HARD AT WORK Joel is watching the backhoe try to move a rock while helping to dig the foundations.  Most of the foundation was dug by hand.

CAN I HELP? Mary O'leary, then 3 years old, was the youngest volunteer to "work" on building the Information Station

To construct the foundations for the new building, our volunteers dug trenches (mostly by hand), constructed concrete forms, and tied rebar.  Since most of we volunteers had never done such work, we had to "learn on the job."  When we had dug most of the trenches for the forms we discovered a problem.  The problem can be seen by looking at the photo of Joel watching the backhoe (above). You can see a big bolder to Joel's left (in front of the backhoe).  The boulder extended two feet into the area where the back foundation wall was supposed to go.  For awhile we thought we could move the boulder - like we had moved all of the other big boulders we uncovered.  But we finally realized we could not move the boulder and that we could not blast it out. Consequently, we had to move the foundation two feet so that it would be in front of the boulder.  That meant filling in the trenches that had already been dug along the back and the front and then digging new trenches. We also discovered that the area where we decided to build the station had been leveled off with fill dirt and boulders.  Instead of having to dig down only two feet for the foundation, we had to go down as much as six feet in some places. Obviously, we were not happy about having to do so since we had to use shovels, pickaxes, rock bars, and wheel barrows to dig and move the dirt out of the way.

During the summer of 1992 some 50 volunteers laid the floor, put up the log walls, set the gluLam ridge beam and 4" by 12" rafters, installed the windows, and covered the 1-1/4" tongue-and-grooved plywood on the roof with metal sheathing.  The gulLam, as shown below, was obviously too big for a bunch of volunteers to raise by hand.  Fortunately, a man coming back from a hike to Winnemucca Lake stopped and watched us work.  When he saw that we had to yet put the gluLam in place, he volunteered to drive his boom truck up from Jackson and lift the beam for us.  He charged us only for the cost of the gasoline he used to drive up from Jackson. For some more details regarding the construction of a log building in mountain snow country, see more of the experience we had building one on the Some Construction Details page.

PROGRESS The walls go up one log at a time.  The long pole on the ground in front of the cabin is one of the 3 poles used to hold up the glulam

UP IT GOES The 10" wide by 36" high by 32' long glulam is hoisted into place. It was placed on top of three poles that extend down through the floor to concrete footings. The roof rafters were hung from the glulam.

Most of the volunteers were ENFIA members who were recruited by Joel Knowles and others who passed the cabin on the way in or out on the way to the Round Top Lakes area. Two of these recruits were Will Green and Dick Brock.  Will was a retired contractor and rocket scientist (no kidding!). Dick was a University Business School Professor, Sierra Club Outings Leader, and crew chief from the Tahoe Rim Trail Project.  Under the professional guidance of Will, Dick's trail crew experience, and supervision of Joel there was a weather-tight building with log walls and a secure metal roof ready to face the winter at summer's end, 1992. Green was awarded a lifetime ENFIA membership for his contribution.  Dick Brock, still a member of ENFIA and currently (2005) serving on the Board of Directors, has contributed more than 3000 hours to ENFIA projects.  He is currently (2005) ENFIA's web master.  Joel Knowles has also contributed many hours and is still in charge of building and improving the Station.

Construction continued every summer until we were essentially finished with the building.  We would start as soon as enough snow had melted in the late spring to permit us to get into the building and continue until the cold temperature and falling snow drove us away in the fall.  Finally, in 1996 the building was far enough along to permit using it as an Information Station.  We moved our supplies into the new building and removed the shack by tearing it apart and hauling off the pieces (see part of that Destruction).  Work continued inside of the building even as visitors were making use of the facility.  We obviously had to be extra careful not to injure any of those visitors.

DONE FOR THE YEAR The building project was closed down for the year when the snow started falling.  At the right side of the photo you can see the old "shack" we used as the Information Station until we finished the new one.

CLOSING When we closed for the season, we had to cover the windows with plywood to protect them from pressure of the snow that builds up against them during the winter.

Building a cabin at Carson Pass, elevation 8573' above sea level, posed many unique problems.  It was remote; if you didn't have a necessary part, a journey of a couple hours minimum was required to go to Minden, Nevada.  Occa- sionally, Joel had to go to the Bay Area for equipment.  Because the Station is located at such a high elevation, a few of the volunteers suffered dizzy spells and shortness of breath.  The weather ranged from bright, warm sunny days to mid-summer snowstorms. The Station could not have been built without the help of the businesses and people of the Carson Pass area.  The Kirkwood Ski Area, Hope Valley businesses, Sierra Recreation Managers and the then Iron Mountain Ski Area were all were willing to "lend a hand."  Sierra Recreation (thanks, Bill) provided equipment, labor and professional support; Hope Valley businesses donated signs, financial support and wood preservation; Iron Mountain Ski Area was there early on with loans of form lumber and a backhoe that followed the first spade turn of the foundation by Lola Schuette, one of the ENFIA members who have donated more than 3,000 hours to the Forest Service.  Yes, more than 3,000 hours! Kirkwood Ski Area played an integral role in the building of Carson Pass Information Center.  From engineering advice (thanks, Penny) to forklifts, backhoes, front-end loaders, rock drilling, mountain advice (thanks, Dick, Joe and Jeff), and local information (thanks, Nina and Vicki).  Kirkwood Ski Area was the single, most important non-governmental agency supporter of the construction of the Carson Pass Information Station. The Carson Pass Information Station is now a reality.  It is open seven days a week during the summer months until Labor Day weekend.  It hosts the casual hiker, the dedicated hiker including the Pacific Crest Trail trekker, the dedicated wildflower observer, and the Highway 88 motorist.  If you have questions, the people of the Carson Pass Information Station will be happy to answer them! The work that ENFIA did in building the Information Station at Carson Pass resulted in Joel Knowles and ENFIA being given an Award for their efforts.

Joel Knowles, the volunteer Superintendent of Construction for the Carson Pass Information Station, prepared the information presented on this page.

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ENFIA -- THE ELDORADO NATIONAL FOREST INTERPRETIVE ASSOCIATION