Winter Caretaker Report’ 22/23 Vo. 5
Winter Caretaker, Ryan Yaskiw, was able to give us the fifth edition of the WCR this season with an insight of -40 below temperatures, kidney stones, comet research, & the wildlife. The entirety of the staff at Gangler’s are super grateful for both our caretakers this season, Ryan & Chris, who are willing to take the time to share their unique experiences with the world:
“Hey everyone. It’s the evening of February 9th as I type this. The predicted cold weather certainly settled in since I last wrote, lasting roughly two weeks and dramatically limiting my activities. Outings were generally walks when the wind was low enough to keep the windchill bearable. The coldest night was -42 with a windchill of -65. The cold broke 6 days ago leading to much more comfortable conditions, but I’ve been struggling with a bit of a health issue (kidney stones). I’m starting to feel much better, so I see myself getting out in the next day or two.
As I stated, the pure dark sky’s allows for some amazing nocturnal photography. I started my search for the comet C/2022 E3 on January 25th, and finally was able to see/locate it January 29th. As a teen of the 90’s I remember comet Hale Bopp and how striking it was to the naked eye. I was hoping C/2022 E3 would somewhat resemble that. It didn’t, instead it was a barely visible fuzzy dot in both my binoculars and in the photos I shot. That would explain why it took me four evenings of searching to find it. Regardless, it’s a neat experience and something to add to the value of my time up here. Astronomers are saying there’s a good chance this comet will never be seen again, and that adds to the experience as well.
The aurora has been fairly quiet as well, showing itself every clear evening, but not enough to warrant pulling the DSLR out to photograph it….until last night. A really nice event added with super clear skies and a rising waning moon lead to a handful of beauty photos. Tonight’s event is supposed to match or even be stronger than last night’s, fingers crossed the bit of cloud there is clears out.
Wildlife has been hunkered down with the cold too it seems. However, I laid a camera trap over the gut pile from my caribou to see what would come in and feed. It took a few days, but a couple of wolves ended up finding it. There’s no way to be certain, but I strongly feel these two wolves are the same ones we’d often see during the fall eco season. I hope to have an in person encounter before I depart to confirm this as it’s always nice to see old friends. Otherwise the only other neat encounter was with the camp pine marten. This cute little fella pops in and out from underneath the cabin I’m staying in, and I just happened to catch him up in a tree for a photo session one afternoon. He didn’t seem too appreciative of my presence however, and his little growls let me know such.
That’s it for this update. I’m hoping to get out on the lake to pick up fishing again and watching for caribou. Until next time, take care.” -Ryan
