The rebuilding of Titcomb Cabin on Gilman Island which was destroyed by a fire in May 2009 is "pretty far along" according to Greg Sokol '10, who is leading the reconstruction effort. Although the interior of the cabin may not be entirely finished in time for Dartmouth Outing Club First-Year Trips this fall, construction of the roof and exterior of the cabin is scheduled to be finished by the end of Summer term, Sokol said.
"We're just laying a few logs every day and building up," he said.
The team constructing the cabin consists of Kate Bowman '10, Max Friedman '10, Lucas Schulz '08 Th '09, Jordan Nesmith '11, Kodiak Burke '11 and Sokol. Although the students involved in the construction are members of Ledyard Canoe Club, the group has been borrowing tools and receiving advice from Cabin and Trail, which has been highly involved in the cabin's construction, Sokol said.
The cabin may be used as a shelter at the end of the summer when Trip leader trainers bring incoming trip leaders to Gilman Island prior to Trips, according to Sokol. However, only a structure without windows or interior work will have been constructed by that time, Sokol said.
The final decision on whether the cabin will be used during Trips will not be made until that point, he said.
Trip leader training is geared towards exposing leaders to life on the trail, according to deputy director of the Outdoor Programs Office Brian Kunz. While the cabin could provide a dry base for Trip leader training in the case of rain, most trip leaders are expected to sleep under tarps during their training, Kunz said.
Prior to pouring the foundation of the new structure, the construction team spent the first few weeks of the Summer term clearing the site for the new cabin. The process required burning nearby brush, dead trees and remaining debris left over from the May 2009 fire, Sokol said.
Members of the construction team also simultaneously prepared logs for the construction of the cabin at the Dartmouth Organic Farm. The logs they plan to use have been cut from College-owned land in Corinth, Vt., where College Forester Kevin Evans worked with students to choose trees for logging, according to Sokol.
Due to the small size of the construction area on Gilman Island, only a limited number of logs can be stored on site. The rest of the logs remain at the Organic Farm to be towed along the Connecticut River in formations of eight to 10 logs, Sokol said.
Due to zoning laws, the cabin's foundation will be built in the same location as prior to the May 2009 fire, he said.
"The new cabin has to be on the same footprint and [have] the same volume as the old one," Sokol said.
Although the new cabin will occupy the same space, it will be constructed using a new log cabin-building technique not used on the original cabin, which was built in the 1950s. The team will employ the full-scribe building process, which was also used to construct the Class of 1966 lodge.
"[The technique is] almost like Lincoln Llogs, a little bit more involved," Sokol said. "This style is just really beautiful."
Chris Polashenski '07, who is currently working on his Ph.D. at Thayer School of Engineering, ran a workshop with the construction team in the spring. The workshop aimed to teach the students involved about the logistics of building a cabin, according to Sokol.
"[The workshop has] been really instrumental in teaching us the skills that we need," Sokol said.
Polashenski who was involved with Cabin and Trail as an undergraduate also helped build the Class of 1966 lodge, according to Sokol. Former DOC president Phil Bracikowski '08, who is now pursuing a masters degree in physics at Dartmouth, also worked on the construction of the Class of 1966 lodge and has provided the group with guidance throughout the building process.
"There's a lot of institutional knowledge for these techniques," Sokol said. "They've both been really helpful."
Kunz has also drawn from his own experience with cabin construction to advise the team when necessary, he said.
"You learn a lot from each other as you make mistakes and figure something out and move on," Kunz said.
