Winter
Cabin
in the
Yaak
"I have been gifted with
a rich and unique life,
indeed, thanks to a
primitive little log cabin
in the Yaak. It doesn't get
North Fork of Yaak River in the winter. When it freezes solid in midwinter, it creates a handy travel corridor for wildlife – and me.
A Photo Essay By
Bud Journey
any better than that, folks."
T
he dead of winter in the Yaak brings short days and long frigid
nights. Here, only two miles from Canada and well off the grid sits our 15' X
25' log cabin.
www.distinctlymontana.com
kR
iver
Yaak
Ya
a
I made it myself, with local logs 33 years ago, using a
chain saw, pickup winch, and
a variety of hand tools, such
as a draw-knife, tow-chains,
comalong, pulleys, hand-crank-drill,
sledge hammer, and plain old muscles.
It's my first building venture, so it doesn't
necessarily embody the finest elements of
the cabin-building craft. For example, even
troy
LIBBY
though the cracks between the logs
are stuffed with insulation, wisps of
frigid outside air still often find their
way through the cracks to leave little
collections of frost clinging to various spots on the log walls inside the
cabin. Still, my crackling little homemade wood heating-stove keeps the
place toasty warm, as long as I keep
the fire going.
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