Journal Entries

Putting on Elastoplast Second Skin blister pads. These are the best brand but sometimes hard to find.

My ski boots are a half size too large. We bought them 4 years ago on sale and they were the only size available. Without blister pads I get blisters which is ok for a day trip here and there but not for a multi-day trip when I have to ski and walk in my boots for days.

Morning of day two. A leisurely coffee and breakfast, feet up with my purple booties, planning my route for today between refuge Toussaint and my destination tonight refuge Prud’homme.

Sore after yesterday’s fall and the effort of skiing but having a relaxing morning.

Days end. Time to stoke the fire, brush teeth, go pee one last time, update this journal, read and go to sleep.

After taking this photo. I watched the nearly full moon rise from the other direction and bathe the snow with bright moonlight. Magical.

@toesalad usually does all our camp cooking. Another first for me, making my own camp supper. Would you like a little supper with your butter?

Rice, quinoa, dried veggies, vegetable seasoning, pepperoni stick cut up and butter.

Home for the night

The artsy camp stove photo with all my non-artsy foodbags in the background.

Shoreline Lac toussiant buried in snow.

Arriving at the refuge and attending to camp chores. Empty ashes from woodstove, split some wood for fire, get fire going, gather and melt snow for water, stock wood for nighttime, organize my gear, have hot chocolate, make and eat supper, filter water, take a couple short walks in the sunset and moonrise.

All of this is kind of significant because it’s the first time I’ve done this all my own.

Temperature when I arrived at my refuge this afternoon

You see those bright white blobs in the black area. Those are air bubbles in moving water trapped in thick clear ice somehow reflecting white as they burble under the surface. There was no sun shining here. I took this photo under a bridge where I hoped to get water. No luck on that, the ice was too thick still but the water was flowing underneath. It was mesmerizing to watch.