Winter Diary Extract 2004 - 2005

Only after the noise level had subsided did I understand my annoyance at Twizzle the fact he’d cost me more collar money but that he was drawing attention to himself for skirting hunting wolf packs. He was loose making himself a target. I dread the very thought of ever finding a kill site where one of my dogs has fallen prey. A couple of hours later Blitz ran with me.

Afternoon run ten minutes under three hours went well. As the crow flies we covered fifteen miles, this I expect to be our daily distance target for spring trip. Cut up another 100lb of chicken. Blitz and Spoons are a week off being six months old. As from today they’ll be fed once a day.

Make adjustments to new Tubbs Elevation Series snowshoes with their durable decking materials, stainless steel crampon system and new Nexus binding. How do I incorporate snowshoeing into my expeditions and training? I don’t sit on my sled but ski or snowshoe beside it and my dogs. At forty or fifty below zero this is combined with my specific eating habits and critical layering system to stave off hypothermia.

Good sea or river ice warrants skis so does new sea ice that barely holds me, the dogs and my sled. Coastal tundra or the Mackenzie Delta sees deep snow, sometimes chest deep powder. If I don’t have snowshoes it can spoil my day.

Dogs rest, except puppies Spoons and Blitz who ran with me this evening. Hunter and trapper Gordie Moore is still missing. He was walking from his cabin to Inuvik, for him less than a weeks travel. He’s now presumed dead after two-week search. I knew Gordie.

Jo Kelly is working hard to find new dogs for me and let me know the facts about a Yellowknife news story I’d heard on the radio. Someone shot six sled dogs in the face at a public dump. Corpses were left tied to trees and muzzled with duct tape. It is not against the law and southern animal-lovers are going nuts.

Ran early with Blitz. Packed some gear this morning and harnessed everyone but the puppies. We headed down river this afternoon, towards the Ocean and after for a couple of hours I made camp for the night.

Ran alone first thing, on the river, through milder –20°C and falling snow. With Bomber lame I ran Thule upfront alone and bought Marshall back into wheel position alongside his brother, Piston for three and a half hours. On return it was good to see Bomber putting a little weight on his bitten leg. I popped another tablet into his mouth. Napped early this evening after running with Blitz and Spoons. Woke at midnight to write and catch up on some email correspondence.

Rested adults. Bomber appears to be putting more weight on that injured leg, thankfully. Altered tent, walked Spoons and Blitz into Inuvik for the first time, lots of new experiences for them. Like walking up to windows and seeing their reflection caused uncertainty. They were well patted from school kids by the time we’d walked back home.

Bought cold weather cable to replace the one on my new Uni-Solar 10.5 Watt solar panel. The panel will charge my sugar bag sized 12-volt battery to give me an independent power source to charge vitals such as my satellite phone and camera batteries.

Raised weight limit on the ice road from Inuvik to Aklavik, Tuktoyuktuk, oil and gas rig camps is now 90,000lb. The limit increases traffic. I don’t thank the cretins who throw litter out of their vehicles. The puppies run from one piece to the next. Sometimes they eat what they find. Cultural things like turd filled nappies, condom wrappers and pop cans. I fear they might not pass what they find so interesting to eat.
 

Ran adults, without Bomber, for four hours. The freezing vapour trail above and behind reminded me of when I was a kid exhilarated as the Flying Scotsman locomotive thundered by exhaling clouds of steam.

Ran early. Once back home I spent twelve hours measuring, bagging and packing my food. Tomorrow I’ll concentrate on packing dogs’ food and our fuel. Ran again this evening.

Early start. By 6pm I was happy. The dog food, my food and fuel were measured, bagged and tagged for a cache drop to be made in Tuktoyuktuk. I was pleased for the milder spell of weather we’re experiencing. It meant for less than cool conditions to complete outside tasks and because it means I can start packing some lard on the dogs with a little extra feeding throughout rest days. This afternoon, digesting his second block of frozen chicken Saxon stretched out chase-longue fashion like Caesar full on grapes.

Last two days have been busy. Meals were eaten on the move. It doesn’t happen often but tonight I really did fancy a bath. I don’t have running water so the swill didn’t materialize. Relaxed instead by picking out and scoffing cashew nuts from a bag dominated by raisins.

I did myself a big favour and rested today. Last night I promised myself a lie-in. Once up it hit me how much I needed a rest. I caught a lift into town with friend Kirsten to pick up a few supplies. Took a nap this afternoon. Bliss. Blitz and Spoons were six months old today. I’ll have to watch out for Spoon’s first heat. The passing of each week now brings half hour extra daylight in the morning and an hour at night.