March 2nd: Day 3
Friday morning wake up was around 9:00 am ... late for me, but we were up past midnight. A few inches of snow had fallen during the night, blanketing the forest once more.
Fresh snow in the morning.
It was still snowing on and off. Derek left to get water in our pot and I started to dig through my barrel for pre-made breakfast. I had brought a cooking sheet to put on the wood-stove to heat things up. We were having English muffins with egg-spinach patties and peameal bacon. I'd brought enough for two each. Some "O’Darby" in the coffee is also a must. It was so relaxing this morning just taking our time and staying warm in the tent. Special thanks go to "Racoon", an Algonquinadventure.com personality who provided this tent to Markus. The tent is awesome! Breakfast and dishes were wrapped-up by 11:00 am and I decided to go for a quick walk-a-bout. I went down the railway trail to the Rock Lake logging road. I was hoping to see some wildlife but only a partridge startled me silly.
This shot is looking down the railway bike trail from the Rock Lake logging road.
I returned back to find the boys on the trail looking at some maps. They decided to do some bushwhacking to find a small lake called Speckletrout Lake. We walked down the forestry road a tad and tuned off toward the lake. Before we found the lake, we came across an old truck on a hillside. The truck must have been used in the old logging days. It had a crane-gizmo on the back of it. In the cab's roof, it had a round opening that looked like a gun-turret. Maybe it was a military vehicle at one time? Old saw blades were noticed sticking out of the snow here and there.
The old vehicle we came across on the way to Speckletrout Lake.
We found the lake and decided to punch a hole in the ice to get some water to drink. The water was the worst I ever tasted. It had a fishy smell and taste to it. There must have been some dead fish under the ice near by to give the water such an unwelcome flavor.
I'll remember Speckletrout Lake as Fishy Tasting Lake.
We left the lake by 2:30 pm and headed back to camp. Derek had brought along a cool igloo-block-maker. I was looking forward to making an igloo on our return. When we got back to camp, we stomped a 12 foot diameter base for the igloo, in a clearing near camp. By 4:00 pm we'd started our winter project.
Setting the foundation for our igloo.
It was slow going at first, as the snow was too granular and it took a few minutes for the snow to set in the mold before being released for the next block. We soon found that only the top 3 to 4 inches of snow was usable. Round and round we went with Derek packing the snow and the three of us scooping snow.
Derek and is block maker in action.
Soon I had to go inside with Derek. The snow now had to be tobogganed in thru the doorway and dumped inside with us. With darkness approaching, Jake went to camp to get a fire going for supper. We stopped with only the door to be made.
Our igloo, less the tunnel doorway.
Derek and Markus finishing the inside.
Four hours flew by making the igloo. It would have taken less time if the snow had been more favourable for packing. We warmed up in the tent as Derek prepared his supper of Chicken Jambalaya. What a great meal. I was eating like a king. We even had strawberry cheesecake for dessert. At about 10:00 pm Derek headed back outside to finish the igloo door.
Finishing the tunnel doorway.
I went back and grabbed my sleeping bag. "I’m sleeping in here tonight!" Jake was also sleeping in the igloo with me. Derek and Markus dug a cold well from the doorway. Bunks were created on each side. You could stand up straight in the middle. An air hole is at the very top. Cold air drops and is carried out thru the doorway. I put a small tarp down first with a dense foam mat. I slept in a -15°c mummy bag that was in another 0° normal bag. I was very comfy. I made sure to have a hat on as well. Outside was -10°c to -12°c and inside was 0°c. We had a few candles burning inside. Jake was taking some night picture outside. At 10:30 pm or so, I was all set to sleep. Derek used one of my barrels as a door. I heard Jake come back inside at some point and he also went to sleep. It was so quiet inside the igloo and the humidity was 100%. I truly loved sleeping in it and I have to give a special thanks to Derek for his hard work making it. It made this winter trip a highlight as well.
Yours truly ready for bed.
Mr. Jake ready to settle in.
Jake all tucked in for the night.
This shot Jake took before we went to bed for the night. Such a nice shot, I had to post it.