The flight deck.
It was one of the first things we built here on Berm Peak, and arguably one of the most
important.
It serves as a launch point for all of our downhill trails, and so we purposely built
it at the highest point on the property.
So, it seems like an odd place to keep all of our lumber and supplies.
Especially since we recently blocked gator access with this landing.
Carrying anything to or from the flight deck is a back breaking hike, and once you get
there it’s kind of a mess.
So today we’ll build the forest road that should have existed from the start, and rebuild
the underside of the flight deck to be more functional for storing lumber.
Right now our map looks like this.
Our new trail will start at Berm Peak Express and cross over Airbag trail, leading directly
to the flight deck for easy transport of supplies, like these heavy oak planks I’ve been milling
back here.
To build it wide enough for the gator, we’ll need to keep testing it as we move forward.
I found a route where we only need to take out two shrubs.
The rest will just need pruning, and of course we have lots of dead wood and brush to clear
as well.
But this is gonna be a pretty tight trail.
I don’t want to cut wider than necessary so as we move along the gator itself can be
used as a measuring stick for width and height.
After cutting and clearing for a couple hours, I finally got to those two shrubs, and was
left with a couple of stumps.
By nightfall, I
made it through to the Flight Deck.
And it was clear that this trail was gonna make things a lot easier.
But there was still a lot of work to be done underneath the flight deck.
So the following morning I got right back to work.
First I gave the trail a very light raking to clean things up.
As the gator tracks wear in, we might need to lay down gravel or mulch on this trail
to keep it from getting muddy.
But for now, this will hold up just fine.
With the trail finished, I could get to work on the mess under the flight deck.
The existing lumber racks were kind of an afterthought.
They could have been made sturdier and more organized.
So I started by emptying the contents of the flight deck, and giving it a good stare.
I had a decent idea of what to build, but it would require 2x4s which I didn’t have.
But with the addition of the new service road, I could load bigger planks into the gator,
and transport them down to the shop where we could rip them to size.
While I was there, I also turned some scraps into spikes, like the ones we used to anchor
the wooden berm in place.
It’d be easy to buy treated studs at the store, but with the whole world on lockdown,
we need to use what we have here on Berm Peak to make due.
After making those cuts, it was great to be able to transport all of it in one shot, right
to the job site.
The stakes fit perfectly behind the pucker plank.
And with our newly cut studs ready for use, I could start building the new lumber rack.
The design was not complicated at all.
Just three posts running from the joists into the ground.
With these posts in place, I could build multiple racks for different sized planks, and add
more racks in the future if need be.
With the lumber racks finished, I could grab some of the bigger planks I had been milling,
load them into the gator and bring them up to the flight deck for storage.
The flight deck was always supposed to be Berm Peak’s trailhead, but only now does
it really feel like one.
There’s parking, everything’s organized, and now there’s even a bench.
And with the addition of our new forest road, there’s only one way to properly christen
it.
After a run on any of Berm Peak’s trails, we normally
have to climb back up.
But now, we can shuttle all the way back to the top.
I know it’s only 25 feet of elevation gain, but it would be rude not to do it at least
once.
I mean, backyard shuttle laps might just be the ultimate #stayhome flex.
And although we’re not seriously using this as a shuttle trail, I think we should still
name it shuttlecock instead of something boring like BP3.
With the addition of our new forest road, Berm Peak is just a little more functional,
and although this wasn’t something exciting like a jump or skinny, it was something I’ve
been planning to do for a long time, and what better time to do it than now.
If you want to see more about how we’re been milling these planks, subscribe to our
second channel for a video this weekend about this Alaskan Mill.
Thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.