AUGUST 2022 – Nearly closing out the summer season, so you know what that means, hiking opportunities inbound! Ventured up to New Hampshire to visit friends and continue the quest for hiking all of the 4,000 ft peaks the state has on offer. Still a long way to go in the quest to conquer all forty-eight of them, but when the chance arose to take on two more, it was all systems go. Which two you ask? Mt. Eisenhower (4,780 ft) and Mt. Pierce (4,310 ft) were climbed by our intrepid team of adventurers! Clearing the treeline on Mt. Eisenhower offered up spectacular views of the rest of the Presidential Range and the Mt. Washington Hotel in the valley below.
Here is the top of Mt. Eisenhower, with Mt. Washington sneaking into the shot in the background. The light up there was really spectacular, always makes me feel like I’m on another planet and the reality of the moment can often prove elusive. Would definitely recommend this pairing of mountain hikes as Mt. Pierce offered up some delightful greenery, waterfalls, and an excellent spot to have lunch and gaze at the hiking still to come.
Completed the work on my green biophilic design project this month from a structural vantage point. The 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house is looking mighty sharp with mathematical harmony taking shape with even numbers galore and the window and door schedule figured out. I built a 3D representation of the building in a 1/4″ to 1′ foot scale out of cardboard that was an immensely satisfying step of the process. Seeing the building in front of you in all its miniature glory helped me solve a few of the exterior challenges that I was having and resulted in some modification to the windows on the Southern exterior of the building. In the coming weeks I’ll be giving a presentation on the design and theories behind it to my professors and classmates, which should be a lot of fun. Designing the foundation, wall, and roof systems was a first for me and required an extensive amount of research as if there is anything you want to get correct on your eco-house it is insulation and waterproofing!
If people are interested I can talk more about my design projects in future posts. Did have someone ask me today if I was writing anything new, so I should have a writing update for you in the not-too-distant future as well. Picked up a Tom Clancy book to read this month, but have hardly made a dent in it yet. Here’s to a great finale to Summer 2022 and I’ll be back at it soon!
~ CS
