Thompson Brothers Cabin

Job summary · October 19–21, 2026

Henrys Lake, Island Park, Idaho

What we did

Mulched the slope in place from the cabin down toward the water, about three quarters of an acre. Deadfall, dead standing timber, young fir and brush ground into a mulch layer that holds the slope and breaks down on its own. Nothing hauled, nothing burned.
Opened the view line from the cabin to the dock. The flagged trees were felled with a saw, bucked, and the slash mulched. Every tree not flagged was left standing.
Opened up the dock. Took out the trees along the side of the dock and the one hanging over it, so it gets sun now and there is nothing left to drop needles and limbs on it.
Cut the big logs to firewood length and staged them below the cabin, back from the structure, ready to split and stack.
Dropped the hung-up dead leaner near the cabin before any other work started.
Thinned the understory under the keeper trees so a ground fire has nothing to climb. The mature trees stay; the ladder fuel underneath them is gone.
Final walk-through with Ron on the 21st to go over everything before we loaded up.

The view line

Same spot, two days apart. Oct 19 with the view trees flagged; Oct 21 with the lake, the dock and the far shore open from the cabin.

Beside the cabin

Deadfall under the trees beside the cabin, then mulched ground.

The slope

Thick timber and understory on the slope, opened to the lake.

Lower slope

The deadfall tangle on the lower slope, mulched and level.

Cabin corner

The old log pile at the cabin corner, cleared and the rounds staged.

Below the cabin

The flagged trees below the cabin, and the open ground after.

From the deck

Looking down from the deck before and after.

The dock

From the dock looking up at the cabin. We were able to get the trees along the side of the dock and the one that was hanging out over it, so the dock is open and nothing is dropping on it anymore. The big rounds are staged by the lower deck for firewood, and the view from the water up to the cabin is open now too.

A few things to know. The mulch layer is 3 to 4 inches in most places and will settle and darken over the first year; it holds the soil on the slope and feeds the trees. Stumps on the view line were cut low and will weather in. Give the firewood a season to dry before you burn it. A light touch-up every year or two keeps the understory from coming back, and we're happy to come look whenever you'd like.

Thank you for trusting us with this one. If you're happy with how it turned out, a quick Google review would mean a lot to a small outfit like ours. And if a neighbor asks who did the work, we'd be glad to come look at their place too. — Wyatt

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