LETTER FROM THE CABIN 01-22-2021

We had a snowstorm last night that left the lake covered with a layer of fresh snow; probably a foot or better. Winter has an iron grip on the U.P. now and will hold onto us till well after the spring equinox. There was one lone snowmobile buzzing around the lake the other day; I suppose a fisherman trying to catch a meal. The lake often yields a nice pike or a mess of blue gills. The isolation at the camp is not for city folk, sometimes it even is a bit much for me, especially now with the pandemic. I remain apart from most human contact. I will head back to Marquette soon for a minor operation which, allowing for recovery time will keep me in town for over a week or so.

Enclosed you will find several pictures that a neighbor shot of me and the camp the other day. If you are wondering what the wooden contraption is on the deck, it is my wood-fired hot tub which when I have company I fire up. My design, which I had built by a local contractor uses an old wood boiler I bought from a miner in Negaunee. I got the inspiration for this unit from a website on the internet. The water storage is actually a 300 gallon cattle trough that I purchased at Tractor Supply. There are no fancy water-jets or circulating pumps as the unit operates efficiently without electricity by what is generally referred to as thermo-syphoning. I don’t use it much in the dead of the winter as it takes 4-5 hours to heat up and seems frivolous if I am there at camp by myself, which is often the case. Still, in summer, and in the colder seasons it is wonderful to lie in the tank and stargaze. I will take better shots of the unit next summer and post them here.

Well, time to sign off. Will post another letter soon, so keep looking for a new letter.​

Hilton

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