Winter Trails for Wildlife

 Winter is harsh on wildlife. Food sources are limited and therefore the animals energy levels are not optimal. 

All winter wildlife have adaptions which allow them to survive during the lean months.

White Tailed Deer for example, enter a state where their metabolism reduces to the point where they can subsist on buds from trees.  

Never feed deer in the winter unless you can sustain it over the entire duration of the cold weather. The food you feed them will increase their metabolism to the point where they will become dependent on you for survival. 

You will help them much more by simply creating trails in the deep snow with snowshoes, skis or snowmobile.   This allows the wild ones to move through their home territories with very little expenditure of valuable energy. 

Of course, the wild ones do not need us; but since we live in their homelands, it suffices to say that helping them out by simply packing down a few trails goes a long way to making our transgressions feel less intrusive. 

Happy Wandering. 

  

Simple camp backrest

 The winter woods are full of wonder and silent secrets which have been written upon the snow for us to read and decipher. Snowshoes are a perfect conveyance for anyone wishing to reach the pages of the book. 

Snowshoes disperse your weight thus allowing you to traverse deep snow with relative ease.

 

Once you have a comfortable camp setup and a fire is radiating heat into your shelter, put your snowshoes to work and create a backrest. 

I refer to a term "kick" in this video. What I am referring to is the long piece of wood which extends from the back of a traditional snowshoe commonly referred to as the Algonquin snowshoe.

The "kick" helps to keep your feet tracking straight while walking. It can be a hinderance if you find yourself in dense bush but it is invaluable when traversing open fields and lakes. 

I prefer the bearpaw or modified bearpaw snowshoe as shown in this video. It disperses my weight perfectly and allows for ease of movement in the wilderness through which I wander. 

Hope this is of some service to my fellow wanderers. 

Happy wandering. 

  

Testing a camp stove

Packing for a trip through the woods requires a few fundamental items. One of the items you should carry is a portable camp stove. 

Be it the humble hobo stove or a commercially made unit is a matter of choice and function. 

Always test your equipment before heading out. Ensure it meets or exceeds your needs and does not add too much bulk or weight to your pack. 

In this video I test out the Uberleben Stoker Flatpack Stove. 

I am not affiliated with Uberleben or any company that sells their gear. I simply want to share with you  the equipment that can handle the reality of the bush. 

Happy Wandering

 

 

A Winter Walk in Algonquin Highlands.

The March sun fills the forest with a warmth which has been absent for several months. 

As the sun stretches the shadows from the trees, I wander through the woods with no destination in mind. Animal tracks dictate my direction of travel.  

Wandering in this fashion allows one to purge the concerns of tomorrow and live for the very moment in which you find yourself. 

Even if it is just a fleeting release from the realities of the man-made world in which we all must function, taking a walk in a place where trees grow and wild ones walk always returns me to a place within myself which I call home. 

Whenever you get a chance to drift away from everyone and wander through the woods, don't hesitate, jump right in and lose tomorrow for today. 

  

A simple shelter for a night in the winter woods.

A winter night spent in the woods can be a very unsettling if one is unprepared. The cold hands of winter seep into your body and your civilized mind begins to fight against the intrusion. 

I have seen many shelters erected for the purpose of winter camping and most have their disadvantages.

The Quinzee is a snow-hut which takes huge amounts of energy to build and sleeping in it is akin to sleeping in an ice box. 

Brush shelters take a lot of time to construct and scar the land for years after you have moved on.    

The shelter depicted in this video is so simple it can be erected in the dead of night in about ten minutes. A fire will take about twenty minutes to set up and light. Within thirty minutes you will be relaxing within your warm shelter watching the fire's light flickering off the trees. 

It is very important to control your energy when traversing the winter woods. If you perspire, you will create a dangerous condition which could lead to hypothermia. 

This shelter takes very little energy to create and you will not sweat erecting it. Once a fire is going, the shelter's temperature will climb to many degrees above freezing. 

With a good supply of firewood and a good sleeping pad and bag, you will be able to fall asleep to the sounds of crackling wood and the call of the owls. 

Passing along some information I have learned about snowshoes.

There is nothing quite like wandering through the woods when the snow lies deep upon the forest floor. 

There is a stillness which seeps into your soul and transports you to a place where you feel as if you are floating rather than walking. It is hard to explain and must be experienced to fully understand what I am trying to convey. 

When the clouds repaint the wilderness with their white paintbrush, I do not have the power to resist putting my snowshoes on and wandering through the winter wonderland which stretches out before my eyes.  

In this short video, I tell you my thoughts on the wonderful invention called the snowshoe. 

This Muskrat looks sad.

Winter has settled into Algonquin Highlands with  a cascade of snow that stole in on an east wind during the night. 

I wandered past my canoe rack and for a moment, I thought the Muskrat looked forlorn, as if waiting for spring to arrive. 

As I walked through the newly painted landscape, I pondered the time distance between the present and the spring. I found myself looking into the future without being aware of the now. 

Breathing in deeply and then exhaling,  I released the future for the present and let my mind drift as my snowshoes left notes of my passage.

The forest floated by and I immersed myself into the world of the wild ones. Feeling their eyes on me, I would stop and slowly scan my surroundings. 
I did not see another creature;however, they were there.

I know of this because on my return trip, I crossed over my own tracks. Superimposed on them were the tracks of deer, mouse, fisher and red squirrel. 
   
     

I love a fresh blanket of snow, it creates a new page upon which the characters of the forest can sign their names.