3.
T |
he next morning, they were all in the hotel restaurant when it opened at seven am and were bumping along on frozen tires and heading up what was known as ‘the north road’ shortly after eight. The temperature was 23 below.
After an hour on an icy rutted road they reached a fork where a freshly plowed road turned off to the west. There was a good four feet of snow along the side of the road where the cat had pushed a mixture of snow, dirt and mud. The going was slow as there were chunks of ice and snow here and there and the partly frozen cleat marks of the ‘cat’ made for a rough surface. After almost another hour they came to that part that had just been plowed, for the first quarter mile the road was hard but then started to become soft in places, they slowed even more and twice had to pull the station wagon through soft spots. Finally they came up behind the cat and crawled along behind it for another half hour when breaking up over a slight incline they looked down and out onto the expanse of ice covered Tezzeron Lake. A few minutes later they were pulling up in front of a bare wooden shack which being the only building, had to be the ‘bunkhouse’.
The shack was equipped with an old airtight heater in which they quickly got a fire started and then unloaded all the supplies and carried them into the cabin. As they were finishing, Harv said that he had an idea and waded through the snow down to the lake. When he got there he found that as he suspected the wind had blown and packed the snow down to only a few crusty inches on the surface of the ice. A tinkling, slithering sound was the wind blowing snow and ice crystals over that surface.
He went back and said to Gordon, “ We need a couple of toboggans, and we can take a lot more each trip by using the condition of the lake.”
Gordon replied, “Sure I’ll try and get them.” He looked about the interior of the shack and said, “There’s not much room in here so I’ll go back to the Fort and come out tomorrow, I may as well leave right now.”
No one said anything and five minutes later he was gone following after the ‘cat’, which had left immediately after arriving.
Harv said to Jerry, “I know nothing was said, but I guess as the senior man you’re basically in charge.”
Jerry with a look of relief said, “Sure, I had thought about that but wasn’t sure how to say anything. I’m sure for the most part we will just share our ideas and get things done.”
Ken for the first time spoke without being spoken too, “How about Milord and I go get some wood, we haven’t got enough for the night and we’ll probably work from here for a couple of days.”
“Good idea Ken, away you go Milford.” Was the response.
The next morning Gordon arrived back just after nine, in the back of his car was a single toboggan.
“ Sorry I could only get one.” He said as he stepped out. “But that may be enough.”
No one replied to that, all thinking that one was better than none, but two would have been better.
“Well here’s what I’ve got planned.” Gordon continued. “We’ll load the toboggan, each take a good pack board load and we’ll all go to the place where we head inland to the campsite. Two of you can come back a ways and leave the lake and find the old STL boundary and chain off the distance to the North East corner of the sale, the rest of us will get everything to the campsite and get things set up, we’ll all meet back here tonight.
Harv, Jerry and Ken all exchanged glances, the same thought in their minds, ‘sounds real easy, but….’
However they said nothing, in half an hour the toboggan was heavily loaded, packs were slung and they started off. Ken volunteered to take the first shift pulling the toboggan.
The going was reasonably easy, but after experimenting they decided that it was easier walking without snowshoes due to the snow condition. As they walked their weight on the surface occasionally caused pressure cracks to radiate out in a loud singing noise. A slight breeze whishing particles of snow around and past occasionally swirled like mini cyclones causing gremlin like figures to rise above the frozen lake.
They covered the five miles in just under two hours and took a break. Along the way it had been decided that two pairs of experienced eyes looking for the blazes of the old STL boundary would be better than just one pair, so after resting Harv and Ken headed back down the lake to the point that had been selected as the best place to start from. The other three headed into the bush towards a small open area that was visible on the aerial photos, it was about a mile distant.
Jerry said, “We’ll unload and leave the toboggan here so it will be ready to go back with us.”
“No, no.” said Gordon. “We’ll take it in with us it’ll be faster that way in the end.”
“I don’t think so, Gordon.” Jerry argued. “We have to break trail with packs on and there are no sides on the thing.”
“Nonsense.” Was the reply. “You go ahead, Milford next and I’ll tow the stuff.”
Jerry shrugged, mumbled, “Suit yourself.” Slung his pack on, took a compass shot and headed out.
They got about a hundred yards from the lake when Gordon called out, “Hey wait, this isn’t working, you guys piled the stuff on so that it sticks out the sides, it’s catching on everything.”
Jerry smiled, turned and went back to where the toboggan was half tipped and jammed under a windfall. Nothing more was said, they unloaded everything, stuck the toboggan in the snow and headed on toward the distant opening. The brushy conditions next to the lake eventually gave way to a mixed stand of spruce and balsam and they made good progress in spite of their packs. Jerry’s compassing proved accurate and within an hour they were selecting a tent site on the edge of the swamp that was the opening that they had selected.
In the mean time the other two had backtracked almost halfway to the cabin and were getting ready to swing off the lake also in a southerly direction. Harv said to Ken, “I think we should go in for about twenty or thirty chains and then go back and forth east and west.”
When Ken replied, “You’re the boss!” Harv swung around, mouth set, but when he looked at Ken he was met with a small smile and what could only be described as a twinkle in the eye. “Just kidding.” Ken said.
A half hour later, Harv called a halt, “I think I’ll keep going about that distance again, then I’ll start working my way zig zagging back toward the lake and you can start here working your way towards me, that way you’ll have my trail to tie into each time you reverse. If either of us finds anything, we can mark it with ribbon and start hollering. It won’t take too long to get within hearing distance.”
Ken simply said, “Sounds like a plan.” And headed off at right angles to the direction they had been traveling.
Late in the afternoon just as dark was coming on, Harv and Ken emerged back out onto the lake, they could just make out the other three almost to the cabin. They arrived at the cabin in time to see the taillights of Gordon’s station wagon disappearing over the hill.
Milford had a good fire going in the airtight and the cabin was already warm. Jerry had supper started and while it was cooking, results were compared of the day’s labors.
The tent was up, Gordon had suggested that they make a raised area at one end for sleeping. The collapsible stove had been set up and the chimney had been put through a seam in the tent wall. All the supplies that had been taken up the lake had been hauled to the campsite and stored in the tent. Gordon had decided that he was no longer needed and was on his way back to headquarters.
Harv commented, “You guys did good, we looked, back and forth, round and round, a couple of times we thought we had found some old blazes but they were either old scars or went no where. I don’t think it had ever been surveyed. But since we’re not using it as an actual boundary why can’t we just describe the sale area as commencing at a point approximately so many chains west of one of its corners?”
“No reason at all.” Agreed Jerry, “We’ve done that lots of times before.”
All in agreement, they grabbed a plate each and waded into a supper of boiled potatoes and pork chops. They were in their sleeping bags by nine o’clock.
4.
T |
he next morning with full packs and the toboggan fully loaded they were all heading up the ice by quarter after seven. They headed straight into the camp with their pack boards, leaving the toboggan load for later. The decision was that Jerry and Milford would commence a base line to cruise from while the other two would get the load from the toboggan and complete the camp set up. They ruled out making a second trip from the cabin that day as little was left but their personal gear and camp necessities. The weather was holding about the same temperature but a few flurries of snow came and went.
It took two extra trips to get everything in from the lake, they now had a well-packed trail and the light snow actually helped make the trail better. Once everything was at the camp, Ken, tried in vain to start the chain saw then gave up and using a swede saw started laying in a supply of fire wood, Harv tightened the fly over the tent then added a second ridge pole and stretched another fly to create an awning in front of the tent. Once this was done all the supplies were stacked along its two edges creating two low walls. Then using the snow shovel that they had decided on at the last minute, banked snow around the entire tent and awning arrangement. By salvaging some of the cardboard from the food supplies he was able to lay a covering of cardboard over the raised sleeping area that had been made from poles the day before. He then cut spruce boughs from the stunted spruce growing in the swampy area and covered the cardboard. In the time that was left he and Ken worked together cutting and piling wood next to the tent.
Just after three that afternoon, they called it a day and headed out to the lake. Jerry and Milford could be seen about a half-mile further along the lake, they waited for them and all four headed back to the cabin together.
They cooked their supper, packed lunches for the next day, washed and packed all the cooking utensils except what they would need for morning and were again in bed early.
The next morning they packed up everything and were again hiking up the ice by just after seven. They reached the camp just before nine and after a short rest all four headed out, Jerry and Milford to continue the base line and Harv and Ken to start cruising.
The base line was to be four hundred chains long- five miles- in order to keep using cardinal directions at some point there would have to be a half mile jog, on snowshoes they estimated it would take about three to four days to complete the blazing of this line depending on no unforeseen obstacles and the weather. The cruising would take considerably longer. Because of the time of the year they had elected to increase the distance between each cruise strip line from the usual ten chains (660 feet) to fifteen chains (960 feet) but there would still be a cruise plot 2 ½ chains (165 feet) long and a half chain wide every 2 ½ chains. Temperature, snow, daylight and traveling distance would all impact on how much was accomplished each day.
That first day Harv and Ken succeeded in completing two strips for a total of one hundred and twenty chains but had to return to the camp after dark. Jerry and Milford returned earlier and had a fire going and a supper almost ready when they got back.
When Harv unpacked he produced a thermometer, “I don’t really know why I threw this in but we may as well know what goes on with the temperature.” He went out side and fastened it to the end of the ridgepole. The interior of the tent was warm and cozy with the heat from the fire and they sat in shirtsleeves as they had their first supper on site. The long day, the fresh air, full stomachs and the heat soon combined to send them all into their sleeping bags.
5.
The next morning breakfast was finished and they were all strapping on their snowshoes by half past seven, a light snow was falling and the temperature had only dropped a couple of degrees overnight. This day Harv and Ken would spell off the other two and work on the base line.
In the past two days Jerry and Milford had only been able to complete just over a mile of line mostly due to Milford not being hardened in and his lack of experience.
The trail to the start of the baseline was hard packed now that several trips had been made over it and they made good time for the first few minutes. Then as they came to where the first strip line of the day before commenced, they found that a moose had found the trail and as moose do, decided to use the trail as a thorough fare. The remnants of the chewed up trail made the snow shoeing harder than if there had been no trail at all. There was nothing that could be done except put up with it and keep going. Snow started falling in earnest before they reached the spot where Harv and Ken had finished the day before.
Without pausing Harv said, “See you tonight.”
He and Ken continued along the base line while Jerry and Milford prepared to start a cruise strip in the opposite direction of the one from the day before. In about a half hour Harv and Ken reached the end of the blazes and the snow shoe trail, the moose had followed it as well to the very end and then had returned back along the trail for some distance ruining the trail even more.
Blazing a baseline on frozen trees is never the easiest job and because these were large old growth trees they were hard to get close to because often the snow pack ended or shallowed abruptly near the trunk and many of the trees had roots above the ground. However in winter when the line was going to be used in a day or two fewer trees had to be blazed as the trail left by the snowshoes would be visible. However summer or winter the distance had to be marked every two and a half chains in order that the cruise strips could be accurately plotted.
Harv and Ken agreed they would switch places every ten chains so that the blazer could have a rest and the one compassing the line could warm up. They made good time and by just after noon had blazed out sixty chains of line. A light snow was still falling and both were damp from their exertions so when they found the stump of a broken tree that had pitch rivulets congealed on the exposed wood they called a halt and started a fire at the base of the stump. In minutes the pitch was melting and the whole stump became engulfed in flames. They stood in front of this pyre and slowly rotated, first getting warm then quickly getting dry on the outside. When the fire died down a bit they both cut forked sticks and thawed and toasted their packed sandwiches. One small thermos of sweetened tea they shared. In the winter they had always found that leaving the warmth of a good fire after lunch was always difficult, today was no exception and they didn’t start out again for over half an hour.
All things come to an end, and once more they headed out on their westerly bearing. They crossed a couple of small openings which eased the blazing for a few moments but necessitated making sure that the line was well marked on either side of the openings. In a couple more hours they had completed another forty – five chains of line, the base line was now just short of two and a half miles long.
Harv called a halt while studied the aerial photos then said, “Ken, lets get another fifteen chains in then tomorrow we will make the jog south from there, its about a quarter after three, so we will be getting back after dark, although I’m easy we can just stop here, what do you think?”
Ken just shrugged, “We’re going to be in the dark anyway the last ways.”
“Okay then, lets change every five and get this bugger done. We can blaze a little lighter and do a few more trees when we come back tomorrow.”
They headed out once more and just before four o’clock were heading back to the camp two and a half miles away.
An hour later the glow of a lantern and the smell of wood smoke welcomed them as they arrived back at camp. The other two had got back almost an hour earlier, started the fire and started preparing supper.
As they talked over their meal they discussed a problem that had already emerged the night before. All of them were awakened through the night by the cold. They realized that this would happen every night because as soon as the fire was out the cold pervaded the tent almost instantly. In spite of the spruce bows and cardboard the cold came up into their down sleeping bags. Jerry said he could keep the fire going as he usually had to take a leak every couple of hours, but it would be hard on the wood supply. The consensus was, ‘keep her going, we’ll cut the wood’!
Everyone slept better that night, even Jerry as he found getting back to sleep each time was easier with a bit of heat.
The next morning the light snow had stopped and the thermometer was reading thirty below. By the time they had finished breakfast and were on the trail it had risen two degrees. The moose had not revisited the trail so they made good time.
Harv had decided that when they did the jog in the base line he would cruise the forty chains as one of the cruise strips as it had no value as a baseline. By the time they completed this half-mile and reached the point where the base line was to recommence they had already put in three hours and it was getting noticeably colder. At first the cold was passed off with their much slower pace but when they recommenced blazing line the lead man could not stay warm. When lunchtime arrived they again found a broken stump but much older than the one of the day before. However once their fire got going it provided adequate heat and they ended up putting in well over an hour before they could push themselves to carry on.
By three o’clock they had another mile of line done and with the half mile of cruising decided to call it a day and headed back. When they got to the point where they had recommenced blazing, they struck out on a compass bearing that should bring them out pretty close to the camp. This was slower than following the back trail as bearings had to be taken and a new trail had to be broken. Once again the lantern light was a welcome sight in the dusk a few minutes after they re-entered the original trail. A pale moon glowing throw a gossamer sheet of ice particles prompted Harv to look at the thermometer as he kicked off his snowshoes. It was thirty-five below.
After supper, they laid in some extra wood for the night, sorting out pieces that were mostly knots to help the fire burn slower. They decided to play a game of crib so that they would stay up longer and make the night a little shorter. However by ten o’clock the warmth of the tent and the day’s efforts was causing them all to start nodding off as they sat on their wooden blocks. By ten thirty the lights were out and the stove was tightly stacked and damped down.
The next morning the thermometer read thirty-nine below, with no discussion about it everyone dawdled over breakfast and preparing lunches, they didn’t strap on their snowshoes until almost eight o’clock.
Jerry and Milford would have the closest distance to go, but were going to be cold because they would be cruising, the other two had to retrace three miles but would be reasonably comfortable until they recommenced extending the line.
The moose had been on the prowl again and for short distances had once more chewed up the trail and had wandered along and back and forth. It took over an hour to get to where the line had been completed the day before. After a brief rest they carried on changing off every two and half chains two try and both keep up their body heat. When mid day arrived, instead of lighting a fire they just stood and wolfed down their frozen sandwiches and shared the tea again.
A couple hours later they had completed only three quarters of a mile and both, in spite of the axe work were starting to shiver continuously. Harv called a halt, said not to roll the chain, but for Ken to tie it to his belt and they turned and headed back. It took close to two hours on the return trip, but after the first few minutes on the return trail they both started feeling warmer.
Jerry and Milford had just got the fire started and were cutting more wood when they reached the camp.
The temperature was forty-two below, frost crystals sifted through the air leaving trees, shrubs and brush glistening in the pale afternoon sun.
When they were all gathered once more in the heat of the tent, Jerry said, “At this temperature it’s just too hard to do this, the cruising is so slow we couldn’t generate any heat and were just lucky not to get any frost bite.”
Harv followed with, “And the trees are like hitting rocks, a couple of times I glanced off and almost got a leg and we found that whoever was compassing just plain got cold while the blazer caught up.”
“Okay, we’ll stay in camp tomorrow, the weather should change in a couple of days, we can go out and get wood in pairs a few times a day.”
No one objected, the crib game got going and supper wasn’t started until well after dark.
The next morning it was fifty-two below. There was little discussion, the fire was re-stoked and they took turns going out to get more wood. The day passed slowly as did the following night. They all slept fitfully and woke early; the temperature had warmed all the way up to minus forty-eight, still much too cold to continue the job. Another day was spent, feeding the fire, reading and playing cards. Around three o’clock Harv announced that he was going out to get more wood, as he was pulling on his parka, Jerry started dressing as well and followed him outside. The two worked for about an hour gathering and piling the wood along the walls of the tent.
Jerry finally commented that he was concerned about the food supply, everyone seemed to be eating more maybe due to boredom but probably because of the bodies need to generate heat as well. He said, “Even on the days that we worked we were falling behind, so sooner or later we will have to make a run to the Fort.”
That temperature dropped again down to fifty-two below by the time they went to bed. Milford made the comment that it was probably colder and the mercury had just frozen.
Next morning the mercury was still in the same spot and there was some thought that maybe Milford was right. However once the sun got above the treetops, the mercury climbed all the way up to minus forty-eight and by noon it was at minus forty-two.
All four dressed in at least two layers of clothing and went to work cutting wood. Although they knew it was wrong the chainsaw and one gas can had been brought into the tent to warm the fuel the night before.
In two hours they had a rebuilt wood supply of a mixture of both green and dry wood. The steady labor aided in keeping up their body heat and the time passed quickly.
Just as they were finishing a light breeze could be felt coming from the west, this raised the concern that if the temperature stayed down they would now be faced by a wind chill factor. By nightfall the temperature had risen to minus forty and seemed to be holding but in spite of the protection from the trees the wind was blowing across the small swamp around ten miles per hour. They quickly re-piled a quantity of the wood so it acted as a barrier on the windward side. Before they went to bed they decided that it would be better to take shifts rather than leave all the stove responsibility to Jerry. They set an alarm to go off at eleven, the first shift of two hours went to Harv, the next to Milford, then to Ken and last to Jerry from five am, he wouldn’t go back to sleep but would get coffee on and breakfast started. Even if he awoke through the night, he was to return to bed.
The wind stayed steady until about four the next morning, and then started to increase. About daylight several strong gusts flapped the tent vigorously waking everyone up. The gusts were immediately followed by chunks of snow from the surrounding trees smacking onto the fly.
All four were out of bed quickly, their immediate concern that the stovepipe would remain secure. However the ropes were still taut and between the banked snow and the woodpile everything was secure.
The temperature had risen to minus thirty-three and the sky was overcast. They were undecided whether they should get on with the job, on the one hand the severe cold was abating but the chill factor was very much a concern as well was the safety of the tent as long as the wind was blowing.
By the time breakfast was over, the thermometer was at minus twenty-eight and they estimated the wind to be around twenty miles per hour out in the open.
Harv called Ken to one side and said, “What do you say we go and see how much of that baseline we can get done? They can stay and tend the camp.”
Ken nodded, “ Suits me, I’m getting tired of this.”
“Hey Jerry,” Harv said. “We’re going to go and see how much of the base line we can get done, then if the temperature keeps rising we’ll be ready to get cruising.”
“Got a better idea,” Jerry said. “I’ll go with you we can take turns compassing, tail chaining and blazing. Milford can stay here, split some wood and have supper ready when we get back.”
Within twenty minutes the three had lunches made and were strapping on their snowshoes.
In just under two hours they were at the end of the blazes and with out resting started extending the line. The trees were still as hard as they had been a few days earlier but with the warmer air temperature and spelling off each job frequently they made good time, they ate their lunches without a fire and the five miles of line was done by early afternoon.
After a brief discussion they decided to add another quarter mile to ensure that there would be enough line to tie to. They were back in camp just before six pm.
They had now been living off their supplies for eleven days but had only completed the equivalent of about three and a half days of the fieldwork. A trip to town would have to be made much sooner than anticipated.
No comments:
Post a Comment