McCarthy Cabin Build-Settling In

In April, Woodsen’s dad, Wes, had signed a contract for a custom cabin and sauna to be built. Now it was August 13th, and his custom prebuilt cabin had been delivered to McCarthy from Wasilla on the 11th. Since its arrival to McCarthy, the cabin had been placed on a piling foundation, an entryway and pantry addition attached, premade decks set, and pilings for the sauna were underway.

Next, the sauna arrived and was swiftly situated. By the end of the day, it looked more and more complete, but there were plenty of loose ends to wrap up.

By the 14th, the Stitt Crew was packing up, and we made our way into the house to start settling in. Woodsen and Wes had buried an electrical conduit with the help of Michael’s heavy equipment. Now they set to work pulling wire from the sauna to the cabin, plumbing the cabin, setting up the composting toilet, and building furniture. I busied myself arranging the kitchen, making beds, feeding hungry kids and adults, and tidying up.

While there had been a lot of work done in the past four months to make everything come together smoothly, it still felt miraculous to see it take shape in McCarthy so quickly.

When we were in the throes of designing the cabin, we went back and forth on many ideas, trying to find a balance between simplicity and more creature comforts that would make it harder to walk away from in winter. We ended up striking a balance that included simple, self-contained plumbing at two sinks with heat tape and gravity-fed drains, a hydrant on the well for winter water access, an outhouse, a composting toilet that can be used year-round, and an on-demand water heater under the sink.

One of Woodsen’s strengths is his ability to see projects through to completion. The flip side of that is that sometimes it’s hard for him to stop mid-project to have fun. The task list over the last few months had been extensive, and he had been working consistently on it to ensure everything was in place when needed. Now that many of the big, more time-sensitive tasks were completed, we made sure to pause on projects to enjoy a few outings.

We had found a few old 6-wheelers on the local marketplaces in Wasilla, as well as an old 4-wheeler that Atlee was very excited to drive. We pulled ourselves away from the cabin, loaded the family onto wheelers, and either headed out to visit friends, eat dinner at the Potato (our favorite restaurant in McCarthy), or simply take a ride down the runway and back.

While Wes and Woodsen worked on projects, the kids and I started to enjoy the cabin. The kids claimed beds, made cozy spots, moved toys in, explored the play loft, and even familiarized themselves with their new cabin chore, dishes, which they thought was more fun than work.

After being in McCarthy for about a week, we headed home, but by the next weekend, we were loading up to head back McCarthy. There were still projects to work on, but this time we also had the pleasure of welcoming friends to the cabin. First, our neighbors in Wasilla, Frannie and Pat, who happened to be camping in the area. Then a few local friends, including Carmen, joined us for dinner. The next day, Kaleb and Brittney stopped by with their family. Finally, the Sterkels, who had been on an airplane adventure in the area, landed, taxied up, and joined us for dinner.

Woodsen and my dream of having a place in McCarthy has always included a place to host friends and share the hospitality we so often enjoyed on our own Alaskan adventures. It felt like a dream come true to extend that to our friends, even as we enjoyed Wes’s hospitality in his home.

We look forward to enjoying time in McCarthy with friends and family, as well as having a base for many adventures in the area.

Thank you to Wes Saunders for letting us take such an active role in the project and giving us so much trust and creative license. But most importantly, thank you for giving us a place to enjoy together as a family in this beautiful and remote part of Alaska.

Many thanks to Michael Stitt and the whole Stitt construction crew for building a quality cabin that we can enjoy for years to come.

Thanks to Blackburn Industries for all they did to clear and prepare the lot, as well as helping with the delivery of the cabin.

We look forward to the memories we will share with family and friends in McCarthy.