It's early November and everything is frozen. Snow blankets the rolling hills and weighs down the spruce branches, bending the tree tops like drooping ice cream cones. Ice crystals sparkle on every surface, coating leaf barren branches with fuzzy looking formations that twinkle with the slightest light. The large expanse of the lake has become a solid, vast, open surface which reveals any slight movement of animals exploring the exposed terrain.
A brief walk from our cabin to the main lodge freezes the moisture around my nostrils, grips at my lungs and creates a dull frozen ache in my fingers if I have forgotten to wear gloves. The thermometer reads -17°F at 10am and warms to 2°F before quickly returning to negative numbers as low as -25°F at night. We have been waiting for this type of weather so we can go tent camping.
Last spring we took a few overnight trips in the snow, but we did not experience the arctic temperatures of the dark winter months. This is a new type of cold. A deep cold that we must respect at all moments while in the woods. A killing cold that took the life of a young man just several days ago less than a mile from our cabin. This is the cold that we have been anticipating with respect and excitement, a cold that will humble us and push us into an even deeper understanding of what it takes to survive in this powerful nature that we play with.
Before we venture deep into the woods we need to test this cold and test our gear to begin our learning process. We may know a lot about camping and backcountry travel, but in these temperatures we know very little. I am nervous and excited to learn over these next few months. We will begin this learning process slow and smart. This week our first overnight trip will be only a few hundred yards from our cabin. An opportunity to try out our four season tent, our -40°F sleeping bags, our dual sleeping pad system, our insulated water bottles and our layers of clothing that we hope will keep us warm.
Tonight or tomorrow we will venture into our "backyard" for our first test trip. As we learn we will push ourselves further from home and deeper into the cold. I will continue to write about these adventures over the next months and share this learning process as we go. Think warm thoughts for us!