When you went up to camp as a kid, the rules included….” Don’t go under the lodge!”  Well, if ever there was a good reason to sneak under there was just because it was against the rules.  But there was good reason to not let Scouts go exploring under there as we never knew what brace or post might fall over or some other hazard that would require a trip to the health lodge.  

"The Pit” represents an extra effort for the re-foundation of the floor.  From the records of the Construction of the lodge, great efforts were taken to construct a semi basement with the huge wood burning boiler to provide heat for the lodge.  Remember, the plan was a year round camp complete with skiing.  Well, a minor problem that developed was the fact that the edge of meadow may be a great scenic place to build a mammoth lodge but meadows are meadows for a reason…. a high water table.  Well, Chico Meadows is no exception.  The heater basement became "The Pool” every spring.  Yep, it fills up with water about 4 feet deep.  Efforts to pump out the water to keep it dry just floods the parade grounds.  

As you will see when you look at the project page, it was a real mess under there.  Back in the 80’s when intentions were good, and before I-joists, the camp committee started to pour the gigantic footings so we could span the water table with post and beams above the water table.  We used anything we had to create the tubes for the concrete, garbage cans, 100 lb flour containers, you name it, and we used it.  

But of all the projects to work on, the crawl space under the lodge was the last on the list …..till now. This project is now just about complete.  Just a little work on the shear wall next to "The Pit” and the corners of the building.  Other than to keep the mosquito population down and or be able to get to the crawl space under the kitchen……let it fill up.