11/25/11 - Post Thanksgiving Day Visit

“...be yourself- not your idea of what you think somebody else's idea of yourself should be.” 

Henry David Thoreau - Walden

Two That Escaped the Table This Year!  Nice Camouflage.

On a beautiful early morning ascent on the day after Thanksgiving, it was real nice at the base of the mountain, but hiking on Mountain House Trail, it gradually changed to cold and windy as I approached the summit.  [Note:  the time indication on the pictures is one hour later than reality; I had forgotten to turn back the clock on the camera.]

Wintery Approach to the Summit

Perimeter Fence Ice Crystal Bed

Ice Crystals at the head of Old Indian Trail

No sun yet so the ice crystals sparkle in the rising sun ... soon they will be gone for another day.

As we know so well now, the project is way behind schedule.  For that reason, workers were assembling on the job site when I arrived.  The winds were blowing and they hunkered down in their trucks until "the boss" arrived.  On my approach, one said, "We have to be here!"  ie.  what's your excuse?  And this conversation was taking place inside the perimeter fence.  I asked if I could close the gap and take some pictures.  No problem!  

We talked for a few minutes and in addition to temperature talk, there was talk of other employees on the project who are afraid of heights!  and heights in the wind!  Evidently going up in lift basket to the cab, the wind has a tendency to induce a bit of swaying to the basket, at times dipping like a roller coaster.  And I also was able to learn about plans for the future when the railings, the ramps, and the access ladder arrive.  The construction crews will be using the Administration Road access once the Up-Summit Road is snow-bound with operations from the Polar Mountain Ski boys!

I asked about the "hanging chad," only to learn that the hanging metal beam was planned all along!  And now it makes sense!  Two things have to be done before the job is complete:  painting the underside of the cab and assembly of the ladder for the Rangers.  The "chad opening" is to allow the lift basket a point of entry to the inside of the framework.  As a matter of fact, one of the workers was the "painter."  He even had on - over warm weather clothing - the usual white painter's jump suit.

His painting job consists of the interior and the exterior of the cab, but NOT the steel framework of the tower.  That is complete as is!  This is somewhat surprising.  Why leave the steel beams exposed to the weather?

I also learned that the assembly is completely by bolts.  They have a special torque wrench that somehow breaks off the end of the bolt when the thresh hold amount of torque is applied.  That sounds kind of neat. 

So, what's new this week (a 2 week report actually).  For one thing, Mick is making slow and steady progress on the stonework.  The north facade today is completely iced over.  And not much sunshine will penetrate as the day wears on.  That must have been quite a rain shower that froze up the past couple of days.  The East and Southern faces look rather dry.

Another thing that struck me is that with the work being done in the cab, I can see the cables going from the cab to the interior bunker.  Look closely at the vertical supports of the tower.  The silver tubes house the cables. 
 

Communications Cables on Vertical Supports

Eastern Facade Awaits the Railings

 As you can see, the eastern facade is complete with exception of the holes for the hand rails.

Doorway - Southern Facade

No Roof on the Observation Bunker yet.

I thought I might be overdoing my welcome so I didn't actually enter the door, but clearly the communications center is inside this bunker.

Lift Basket and Control Panel Detail

NW corner of the bunker

Sunny to the east (The sun just came up), while to the north the facade is icy, cold, and dark.  If you look closely, you can see the ice on the north face.

North Facade All Iced Up

And Mick is going to keep working on this?

Twin Towers ... for now

NW corner

Western Facade

 On this side, it even looks  cold!

NE corner of the facade.

 And that's it for this week.  Down below today in the valleys of Worcester County, temperatures reached the 60 degree mark.  Surely it warmed a bit and working would not be quite so difficult.  I know they weren't really looking forward to going up in that wind and cold.

Happy Thanksgiving to All. 

11/13/11 - Stonework Facade Continues Upward

Read not the Times. Read the Eternities. Conventionalities are at length as bad as impurities. Even the facts of science may dust the mind by their dryness, unless they are in a sense effaced each morning, or rather rendered fertile by the dews of fresh and living truth. Knowledge does not come to us by details, but in flashes of light from heaven.

Henry David Thoreau - Life Without Principle - 1863

 Today was a beautiful day, and, although the leaves rest on the lawn, front and back, small household repairs await, and shirts lay to be ironed, the pull of the summit was too strong.  My wife said, "Go."


The road is closed, but that didn't stop folks from hiking to the summit on this beautiful Autumn day.   I found the crowd to be happy, cheerful, talkative, and yet, from the summit, as it does to us all, we turn to the still of the scene.


The stone facade creeps ever closer to the top of the observation deck.  The steel chad hangs motionless, the trench for the grounding cable is still open, and the 9/11 flag still flies proudly.

November Skies

The Old "Hanging Chad"

It would appear to me as if each beam is attached to the rectangular plate by a series of three bolts and possibly a weld.  But for sure, it can't stay where it is!  We'll keep watching for the repair.

Detail - Chad

Grounding Cable - West Side Wall

Ramp - West Wall

Medieval Fort Weapons Ports

Well, that's what my first thought was!  Actually, this detail of the South Wall, enables us to study the work of the stone mason.  Remember that the openings are for the connection point of the hand rail which has yet to be placed on the structure.  In general, we see large stones, small stones, long stones, and short stubby ones, all carefully and skillfully placed.  But, above each opening, we find a common theme - the KEYSTONE to the arch.  As the mason built around the points at which the railing will be secured to the interior wall of the facility, he had to ensure that the wall would not collapse about the topmost point of the opening.  This is clearly done with placement of a broad hefty stone across the width of the opening; this stone bears the weight of those above it as it is supported in turn by a column of lesser rocks at either end.. 

Arch with Capstone - Detail - North Wall

More Tools of the Stone Mason

Stone Mason Tools

NE Corner - More Stonework

Remembering 9/11/01

Shingleless Cab

Not a good picture, but just to remind me that the shingles are not yet on the cab.  I am not sure how that will go with the crow's nest yet to be placed up there.

One of My Favorite Locations for the Shoot

South towards Worcester

Lots of visitors today made the trek to the summit.  In a general survey over the weeks, I would say that most people were unawares of the project as they reached the top.  I told many the story of what was happening and they were eager to hear it.  Of those who knew of the project, I would guess that the vote on acceptance comes about right down the middle - 50 - 50 ... approve, disapprove!  

And Henry David Thoreau?  I think he would approve!

11/05/11 - Latest Sunrise of the Year

The fate of the country does not depend on how you vote at the polls — the worst man is as strong as the best at that game; it does not depend on what kind of paper you drop into the ballot-box once a year, but on what kind of man you drop from your chamber into the street every morning.  

 Henry David Thoreau - Slavery in Massachusetts - 1854

Snow on the Approach

 Winter is coming!  Better hurry up.  It's getting too cold to work up here!

Twin (Fraternal) Towers

 

Cab Closeup - NE Corner

Today’s sunrise @ 7:22 am was the latest until 2016. Last year's November 6th sunrise, at 7:30am, was the latest since 1974 and will be the latest until 2021.

A cold, clear sky looked down upon the summit of Wachusett this morning.  And the gusting winds made it even colder.  At the ski hut on the summit, it registered just under 30 deg. F.


Progress since my last visit the weekend before last has slowed - at least what one can see from the ground.  Of course, we have also had considerable wet weather as well as a completely unexpected 15 - 20" dump of snow last Saturday!!!

The shingles on the roof have not been applied.  Otherwise, it appears to be complete and ready for the crow's nest that will house the electronic equipment such as antennas.    Exterior siding has been placed on the eastern face.  The open "windows" have been covered in plastic sheet, surely to protect the workers in the cab.

Detail - underside of flooring in Cab

Looking from below the cab, we can see the rectangular trap door that will undoubtedly serve as the hatch for the rangers to enter the cab.  The joist work and framing are certainly interesting.  No one is going to fall through the floor up there, that's for sure.

Flooring Detail - North Side

SE Corner

Notice a hanging chad just below the cab inside the left-most vertical beam!  Wonder if that was intentional or if it got loose?


Here's another view....

Hanging chad?

This section of the tower is supported by cross beams attached to a rectangular plate in the middle.  This structure appears on all four sides ... but the western side the plate is attached with only three of the beams; the fourth beam appears to be hanging from the corner post.

Still no Roof.

As yet, there is no ladder structure that goes from the observation deck to the cab.  Some framework laying on the ground however may be part of that structure.  But these silver colored beams are kind of nondescript.  No telling where they might go... perhaps as support for the roof of the main base??  Once again, I can see blue sky from the open door to the base so that is not yet complete - and certainly before this is all wrapped up, there will be a door in place to fill in the door-jam!

Hmmm?  Wonder Where These Go?

And yet another new piece of construction material.  Now this must be wood for the ramp.

Wooden Tread for the Ramps?

Facade of the Eastern Wall

The Facade continues.  Below we have some of the working tools of the stonemason.  

Mixer and Cement Carrier

Just how cold do you think it gets doing stone masonry work on the Summit of Wachusett?

Western Wall

Notice to the lower left of the wall a trench has been dug that apparently runs under the building foundation.  I noticed a wire that seemed to go "into" the structure at that point.  Perhaps phone wires since they would have to come from outside the building.

Western Wall - Ditch for Wire ... phones?

The Always Photographed NE Corner!

 

Up-Summit - View Towards Worcester

 Until my next visit!