Tales of a Winterman – January 8, 2021

The weather has drastically changed and the mild temperatures are in the forecast for a while. Not quite melting, but I have few food items in my front porch “freezer” that are defrosting. Yesterday the airbag at the airstrip indicated a south-west wind. I was sweating in my insulated pants and I was overdressed for my daily walk.

I finally spotted a rabbit the other day racing by the cabin, followed by a struggling marten trying to catch up. A few minutes later, they ran by again with poor marten way behind, rabbit happily hopping along.

There has been hunters coming through since the past couple of weeks and one group told me that the herd was about an hour away from camp. They didn’t think it was heading this way, more less hanging out in one area. So the Blackfish cabin is busy! If I was more experienced with snowmobiling, I’d venture to check it out but I’m not yet at ease for such a trip.

With not a breath of wind this afternoon, the silence and stillness made my heartbeat seem strangely loud. As I observed my periphery, the visual effect was like stop-action on a video. I laid down in the soft powder pillow snow and stared at the motionless cloud cover. A slight chill snapped me out of my reverie and I made my way back to a cozy cabin.

Another glorious sunrise at Gangler’s and sunset view from the eskers.