry was done by Mike Hill Construction of Schroon Lake, the excavation and septic was done by Ernie Clark of Igerna, and the well-drilling was done by Garry Wolfe of Wevertown.
The newer building serves a variety of functions. From a site planning point of view it serves as a utility head. We drilled a well, ran a proper septic large enough to handle a full time 3 bedroom house and connected it to the 200 amp electrical panel. The idea is that if the dream to build comes true, we disconnect the utilities, drag this building aside and start work on a larger structure.
As far as the functionality of the new building - Zelda calls it the "spa." It has a shower, with an on-demand tankless hot water heater, a toilet, a sink a few cabinets and a small refrigerator. We leave it heated from Thanksgiving to Easter, set at about 50 degrees or so. It's so small inside that it's impossible to take a picture of the interior that really shows the room.
In the summer of 2010 we upgraded the spa's heat and hot water system to ultra-efficient propane system. We bought twice as much propane tank as we thought we'd need, as there is no way to get a truck up the driveway in the winter, or the spring. Our plan is to fill those tanks once each year in the fall when the driveway is solid and dry.
