We really lucked out, on saturday night it was a balmy -22c but when we finally headed out on Sunday morning it had warmed to -10c! and only got warmer. I don't think it got below -7c today actually.
The walk was really nice, I wasn't sure what to expect as I have never gone overland from Vee Lake before... but there was a road from Vee Lake to the abandoned Ryan Mine, followed by a well used (to my surprise!) quad trail the rest of the way to Berry Hill. We contemplated walking over the lakes, I had been skating on Frame Lake on Wednesday.... good thing Daniel talked us out of it as the ice at Banting was only two to three inches max, creaked and cracked when we stood on it.
The tent frame was just great and we got it super warm! Took us about three hours to get there, we managed to cut wood, get water and heat the tent up within an hour then spent the rest of our day light target shooting. Great fun.
The night consisted of eating, playing various card games, including an Ontario vs. NWT cribbage tournament - NWT lost to Ontario like in most match-ups - and setting off our Chinese lanterns.
The night consisted of eating, playing various card games, including an Ontario vs. NWT cribbage tournament - NWT lost to Ontario like in most match-ups - and setting off our Chinese lanterns.
The lanterns made for a fun time, it was super windy last night so lighting them was an adventure. Trying to find a non windy location was impossible, lighting them inside seemed logical.
And it was, until we needed to get them outside... they either blew into the trees, back toward the tent or just engulfed themselves in flames. Right before all of us settling in for the night Daniel and Blair went to get water and came back with a massive Giant Water Bug that Daniel accidentally scooped out of the water hole. It was massive! We spotted swim by the next day too.
Woke up to the sound of the ice freezing. Most interesting sound, a warping noise like when a saw is wiggled. It sounded like things were flying over the tent, mixed with deep growling noises.We took our time leaving, playing frisbee down the trail, but with a goal of making it back to the truck before 4:30 when we loose the light.
Great trip, but I wish I had dragged corona off with us.
