A great day for a winter walkabout
Weather can certainly alter the plans of us outdoorsy folk. I mentioned in last week’s column that I had big plans for a Saturday of hunting white rabbits in green woods. At the time there wasn’t a flake of snow on the ground and I didn’t see anything in the way of accumulation in the forecast. Well, things didn’t quite work out the way I envisioned. But I did still go in the woods.
Last Thursday night it snowed. Actually, it was the first significant accumulation that we’ve had in Spaniard’s Bay this season. It wasn’t enough to necessitate me rigging up the plow on my quad, but it was pretty close. I certainly had to brush off our truck and car, and I was darn happy to have my winter tires installed. Yes indeed, Friday morning was totally white, and there certainly would be no green woods in around our cabin for Saturday.
The rabbits would be safe enough hiding amongst boughs of spruce and fir laden with fresh snow. And our cabin is at a much higher elevation, so there would be even more snow than at sea level in Spaniard’s Bay.
Friday night around 8 o’clock Robert and I headed into our cabin on our quads. As we gained altitude on our cabin path the blanket of snow on the ground grew thicker.
I noticed my Arctic Cat slipping all over the place on the trail, forcing me into much more corrective steering than is typically necessary. My arms grew weary from struggling with my non-power steering handlebars. Newer ATVS have power steering. I’m guessing the quick drop in temperature and the snow had combined to create a super slippery trail. It was quite peculiar. Anyway, the snow smoothed out the bumps, so that was good. It was a beautiful night to be in the country and the ride was most exhilarating in the cool air.
Safe arrival
We arrived at our cabin without seeing a moose, rabbit, or coyote track along the trail. That was not promising. We shot our moose weeks ago, but I had my camera with me. We’re always looking for moose, just for the fun of it, like hook and release salmon fishing I suppose. No matter about the critters, the moon shone on the fresh snow, the air felt wonderfully invigorating, and we would soon be relaxing by a roaring crackling fire in our cabin. All was well with the world. And Robert said something about frying up a pound of moose sausage.
There was hardly a draft of wind when I went to bed around midnight. The fire lulled me to sleep quickly. The spiced rum and hot water nightcap helped as well. I dreamt of white rabbits running through the green forest. I awoke from a deep sleep around 5 a.m. to roaring wind and a shaking bunk. I sleep on the west wall of the cabin and was that westerly wind ever howling. The fire was burned out and it was bloody cold. I ran outside for a nature call and hurried back to my sleeping bag, pulling it up over my ears. But I just couldn’t sleep with 80-km/h gusts hitting a non-insulated wall next to my head. I got up, lit the fire, and prepared my coffee.
It certainly was not the day I envisioned rabbit hunting when I wrote last week’s column. It was cold, dreary, and very windy. But we weren’t going home without a walkabout. I love roaming around the woods in winter, especially on snowshoes after a fresh fall of snow. You know the tracks are fresh and you can get a really good notion about what wildlife is wintering in your area.
Fresh tracks
There wasn’t enough snow for the racquets, but what was down was fresh. It had only stopped snowing about mid-morning on Friday so any footings we found would have been made within 24 hours for sure. I was excited for a good woodsy explore. Robert and I planned out our route over coffee and breakfast. We stoked the fire and headed outside.
We had planned our route primary to look for moose. If we saw a rabbit to shoot, then dandy, but we weren’t expecting to spot many hares in snowy woods. We would see their tracks and make note of where to hunt later, or set a few winter snares. I’m planning on catching a few rabbits later this winter. So, I could mark a few locations for rabbit gardens. But we were most interested in seeing where the moose were hanging out, or maybe even track one down. With the wind, and the snow to muffle sound, it would be a great day for tracking moose. In fact, the conditions
No matter about the critters, the moon shone on the fresh snow, the air felt wonderfully invigorating, and we would soon be relaxing by a roaring crackling fire in our cabin. All was well with the world.
were perfect for the stalking and tracking sort of hunt. It would be good practice for another time.
Slippery going
That snow was still bloody slimy underfoot. My feet were slipping around just like my quad was the night before. It was downright treacherous in places, especially over rocks. Anyway, we first spotted coyote tracks, then more coyote tracks. It seems a few wild dogs were hanging around not far from the cabin. No problem, I don’t mind their company. And we might do some coyote hunting later on as well.
Finally, moose tracks, two animals crossing a small cutover. I took a few photos and we decided to do some tracking.
I was figuring we’d get a workout and I certainly wasn’t wrong. Moose don’t exactly stick to trails that we humans would consider groomed. Off we went, over hills, across bogs, and through thickets of spruce and birch.
Finally, after a sweaty few hours we decided to give it up. I expect if we were hunting for real we would have certainly kept going, but this was just for fun, a moosetracking walkabout. Now we were quite a way from the cabin. I’d say at least several miles over rough slippery terrain.
I was getting hungry and we hadn’t planned a boil-up on the trail. That warm cabin was calling out to me. But Robert reckoned we should have a look around on the other side of that ridge. And so we did, and found another big set of moose footings. They looked no more than an hour old, but we passed on tracking. Now Robert was hungry as well, and moose sausages and beans were calling out to him. We charted a course for our cabin.
There were still glowing cinders in the stove and the cabin was toasty warm. Big round logs of juniper are the absolute best for holding a fire while on walkabout. Rob threw in a few bone-dry, quarter-split spruce chunks and the fire blazed back to life. Now the flames crackled away while we boiled the kettle and fried out some sausage. Wow, life is good, even on windy winter days. We have to make the best of the seasons. It can’t be summer all year around and the sun won’t shine every day.
The weather is getting colder and days are short and often dreary. But you know what? There is still stuff to do. Just stay off the hills and ridges when the wind blows 80 km/h. That is most uncomfortable.