Eliguk Outpost

My wood pile. Yes! In the nick of time, Mountain Man returned home. I had the wood all split and piled for the week, and it's a good thing as the real workload was about to hit. The first night we reached 80km winds (which you know by now, only takes about 40km to knock these dead conifers down). We ran around in our PJ's about 3am when it hit. It doesn't matter how secured you think things are when gusts come at you across the lake, you still lie in bed wondering what all the thumps and crashes are! We head a big metal clang and it had us…

Yes, Winter will be here shortly; but wasn't that Autumn we had (at least in British Columbia) something else? Wow! For all of September and most of October, we had mild to warm days with NO BUGS! We're dipping below zero at night and all the stocked wood piles are depleted. Time to get our butts into gear! Well at least it's time for me to kick into action, as Mountain Man is in town getting some supplies and new tires on the truck. I don't mind running the quad and trailer along the trails trying to find all the old wood that's been cut at some point along the…

I got a call today. Mark from the Williams Lake office, a Conservation Officer who is pairing up with another C.O. and headed this way tomorrow morning. Only problem is that Mountain Man of mine is in Prince George! Now I have to meet the men by boat and guide them around the lake to all the crime scenes that took place over a week ago. It hasn't rained, so hopefully most of the evidence is still clear to them to see the story the tracks will tell in the marsh. Someone's in heat and it's not me! Tomorrow will be a busy day; our new guests arrive tomorrow as…

Red October - month of the most amazing sunrise/sunsets! It's been the warmest Autumn we've experienced since our time at Eliguk. Coldest Spring, and as bitter as we were about that; we mumbled something about how it better be a long warm Autumn. Someone was listening! It's also the longest we've ever had running water without having to disconnect and turn it off every night. I still have flowers in bloom outside. The full moon is almost here, and a killing frost is on its way. I know when that first snowfall hits, it will catch us off guard. We're still in summer mode. Getting everything moved in while the…

Yeah, I did that! The Handfasting ceremony was perfect! In case you're wondering, a Handfasting is an ancient Norse/Pagan/Viking marriage ritual, and usually an un-officiated one. A Handfasting ceremony was a formal promise, or engagement to be married. When it first originated in pre-Christain times, duos needed to wear the ribbon for a year and a day, and then decide if they would like to stay married. If they wanted to separate, it would be as if they were never married. Sort of like a 'trial marriage' rather than a traditional wedding. If they chose to stay together, then a permanent marriage ceremony took place. Maybe if there was more…

Of course, we couldn't start off this month without some sort of shtf scenario, right? Well, the trip into Vanderhoof was nothing but cringe worthy for our Mountain Man! Once packed up in the big diesel truck and heading down the Kluskus Forest Service Rd towards Vanderhoof, mechanical issues arose. A small noise at first, that grew louder and into an instant vibration. Must be a u-joint, he thought? But after inspection and trying to pull out the front driveshaft on the side of the road, it didn't seem to be the case...so he pressed on, slowly. Once in Vanderhoof, he pulled the front driveshaft out, it didn't make it…

Here we are...already at the end of Summer; at least for those of us this far North. The last few days of heat breaking, giving way to mornings with frost laden grasses. The relief in temperature change is delightful for all here at Eliguk. The lake won't be as stagnant with it's bouts of algae blooms, and watching the mist rise off the lake in the mornings is a welcomed sight! The prolonged heat we experienced brought many more grasshoppers to their maturity & reproduction stages than we've ever had here before. The sound of them crepitating and snapping their wings as they fly, drowns out most of the other…

After the Thunderstorm Thunderstorms with rain. That's my exciting news. I'm sure most of you know that it's the best-case scenario if you're going to be subject to all that lightning. A few fires have started from the storms, but fire crews have been able to control them so far, at least around our neck of the woods. Just looking back on all the years we've seen fire here in our short 6 Summers, it's been rare to be so relaxed without having any smoke filling your lungs. That heat though! What a draining, intolerable, sufferable thing to go through. Give me 2 Winters back-to-back, but don't make me drag…

Lunch breaks... Is it just me, or is time flying by faster than ever? Well, if you follow scientists - they claim that June 29, 2022, the earth spun faster than normal, making it the shortest day since the 1960's!  "Since 2016 the Earth started to accelerate," Leonid Zotov, a researcher at Lomonosov Moscow State University, said. "This year it rotates quicker than in 2021 and 2020." Mind you, its only milliseconds, but it's a good excuse as to why I feel like I'm aging faster than normal. The weather changed from our rainy months, and we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a heat wave. Highs of 35C…

A Man's Hat It's not like he has 'hat etiquette', such as 'doffing his hat' to passerby's or 'touching the brim' (a type of salute). It's just another tool to keep the sun out of his eyes and the rain off his face. The threads have worn out from the number of times he's put the hat on his head; with his rough hands sliding over the brim fraying the threads. There's gashes and tears around the sides where his hair sticks out now. Normally people wear out socks before they will ever wear out a baseball cap! Not Mountain Man. I never imagined how fast one could 'wear out'…