The last 48 hours has been a period of unsettled weather: head winds, night winds and grey white blowing snow filled skies. Patrick shows how to take down the tent in a blizzard. The fly was attached to the tent with numerous broad elastic bands. When the poles were removed, the fly and tent came down as one piece. Rocks on snow stakes were the last thing to be removed before the tent was rolled, stuffed and packed.
Winding along the Weasel River. Frozen rock studded bank looms overhead. Wind actions scours the rock face, removing sandy granite grit that holds large boulders in place until gravity does the rest. Gingerly and ever so aware of the overhead threat (tiny rocks constantly showered down), we didn’t linger in this area.
A narrow gap in the river bed between rocky moraine and knife edge snow bank. Thankfully the wind was at my back as it funneled through these narrow openings with more force than the open lakes. This narrow part on the river was a summer rapids. Huge storms in 2008 caused serious erosion, exposing previous stable banks to the elements.
Who’s in charge? With the wind at our back, the elevation down hill and the river ice snow free, the sleds were often in front of us. My sled swung ahead of me, Patrick’s is to the side. It became a game of tag: when the wind momentarily let up, I got ahead of the sled. But not for long: the wind smirked and gusted, pushing the sled forward, into the back of my heels, trying to topple me forward.