Day 2 – Spring Creek Draw to Sunday Lake – Journeys with Jeff and Ellen

As morning broke we reluctantly left our bivies to answer nature’s call and to make a fire to cook breakfast and warm up. We knew that this night would be cold but our guide’s radio communication back to civilization confirmed that the temperature had plummeted to at least -36 degrees! In these conditions one needs to think ahead and plan how to execute any tasks which require even a brief removal of mittens or boots. Removal of your liner gloves is not advised for any reason. Our mood was upbeat and we all agreed that enduring this extreme cold night gave us renewed confidence. We knew that we would not just survive the coming days but actually thrive and enjoy this winter experience!

After breakfast we packed up the sleds, harnessed the dogs, and continued up the draw, now crisscrossing the frozen Beartrap River toward Sunday Lake. We came to understand that this corridor is seldom travelled in any season because it is away from the summer canoe routes and is also without hiking trails. In fact, it had been 20 years since even our Wintergreen guide had been through here with dogsleds! It began to feel like a true expedition. Our route once again followed the winding river ice while sometimes up and down the banks and over the uneven snow covered grassy expanses. On the frozen river we saw long stretches of tracks from a small wolf pack and we tried to interpret their movements. The tracks would stop periodically and show signs of chaos or struggle then continue further ahead before stopping again. At these stoppages we believe the wolves had caught some other animal and were trying to wrestle control.

After arriving at Sunday Lake, we let the dogs run free for a long time while we gathered and cut firewood, chiseled through the lake ice for water, and started dinner. Jeff had laid out his bivy on the lake ice but while attempting to slide in at bedtime found that our lead dog Alice was attempting to enter his bivy as well! Alice is a good lead but is also a “camp dog” and often manages to avoid being chained to “the line” with the other dogs in the evening. Jeff shooed her away but then she tried Ellen’s bivy which was in the trees. Ellen reluctantly got out of her bivy and clipped Alice to the line but the device may have been frozen open because Alice soon returned to Ellen. This time however, Alice was content to quietly curl up and sleep all night on the foam sitting pad behind Ellen’s head. What a sweet scene!