Eliguk Outpost

Kluskus ends about 184km (North of Eliguk), but we can only drive to the 166.5km where our trail head starts at the driveways of Walt & the Carnegie's homesteads. After Mountain Man started walking away from his truck that lay on it's side at the 110km mark, thoughts raced through his mind. Will there be enough battery power when I get back? Are they leaking fluid? Am I losing oil? Are there anymore loggers in pick-ups left traveling this far down the Kluskus? The biggest stressor was finding someone as quickly as possible, to get the vehicle upright and get home! It was a ridiculous situation, that fell within that…

Morning Highlights... It started out as a quiet week. "I'm going to get lots of writing done", (I thought to myself as I rubbed my hands together).  A whole 5 days alone without my Mountain Man! That's a whole 5 days free from cooking 3 meals a day, that creates 3 loads of dishes a day, that requires 2 - 5 gallon buckets to fetch a day. All that worked saved by eating cereal & salads out of the same bowl! All of that equals so many more hours a day to do what I love to do...write! My first night alone, is when the generator died. Really?? The first…

Days of wind and snow, with day and night being equally gusty. The snow was falling in the biggest snowflakes I'd ever seen - I called it snow balling. Accumulation of snow came fast. The wind howled and the trees swayed - as the snow fell, the wind blew it to any edge it could be swept against. Sleep was hard to find, we got an hour of sleep here and there, spread over days. And those days of wind and white blended into each other. We became zombies. Then one night it warmed up to 5C through the night turning snow to rain. It shrank the new foot of…

It’s been really mild. The last week we’ve had above zero temperatures, even overnight. Making it hard to keep my second outdoor freezer (a cooler on my deck) from thawing. With the warm weather came a few days of 50km/hr winds, so another trek down the back trail to see the damage and clear trail once again - is imminent. The Winter comfort food has been just that, added comfort. I’ve been trying to use up all the wrinkling, sprouting potatoes I’ve had stored for 4 months. Low on greens the options have been limited. I had a small hunk of smoked Gruyere cheese biding it’s time in the fridge,…

Dog cuddles The early morning sunshine had me humming around the cabin, preparing everything I would need for my lunch guests. Chopping onions & celery for my soup, simmering my broth...and setting my cinnamon bun dough to rise. I had plenty of time to clean up after myself as this kitchen is small and clutters with dishes fast! I was in my nightgown, as I handed Mountain Man a coffee - while he lounged in bed with the dogs curled up around him. I mentioned that he may want to consider getting up and dressed, as 2 snow machine travelers were set to arrive mid-morning for coffee. I no sooner…

The mornings are socked in, dark and gloomy. Great for writing, until my laptop battery drains and then I find myself waiting for the sun to break through the clouds and light up my solar panels. Only then can I charge my battery and continue to write, upload pictures and post our life to this blog. All to avoid using precious resources like gasoline to run a generator. So if my stories are late to load, blame the heavy banks of fog! Mild days above zero, and sunshine = outdoor activities! We have a new roof to put on the Hudson cabin this Spring, so wood is needed. We have…

It sure has been an eventful few days of weather. Even as I try to write today’s blog, the freezing rain/snow combo sounds like rain hitting the roof. The wood stove is crackling behind me and the wind is whistling from the West. Last I looked it was forecast to be sunny with a 10% chance of precipitation – guess we are the 10% chance. Wish I had those kind of odds for everything! Last Thursday we had challenged the editor for the write up in the 'Williams Lake Tribune', saying a local community to the East had been the coldest in BC with -48.5C. We asked them why Environment…

Not sure why they stopped printing the numbers...but looks like -50 to me! Being born and raised in Northern Ontario must be a big factor in how we have handled the lowest cold snap in memory. I remember -40 we had it for a month straight or more during a Winter, but -50C or more, I don’t recall. None of our thermometers read past -40C, but our neighbors (the Phillips) recorded -51C. We had 3 extremely cold nights of it before the clear night turned overcast and the temperature rose to -28C last night. We’re just hoping this doesn’t mean more snow! It makes me think of all the books…

The cold air mass that had been predicted for days, moved from the Arctic spreading into Alaska and Canada…working its way into the States. Power outages reported from town to cities as the frozen snap settles over North America. Being prepared isn’t just for off gridders. Everyone should have a back up heating source & generator. The cold hit fast when it came, going from our zero degree day to only a high of -23C the following day, then a drop last night that brought us to -40C. It’s a must to start your day with calories, to get you through all the work of trudging through deep snow. Hauling…

Mountain Man waited until 1:30pm to leave by snow machine, headed to his Jeep - making his way into the small community of Anahim Lake. Refilling a few gas cans and picking up mail, and a few parcels. There was no hurry to get in or out. Many people stopped him along his route, chatting and wishing him a Happy New Year. After 4 years, every face is familiar, and everyone knows who he is no matter what vehicle he has. He picked up the few things that he could find on my list, head lettuce, cucumber, onions, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli & carrots - other than that the shelves were…