The Sun & The Sauna

Living as far north as we do and operating off-grid, dependent on the sun for purposes of electricity, we are acutely aware of how the arc of the sun is changing in the sky now that fall is settling in. The sun lowers its path through the sky as summer wanes.

In what I like to call the Empty Mountain almanac, which is a small notebook I jot down notes about a number of things in, such as: temperature, rain accumulation, compost bin temperatures, propane fills, and huckleberry yield reports, I penned this solar panel note on August 21: Light noticeably changing, but on full sun days still getting enough to full charge batteries. On September 13, I wrote: We need to move the panels a lot but still getting a full charge with enough sun. A few days later, on September 18, is when we stopped getting enough access to the sun to fully charge our house batteries, even on fully clear blue sky days. Between the canyon we live in, the trees surrounding our cabin, and the lowering arc of the sun, we can get the batteries to around 70% right now, which involves moving the panels around a number of times throughout the day to track the sun.

Last year, on October 23, I noted that we were running the generator every day to every other day. So from here on out, our sun situation will be lessening rapidly. It’s likely we won’t be able to fully charge our batteries from the sun until next spring.

Mike on a ladder trying to adjust our cell booster to get better reception

I’ll be flying to Deer Park Monastery tomorrow to spend 4-weeks for the purposes of work and Mike will be staying home here at EM. He’ll hold down the fort and continue building the sauna. He’s working full tilt right now so as to hopefully get the roof on before it rains next week. All the walls are up and sheeted as of yesterday. We finally pulled the trigger and ordered the sauna stove just the other day, which ships from a local place here in the U.S, so it shouldn’t take too long to arrive. The plan is to get the sauna operational and the building fully functional before the snow flies so we can make good use of it this winter, but there will be a number of things to tend to and finish on the build next year when spring returns.

Since I will be gone for the month of October, it’s possible that the shower I took yesterday, which uses propane heat and rain water we collect from the shower house roof, will be the last easy shower I will take here at EM until the warmer weather returns, perhaps sometime in April. Although, now that I’m thinking about it, our shower will be relocated and enfolded into the new sauna house build, which in addition to having the sauna room and a shower area, will also include an insulated hang out space with its own wood stove. In other words, if things go as planned, we’ll be able to fire up the wood stove and invite that warmth to help us have showers that don’t take a monumental effort of fortitude to endure in the winter cold of the mountains. Between the sauna itself and the ability to take warm showers in a warmed up space, it may very well be that we will be living in the lap of luxury out here.

The other day I filled a bunch of smaller 1-lb propane bottles that we use on our cook stove in the cabin from this larger 20-lb tank; this handheld tank scale is such a help, sometimes simple tech is best

We are looking forward to having a sauna out here to keep us good company through the winter. And we’re hoping we might have a few brave friends make the drive to join us over the winter months to enjoy it too. Mike designed it to have 6 people fit comfortably inside. Nothing we do here is for Mike & I alone. Everything we build here is with other people in mind, in addition to our selves.

Living in a place that has long winters with less sun, cold temps, and snow requires preparation, certain building requirements, and either an interest or willingness to adopt new activities, regardless of whether you live off-grid in the woods or with modern conveniences in town. Each season here in western Montana has its own constellation of loveliness, as far as I’m concerned. But I will say that I do have a special added affection for the transitional season of fall. I will miss not being here for the month of October. We have not yet needed to light our cabin’s wood stove for warmth, as September has been atypically warmer than usual, although the last few mornings we have been starting to dip down into the 30’s before the sun rises.

I’m trying to set Mike up a little bit before I go, making certain small preparations to set ourselves up for when the snow starts to fly. He’s got his hands full with the sauna build, and he also plans to do some work for pay roofing while I’m gone. It’s good to tend to certain things before the need arises when it comes to getting ready for winter. Though sometimes it is challenging to think that far ahead.

As the sun slowly starts to fade, our sauna house build grows, which feels like a good and well-timed pairing.  

Sometimes, when following your husband around Home Resource looking at used doors, a gal has to come up with her own fun. I’ve never been into fashion, but, turns out, shower hoses make for what I consider to be good jewelry.