Beyond the Trail
Jorstad Cabin (4)
Willard Ormand Jorstad -- everyone called him "George" -- was a mountain man -- writer -- gold miner -- built this cabin -- miles from the nearest road -- using Douglas Fir -- in the late 1930s and lived here -- for the most part -- (excepting winters) until the 1980s. For many decades everyone along the North Fork of the Trinity River knew George -- his cabin at Pfeiffer Flat was an important stop along the trail for gold miners -- hunters -- fishermen -- trappers -- backpackers.
Jorstad -- in his book -- "Behind the Wild River" called Pfeiffer Flat "the most beautiful piece of real estate I'd ever seen .. a broad flat along the river, fairly open, set about with giant firs and pines, park-like in appearance, covered with grass growing out of a deep bed of fertile soil. What a find! And there was gold too!"
Happy to say -- Pfeiffer Flat hasn't changed -- well, at least not too much, over the years. If you visit Jorstad Cabin -- please treat it with respect. Remember -- it's a rare and fragile remnant of a bygone era.
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In Jorstad's book [journal] it's clear that his relationship with his wife, Adzie, was a very close one. He wrote a lot about Adzie ... she comes across as competent, resourceful, courageous ... she helped George build the cabin and apparently adapted to life in the wilderness very well in the beginning ... but in 1941she received a job offer in San Diego ... and ... after having just spent a winter in the cabin ... a winter in which heavy snowfall almost buried the cabin ... she decided she'd had enough .... accepted the job in San Diego ... and George and Adzie ... sadly ... went their separate ways.
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"Since the beginning, Adzie had been deeply suspicious of the mining part of our project. She went along with the wilderness aspects of it: the cabin building and our efforts to set up a fairly comfortable home in these wilds. But she had many serious doubts as to the practicality of it all. Dreams and stories are one thing, she insisted, but life in this world could not be supported by them. Pragmatic Adzie demanded substance in terms of money to pay for the necessities of life but also its extras: the pelf that makes for creature comforts of life and wins the respect of friends and family. After all, although aesthetic studies are interesting and knowledge is desirable in that it enhances the quality of life, these pursuits are poor providers of bread and butter. Bottom line, Adzie was first a flesh-and-blood creature and second an aesthete ..."
--George Jorstad [Excerpt from "Behind The Wild River"]
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Note -- click photo to see against dark background or to see larger size.
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To See Other Photos in the Jorstad Series:
www.flickr.com/photos/garytrinity/sets/72157614906540553/
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Jorstad Cabin (4)
Willard Ormand Jorstad -- everyone called him "George" -- was a mountain man -- writer -- gold miner -- built this cabin -- miles from the nearest road -- using Douglas Fir -- in the late 1930s and lived here -- for the most part -- (excepting winters) until the 1980s. For many decades everyone along the North Fork of the Trinity River knew George -- his cabin at Pfeiffer Flat was an important stop along the trail for gold miners -- hunters -- fishermen -- trappers -- backpackers.
Jorstad -- in his book -- "Behind the Wild River" called Pfeiffer Flat "the most beautiful piece of real estate I'd ever seen .. a broad flat along the river, fairly open, set about with giant firs and pines, park-like in appearance, covered with grass growing out of a deep bed of fertile soil. What a find! And there was gold too!"
Happy to say -- Pfeiffer Flat hasn't changed -- well, at least not too much, over the years. If you visit Jorstad Cabin -- please treat it with respect. Remember -- it's a rare and fragile remnant of a bygone era.
*
In Jorstad's book [journal] it's clear that his relationship with his wife, Adzie, was a very close one. He wrote a lot about Adzie ... she comes across as competent, resourceful, courageous ... she helped George build the cabin and apparently adapted to life in the wilderness very well in the beginning ... but in 1941she received a job offer in San Diego ... and ... after having just spent a winter in the cabin ... a winter in which heavy snowfall almost buried the cabin ... she decided she'd had enough .... accepted the job in San Diego ... and George and Adzie ... sadly ... went their separate ways.
------
"Since the beginning, Adzie had been deeply suspicious of the mining part of our project. She went along with the wilderness aspects of it: the cabin building and our efforts to set up a fairly comfortable home in these wilds. But she had many serious doubts as to the practicality of it all. Dreams and stories are one thing, she insisted, but life in this world could not be supported by them. Pragmatic Adzie demanded substance in terms of money to pay for the necessities of life but also its extras: the pelf that makes for creature comforts of life and wins the respect of friends and family. After all, although aesthetic studies are interesting and knowledge is desirable in that it enhances the quality of life, these pursuits are poor providers of bread and butter. Bottom line, Adzie was first a flesh-and-blood creature and second an aesthete ..."
--George Jorstad [Excerpt from "Behind The Wild River"]
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Note -- click photo to see against dark background or to see larger size.
*
To See Other Photos in the Jorstad Series:
www.flickr.com/photos/garytrinity/sets/72157614906540553/
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