Arrving for a winter weekend

Here we are arriving for a three day weekend in March. We were both excited about our winter weekend, and so we loaded the sled with supplies and set off across the ice.

Keeeping warm

It was -15 when we arrived, but there were were plenty of things to do to keep warm while we waited for the fireplace to heat up the cabin. Here we clear the roof, shovel the deck and drill a hole through the ice for water. By the time we were done with all that it was comfortably warm in the cabin. Winter tip - if you cover the ice hole with lots of snow, it will stay open all weekend and you can get as much water as you need without having to drill again.

The secret to the outhouse in winter

The question we are most often asked is "What's it like going to the outhouse in the winter?" The answer is - not bad at all - as long as you have your handy toilet seat made out of styrofoam insulation! No matter how cold it gets outside, it's never cold to sit on!

Winter Barbecue

We'll never understand why people stop barbecuing in the winter. You can stay nice and toasty by standing close to the barbecue, and for whatever reason - it always seems to taste even better in the winter. Our first night we dined on deer flank, (bought at a market in Montreal - this is NOT roadkill!) along with grilled sweet potatoes and onions. Yummm!

Dishes

We kept our dishes to a miimum since we cooked on the barbecue, but Carolyn still had a few to do after our dinner and before we went out for a night trek on the lake.

On the ice at night

I love being on the ice in the black of night. You almost never need a flashlight with so much white around you, even when there is no moon. All you can hear is the creaking of snow under your snowshoes. It's mysterious and peaceful all at the same time.

Howling for wolves

We had seen plenty of evidence of wildlife on the ice - otter holes, moose tracks, wolf tracks and wolf scat - so we thought we'd try some howling while we were out snowshoeing at night. We didn't get an answer, but Carolyn did hear some howling early the next morning.

All roads lead to Wahbahmimi

You can see all our comings and goings from the tracks left in the snow. There are also some tracks left by Tom Pigeon who was celebrating his 70th birthday in the Park. Happy Birthday Tom!

Heading up the Madawaska

Sunday was sunny and the ice was nice and crispy. We headed out on our snowshoes for a trip up the Madawaska river

Here are the narrows leading into Lake Tanamakoon. The ice looks very different here with little snow on it. We stay well to the edge, as this ice is often not very solid because of the current through the narrows.

Lunch Outdoors

Although the thermometer was below 0, the sky was blue and the sun was shining, so we opted for lunch on the point. There ae lots more pictures of our weekend if you'd like to see more. Just click here and enjoy!