Rainbow Wilderness Area, January '09

When we headed down the trail it had been dark for hours. Sadie pulled the tobaggan with a lot help from me, I had a harness too. Sadie and I broke trail ahead of Norm. It wasn't bad though. Someone else had traveled this way with a sled in the previous days. Soon the trail of the unknown person turned towards the lake and we continued onward to the west, now in full trail blazing effort. The snow was 18 inches deep and we left a 6 inch furow as we moved forward to our destination. It was zero degrees with a 20 mph wind from the south. This wind was a major factor in our decision to camp in the woods to the north of the trail instead of on a hill next to the lake. It was wonderfull to be in the snow and cold air once again. We made camp efficiently but it was early Saturday morning by the time we were snug in our sleeping bags. Sunrise occurred long before we were out of our tents. It's fabulous sleeping in the northern woods with all the highly oxygenated air. After a breakfast of fried bagels, we hiked around the area. It was a beautiful day but it only got up to 12 degrees. Light snow was reflecting an occasional sunbeam. The afternoon consisted of rice for lunch, hiking, cribbage and a one hour nap in my luxurious chair. We took another hike before supper. We appreciated the fact that we were totally alone in these woods. I don't think people get out in the winter much anymore. Other than an airplane motor in the distance we heard no other sounds of civilization. After supper we took another hike. It was a good way to make sure we were warm before we crawled into our tents. Another long night of dreams and pondering the imponderable left us fresh and ready to face the world.