This past fall four twenty-something’s decided to ditch their cramped apartments and urban lifestyles in New York, Chicago, and Raleigh, in search of a more authentic experience.
They each took a week’s worth of vacation days, but instead of heading down south to sit on a beach and sip on drinks, they met up thousands of miles across the country in a small town outside of Portland, Oregon.
Rather than spending another day typing away on their computers and smartphones, they wanted to use their hands to build something tangible. It’s something more and more of us are starting to crave as we spend an increasing amount of our lives on the other side of a screen. In fact, the average Canadian spends 7.9 hours per day looking at a screen, and for many of us, it feels near impossible to unplug—we wake up to the buzzing of our phones and fall asleep to the harsh glow of our TV screens.
That’s why waking up with the sun to carry 264 two-by-fours through dirt and mud was so appealing to these old college friends. While three of the four men had zero construction experience, they managed to build a solid, 200-square-foot cabin with just six days and $6,000 in building materials.
But perhaps what’s most impressive is the list of lessons they learned during that week. Among them: “Our bodies are meant not just to be used, but to be tired out—and they’re better off when we oblige them; A lot can be accomplished in the absence of a computer; In building (as in anything) mistakes are inevitable, and most can be fixed; and people love to follow a good project.”
Lucky for us, they documented their process “in the hope of inspiring a few more restless city dwellers to briefly trade a laptop for a hammer and, above all, to get outdoors.”
We certainly found their work inspiring, and we hope you do, too. Not only does this project demonstrate the power of spending time outdoors connecting with friends, but it also makes the dream of owning your own little cabin in the woods seem just a little more achievable.
(All images courtesy of sixdaycabin.com)
