Helping Bonnie Cut Poles and Set Up Her Tipi
Photo by Bonnie
Bonnie is from Bragg Creek. A while back she had a 24-foot tipi made (but not by us). The size of a tipi is determined by the diameter from the back (the seat of honour) to the door. She contact Weasel Tail Enterprises in October to have us help her cut the poles, remove the branches and bark, and raise the tipi for the first time at her acreage.
Bonnie hauling logs - Photo by Jeff Nelson
We started late in November. Joining us on the adventure were Bonnie, Keith, Cody (Keith’s son), myself and Jojo (Keith’s dog recently recuperating from an entanglement with a bear - poor bear).
Jeff, Bonnie, Keith and Cody. Photo by local sasquatch.
Keith has a secret location in Kananaskis Park where he harvests the poles. The trees need to be straight, thin, strong, and for Bonnie’s tipi, long (over 30 feet). We headed out on a warm winter day and cut 21 poles. I used my utility trailer to bring them back to Keith’s family ranch. Using my trailer may not have been the best decision. It got a flat tire and the poles were dragging all the way back to Eden Valley which we managed at a pace of 20-40 km/hr. But we made it.
It was dark by the time we got back to Keith’s family ranch, so we left the trailer and poles at his place. I mentioned to Keith that I was going to charge him $200 a day for the rental of my trailer. Without skipping a heartbeat, he replied, “Well I’ll be charging you storage fees.” He hasn’t sent me an invoice, so I’m going to assume we are even.
Cody and Bonnie debarking the poles. Photo by Jeff Nelson
The next weekend Bonnie, Cody and I trimmed the branches and bark off about 2/3 of the pole. Cody is a master. He is quick and the poles are super smooth when he’s done. Bonnie and I worked at half his pace and ended up with debarked poles but Cody must have spent a few hours cleaning up our hatchet job. Sorry, Cody.
Keith worked on the stakes which are used around the base of the tipi and the pins which are used above the door to stitch the tipi together.
Photo by Jeff Nelson
The next step was to transport the poles to Bonnie’s place and set up the tipi. We used Keith’s truck which worked much better than my small trailer.
Once we got to Bonnie’s place we pick some level ground and unloaded the poles - 21 in total. Keith and his youngest son, Colten, guided us through the steps of measuring the tipi, tying it to the backbone pole, creating the tripod, adding the remaining poles, hosting the tipi up, wrapping it around, pinning the ends above the door and staking out the bottom.
Bonnie had a nice fire going and we moved that inside. Then she served us hot chocolate and cinnamon buns. This was a wonderful treat to end the day.
Photo by Jeff Nelson