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North Country Winter Images

The picture of the thermometer is what ours looks like this morning, no moose but they have been close enough to eat the dead plants in the hanging baskets hanging from the eves. We also have a ruffed grouse that comes to the kitchen window bird feeder twice a day to fill up on black oil sunflower seeds. It is pretty hard to count Chickadees but my bride counted 16 yesterday at our feeders both black capped and Boreal. Five Canadian Jays, 2 hairy woodpeckers, 2 downy woodpeckers and a magpie are regulars. We did have a nutchatch coming, but haven't seen it since before Chrismas, they are according to the bird books rare here and we fear that it has frozen to death.
Still in the throes of the short dark days of the sub-arctic winter but the daylight has increased by 57 minuets since the Solstice. Days are beautiful with the low, flat light with long dawns and dusk.
 
Yup minus 25c walking the dogs in the dark this morning, minus 32c with windchill. They- retired racing Greyhounds- are not as keen on the temperatures.

Beautiful clear blue skies and fresh snow to whiten everything up. 15cm since Monday so ski trails are back in great shape.
And that big full moon looks great shining on all the fresh snow, too.

I love this time of year!

Only 3 months till paddling season.jpg
Only 3 months till paddling season!

Bruce
 
Winter here started early and cold but since mid-December it's been unseasonably warm. The respite is over as temps look to start dropping to more normal levels early next week. Has been nice while it lasted.

I think if I walked into an outhouse and saw that roll of toilet paper I'd decide to hold it another day.

Alan
 
Well... it is 51°F now at mid-day, but the thermometer is dropping quickly. It is supposed to be only 44°F tonight - Brrrr.
There is a paddling season?

Sorry. Couldn't help it...:cool:
 
“Only 3 months till paddling season!

Bruce”


I guess it depends on where one wants to paddle, Bruce. Kathleen and I plan to fly into Whitefish Lake this summer, in the Northwest Territories. Going to spend two weeks paddling the Barren Grounds of Whitefish and Lynx Lakes. Whitefish remains frozen until late June/early July. Only a little over 5 months to go!
 
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What kind of pack boots y'all wear in that weather? I have an old pair of Sorels I used in Wyoming, but my feet were always cold.

Kathleen and I wear traditional mukluks, with moose hide bottoms and canvass uppers. They are light as bedroom slippers and breath completely. They are substantially warmer than our Sorels, which are also very heavy, and the liners need to be dried regularly. We also have felted wool inserts for the mukluks that Kathleen made.

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What PaddlingPitt said. If you can not find the real deal hand made smoke tanned moose hide ones, a good substitute are the ones made in Ely Minnesota by Steger Mukluks. I never wear my mukluks much above +14 F (-10 C.) or if I do, I slip on Tingley farm boots.
I am seeing a lot of the distance sled dog racers wearing Lobben felt boots from Norway inside Neos Explorer Stabilicer overshoes, which I would like to try for my ice fishing adventures. If can ever find Lobben's that fit my big feet.
 
I just use the good old green rubber boots with felt liners. When I'm winter camping, I take another set of liners, and dry the damp ones out at night in the tent with the wood stove. -28 C here today, as long as I keep moving, my feet are warm. Ice fishing is a different story.
 
Steiger muks for me at 10F and lower. I like that I can pull the liners out and keep ‘em warm in the bag. They’re light and flexible and don’t feel like a box of rocks in the bag. Not much use for canoe trips though.
 
What Mem said!
i am a Land Surveyor and spend a lot of time outside at all times of the year.
I have tried Grebs, Sorels, Helly Hansen’s but the best boots I have found for winter in Canada are Kamik green rubber boots with a lined shank with felt liners and felt insoles. The laced up closeable tops keeps snow out; the rubber keep your feet dry and the felt liners keep your toes toasty!
On a possibly unrelated note- personal experience has found it easier to stay warm in minus 40 Celsius/ 40 below F in northern Alberta than at minus 5 c in Southern Ontario.
in Northern Alberta at those temps there is no moisture in the air and in fact the sun is warm enough to allow me to remove gloves to write field notes.
Coldest and most miserable I’ve ever been was doing a survey job in shadow of the Skydome in downtown Toronto one February in 1998.

Loving the minus 20 c afternoon in St Albert- only 3 months till paddling season.

( Mike, I paddled the Sturgeon River March 31st last year. One of the first open waters in the area).
Bruce
 
Aah I wish I had a use for Stegers. We use mountaineering snowshoes.. those abominations of metal and teeth. Especially with the non existent Climate Change breaking through on ice requires some degree of waterproofness. And a sole to protect against those crampon teeth. Everything down here is up and down and usually has icy spots though we have a foot of snow. Over ice.. And tonight going to be frosted in ice.
Today we got to 55 and the ponding of water on ice is impressive. Tomorrow 7.

BlackFly try some new felt liners. My Sorels are not only clumsy but too dang hot.
 
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