step 2 of my private outdoor island gym project is a bridge across my creek, which lands directly on the trail that leads to the island.

let's get to it!

first i picked a spot. this is what you see after walking through the new man gate.

the creek runs a few hundred feet from left to right, where it feeds into the pond. on the other side of the creek is a trail that i recently cleaned up.

unlike my last bridge where we did a lot of measuring, i wanted this project to be both faster and more ambitious. so i yolo'd 4x corners with stakes and yarn and got to digging.

i used fast setting concrete that doesn't mixing, and decided to pay extra for these plastic-ish "post protectors" that is supposed to reduce rot by preventing pressure treated wood from making contact with concrete.

i used 2x levels to keep each post plumb as we poured water into the cement.

and that's day 1 complete.

as before, let's dig some holes. this side was much more difficult with lots of roots in the way.

for the posts, same deal. protectors, levels, water, plumb.

with posts out of the way, it's time for the fun part.

here's the view from our garage gym's back door.

i needed to measure the distance across the water so i could buy the right amount of wood and other hardware. my new laser measuring tool was the perfect fit for this prjoect.

at roughly 38 feet across i needed 19 cross braces (spaced 2 feet apart) and 20-40 2x8" boards for the walkway, pending how wide i wanted it.

i did some research and picked up several bits of rigging gear:
* eye bolts
* square washer plates
* cable wire
* turnbuckles
* wire thimbles
* cable clamps

and an angle grinder, my 2nd new tool from this project.

stick the eyebolt through the post, install the nut and washer on the back side. loop the cable wire through a thimble, lock it into the turnbuckle jaw, then tighten 3x cable clamps with the live load on the saddle side. as riggers say, "never saddle a dead horse."

i tightened the turnbuckles with a big wrench to make everything tensioned and level. easy.

i picked up remaining supplies from Home Depot and dropped it all at the foot of the bridge.

for this part we need a circular saw, tape, chalk line, straps for the bottom braces, and 2 types of screws.

cutting out ~42" braces was easy. this is what the 2x4" boards are for. they'll go horizontal underneath the walking boards, called runners.

it's easiest to work on things from solid ground so we strapped in every brace, then spaced them out as we laid runners across the top.

each brace goes 2 feet apart for stability and to land evenly at joints between 8 foot runner boards.

next we began installing runners, starting at the center and working outwards. this ensures you don't create too tight of a gap between boards and allows for imperfections from the saw mill.

we laid boards in a staggered pattern, similar to a deck. then when we got to the other side i ran a chalk line to cut off the excess.

setting a max depth on the circular saw here is critical, otherwise you'll cut through the wires and have to start the whole project over again.

after a few hours the bridge was mostly complete.

it's a whopping ~50 inches wide but a bit wobbly. this is why i didn't cut down the 6x6 posts yet, because i'm trying to determine if a handrail or rope will be needed for stable trips across.

a keen observer might have noticed from the photos above... my bridge deck slid down the cable as we built it, creating a 28" long void at the main entrance.

the space between the eye bolts and cable clamps is off limits, so only the top ~half of this space here can be addressed.

but i don't want (can't?) repeat the previous staggered pattern, as it would look like a hack job. so i'm going to turn this bug into a feature.

here's what we're working with, laid out with the same 2x8" boards im already using. boring!

and here's that same space with smaller 2x4" boards, using our KE (Kulp Estates) initials.

instead of taking a bunch of measurements i think i'll just make the initials, lay them on top of 2x4s cut to length (28"), then trace the inner outlines.

stay tuned.