 Winter access was particularly challenging; once off the plowed state highway, the unmaintained dirt logging trails were frequently blocked by heavy, drifting snowfall accumulations, adding a half-mile hike in from the highway, with snowshoes, toboggans and cross-country skis much-desired items.Despite the harsh environment, many people thrived both in the isolation and in their newfound ability to "disconnect" from the noise and distractions of mainstream society, with a number of winter-livable structures added as more people moved in over time.In the period of 1973–75, there were perhaps 25 year-round residents living in dispersed cabins, A-frames, canvas teepees, old school buses, geodesic domes, a 1950s vintage travel trailer, as well as an impressive 8-sided log cabin constructed by one family over the course of several years.