Hull Island - A New Frontier

By Jon Geiger A huge positive for me this year was reading Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a botanist, professor of plant ecology, and Potawatomi Indian.  The book gave me great perspective and deep appreciation for the teachings of nature from both scientific knowledge and indigenous wisdom. Kimmerer does a fabulous job weaving her personal life experiences in with traditional Indian stories passed down by the elders. The book raised my spirits and renewed my commitment to lead by example and preserve a large supply of clean air, fresh water, pristine land and nature.  The forests of Hull Island are recovering well from past logging. In the years ahead I'll do as much, or as little as possible to help nature return to an old growth state and create a small comfortable living environment for us to integrate peacefully. While Don and neighbors in Canada have kept a close eye on Hull Island, I've worked on an updated design for a small ryokan to be built after th...

Covid Pandemic  One of the reasons I wanted a very remote piece of land on the ocean was so that I would have a safe harbor in the event of a world catastrophe - in case of armageddon, nuclear war, or pandemics.  Hull is remote enough to provide protection from the post-apocalyptic marauding hordes; if the situation got too hot, we could escape by sea and sail anywhere in the world (no need for fossil fuel). In March 2020 with hysteria over Covid-19 raging, the United States and Canada closed the borders to non-essential foreign travel. All of a sudden we're non-essential people. Huh.  A full year has passed and the border is still closed.  My dream of a safe place has been shaken.  I wonder how long and how frequently these closures will occur in the future.  This sucks! The last time I was on Hull Island was September 9th 2019.  In the 18 months away, neighbors have kept an eye on the place.  Mike reports the dock is still there and Don and Kim ...

By Steve Geiger Yes, it’s the adventure, the journey getting there (years for some of us!), the spray-in-your-face “Welcome to the Great Outdoors” boat ride to the island in the forested, mountainous wilderness surrounded by water. Yes, it’s the first glimpse of the camp, just ahead, the family camaraderie, the shared goal of building something, the characters who dwell in these lands, the vacation from our everyday work and responsibilities. Yes, it’s the bear spray and bear bells (and those private walks to the woods)! And yes, it’s Jon’s gift to us all. Yes to all that. But wait. Breathe it all in for sure; join in and get busy! There’s certainly a lot to do. But don’t forget to take a few moments and...step aside and notice. Discover an extraordinary stillness and calm. Before the morning, before the earliest coffee drinkers rattling around the kitchen, firing up the stove to put the kettle on. Before the sausages sizzling in the iron pan. Walk quietly to the water’s edge. Sit on ...

By Heidi Geiger It started back in 2014 when we ventured to the island to see if this was going to be the next project in our retired years.  Scoping it out for a day back in July 2014, we blazed through thick brush and fallen trees. Jon had many reservations because it was not far enough off the grid. He heard planes flying overhead and boats sailing up the channel.   All theses concerns vanished and we invested in Hull island. His vision is to build a cabin.  For me, the annual trips are mostly in July around our anniversary.  I have gone 5 times and have helped with many family trips at various times. The most recent years have been around our anniversary, and we have enjoyed the peace and quiet of our active life together soaking up the beauty that surrounds us. For our 35th my sweetie built a dining table so we could have a place to gather after all our rigorous daily projects. This past summer we spent one week with our two daughters workin...

By Liz Hattemer Really, the pictures say it all. I know that Jon had incredible help all summer long.  I'm sure all the guys that showed up on Hull Island this year, before we arrived for final week, put buckets of sweat into this project. You could see it the moment we arrived. Camp was pristine. An enormous pile of lumber floated to the island. Who moved it up to the building pad? It took four of us to lift them up on to the frame! Huge rock footers were installed! How did that happen? The fire log pile was plentiful, the cabin neat and tidy, cots all lined up, pillows included.  Heidi and Catherine and Audrey set the stage with finishing up the cabin siding - just a bit of Tyvek left! The pooping facilities were well defined. The Hamilton Inn tent was set up. What a glorious way to arrive for the Kitchen Build.