Ice melting off the lake and budding plants means spring is on its way and cabin owners have lots of necessary chores before the real fun can begin.
Steve Butts and his family usually spend Memorial Day weekend on Big Round Lake in Hayward, Wisconsin at their cabin. “To be honest, I don’t have many emotional feelings about spring and the cabin,” laughs Steve. “For some people it might be a new awakening, yet for me it’s making sure the plumbing doesn’t leak. These are just things I’ve got to get it off my checklist before we can play.”
Many cabin owners confess they want to hide from their hideaways this time of year where a chore list a mile long is waiting for them. “We always go up opening weekend with the hope of squeezing some play in, but most of the time we usually end up working,” said Steve. But with over 35-years of cabin ownership behind him, he has developed a cabin opening strategy, “treat it as a community effort and get as many of the kids as possible to help.”
One of those adult kids is Kelsey Lessard of Minneapolis. “My dad is just being a curmudgeon,” says Kesley jokingly. “We all adore the cabin, especially him.” And for Kelsey, at least, that adoration extends to cabin opening weekend as well. “It’s a lot of work, but I always look forward to it.” It starts for Kelsey from the moment she hears the crushed rock under her truck tires and opens the cabin door. “I love that cabin smell, it means another summer is beginning. And now that I have two young boys of my own, it’s exciting to see it all through their eyes.”
A bonus for Kelsey is working through the spring tasks with her busy siblings. “I look forward to simply talking to them for hours as we work through the cabin chores. It takes us all back to our childhoods and helps us remember how close we really are even though we don’t see each other as much as used to.”
These tasks include cleaning the whole cabin top to bottom from dusting, to pulling linens out of storage bins, to stocking shelves. “And evicting any uninvited guests,” adds Kelsey alluding to pests that manage to make the cabin their winter home.
Steve built the family cabin with his parents and even contrived a clever dock ramp using skids and a winch. “My wife, Karen, is in charge of the winch while everyone else wades in to place the floating portions of the dock,” said Steve. In addition to providing many hands to make light work, working as a group also is a chance to make some memories. “No one forgets the feel of that chilly spring water, that’s for sure,” says Kelsey who says it’s a bit of a game to see who ends up in the water that year. “It’s almost a rite of passage.”
Now that Kelsey has children, she’s watching the tradition continue. “Coby used to be in the house with me wiping out cabinets and putting canned goods on the shelves, but last year he was part of the outside crew,” says Kelsey. “He’s growing up and learning the ropes of cabin opening.”
However, even avid do-it-yourselfers have their limits. “We used to flush the antifreeze out of our lines ourselves, but now we’re getting lazy,” confesses Steve. “There’s a plumber in that neck of the woods and when we go to the cabin in the spring he’s already turned it on.”
For some, cabin chores are as easy as picking up the telephone. Jerry and Ann Gisvold are the owners of Gizcare Cabin Maintenance Company in Phillips, Wisconsin. Their business pitch is, “We’re here to do the work so when our clients come up, they don’t have to.” And it makes sense. Many of their clients live a full days drive from their cabin and affordably outsourcing chores maximizes valuable vacation time. “For most cabins it’s at least a couple of hours to get the lines running and anti-freeze pumped out. Then the water heater needs to be refilled and if you have leaks in your system, it’s nice to have someone there who can fix it right away,” said Jerry. “It takes a lot of time to open a cabin and how much work you want to do really depends on how you want to spend your cabin time.”
Another tactic for those not interested in opening chores is to model Sean and Jessica Keating. They built their Grantsburg, Wisconsin place on 10-acres with the idea it would be a year round getaway. “We have no real cabin opening, just turn up the heat and we’re basically done,” said Sean. This can be an expensive route, costing around $500 of propane per fill, but it does give the Keatings the option of snowmobiling and other winter activities near the St. Croix River.
“Last year I kept it a 55 degrees, but next year winter I’m raising it to 60 degrees because when I went early this spring, I had to have the line steamed on my septic system,” laments Sean who hit the yellow pages looking for a septic tank specialist. “I found this guy that comes out of St. Paul in an old ambulance converted to make steam. His business is called ‘Porky’s Pooper Pumper,’ you can never forget it. He did a good job and was a nice guy, but I don’t want to make him part of my spring cabin ritual.”
Check List:
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Drain/blow out plumbing systems, hot water heater, washing machine, dishwasher, icemakers.
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Check fireplace and woodstoves for operability and safety.
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Refill small engines, check oil levels, and test run lawnmowers and boat engines.
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Check batteries and working order of smoke detectors.
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Have furnace checked annually.
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Check chimney to be sure it is covered to prevent animals and birds from entering.
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Dust and remove furniture covers.
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Remove linens and other bedding from plastic bins.
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If appropriate, contact plumber or other professional to turn on the water and ensure water quality.
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Check roof for loose or damaged shingles.
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Put in boats, jet skis and other recreational equipment.
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Put in docks and boatlifts, properly installing boatlift canopies.
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Pressurize and turn on sprinkler systems.
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Rake dead leaves.
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Clean gutters.
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Bring out lawn furniture.
Jason and Lucy Amundsen are freelance writers based out of St. Anthony, MN
