We're staying put...

So we are on our way!?

So, I guess we are.....can't say for sure but the plan was to push into the
bush and up Nitro Creek to about the 3Km distance from the point we're at now.
All first indicators say we need to push the bush and break a trail to our
future spot before we get our gear packed and make way to our final location.
We decide the day must be at least a course of replenishing bodies with a good
breakfast and coffee. Things take a while and the Nalgenes need to be
filled before we make our wayout from camp so you take things slow, there's no
need to rush , we're here already and if we need to stay we'd do those steps
we need to to make our stay a little more relaxing.
Eggs, Bacon and a second cup are enough to make the nature call
so you have to find yourself a little place to make a hole and bury your
business, so I set off into the bush a bit, its quite cold this morning and
the snow is falling but , man , I tell ya, there's nothing quite like being
out in nature and having a poop! It's a part of everyday life, its just that,
but jeez you can be in the city and traveling around in small stores and the
places look disgusting to the point you feel sick in there. In the Open space
its you, nature and what you see around you....snow falling, the tree's, birds
, a squirrel, a great view and as close to the outdoors as possible,
nothing's finer!
Well, enough talk, things happen, its cool but its not the end of the
world about it and so you do your business and thats it. Time to gather
a bit more fuel for the fire and arrange the gear we'll need to
bushwack. Bushwacking would be a term used to describe traveling through
the woods and clearing a space suitable for traveling without having too
many obstacles impeding your route. In the days of old for Trappers a
trail could be marked by scoring both sides of nearby trees along a made
path to indicate to the trapper that this is the way to another trap
or point of direction. Quite interesting how the woods tell a story of
there own of the days gone by.....for us, we need to make our own trail
since it looked like the area had undergone logging at some point many
years ago ( 50yrs or more) or a fire had swept through.

The snow depth and texture shows that we will need to wear snowshoes for
this trip up Nitro Creek and we will bring our axes to clear any tag
alders and small branches to travel with some sort of pathway for the
next wave of travelers. The bush travel is such that you wind left and
right, up and down and sometime in the wrong direction to see which way
might be better in the long run overall. Scouter Joe had taken the time
to make a path towards the tracks from where we stopped for the night so
the next travelers will not have to backtrack into the bush the way we
did, they will be able to shortcut to where we are camped right now.

We make our way through to a portion of Nitro Creek and by the looks of
it , we will be able to travel ontop the creek itself without any need
to clear a trail.
Following the creek as far as we can and then up and into the next
clearing. We end up in a decent opening, trees nearby can be obtained
for firewood and there looks to be decent spots we can setup up for
more tents and more people.

There's another point up the creek that leads to another clearing and
the group decides that since we don't need this many travelers to
bushwack, since the going ontop the creek is fairly easy, half will
return to camp and clear more trail and the other half will continue on
a bit further to see if there's anything better for camping spots.

Our projected area was in a spot where Nitro comes together from two
creeks and continues its way down. We didn't get that far yet, but
looking at the 1st clearing, we're thinking this would be more than fair
for us to camp at for the remainder of our trip.

Heading back takes time when you stop to whack a few branches here and
there to clear your path and so times not just idley sitting by, its
sort of past a bit now and once we arrive back at camp we realize
crashing the existing camp will take some time and then hauling our gear
again through the woods would make our already tired bodies, more
exhausted. We decide to wait the returning party with Scouter Joe and
discuss our options. Of course, when we left them to go further we had
already discussed that we would return to camp and prepare for the move,
but, as you take a few minutes in camp to make coffee, grab a snack or
two and discuss how far you want to travel again so soon after an
already tiring first day, well....it wasn't long afterward that Scouter
Joe returns and a few jovial ribs are exchanged at our lack of progress
at camp.

We figured Joe would want to crash the bush like a moose so our first
thought was we're going to bring our gear to the first clearing area and
then possibly to the creeks that join together. The other option was to
make this spot home and then we would need to set ourselves up with a
better location and then there was Joe's option, which we didn't really
expect but we took gratefully and in about a heartbeat. We decided that
today is already expired and we'll stay put for the day and move
tomorrow. Wow, what a great idea! Rest is needed and it would have been
a long day going should we have pushed ourselves.

After that decision there is still some attention to firewood detail
that is in order as well as water so after a rest from the whole camp,
Sid takes out the chainsaw and there's a nearby tree between the two hot
tents we will take down and split for us to share. Nice tree!, a very
dry white pine. So nice in fact Scouter takes his axe to the log lengths
Sid has cut and quarters the wood with what looks like barely a stroke.
I set up shop on the stump and take the quartered pieces to further
split the wood for easily handling and
stuffing into our fire boxes. This is a team effort, everyone is helping
either cutting, splitting or hauling wood to each of our tent areas. It
takes a bit more time our of your day.

Camping with a hot tent is definitely the good way to enjoy a lengthy
stay outdoors in the winter. If you brought enough food, you could
virtually stay as long as you'd like. Rick and Tony are both cold
tenting and their setup is great for a short duration in my opinion and
having a hot tent nearby while cold tenting would be a definite asset to
keeping your bits and pieces warm when your cold. The simple truth is
that whether the tent is hot or cold, your sleeping in the same
environment at night. If the temperature outside is - 30C then the
temperature in the tents is exactly the same. There is no difference
with the exception that if your freezing in a hot tent, you start a
fire; in a cold tent , if your cold, you have to do something else like
eat a piece of chocolate, drink a warm drink of something like Gatorade
or even hot chocolate or get out of the tent and go pee! You can't hold
it in on this kind of trip, when nature calls, go! Your body actually
hates to hold onto it and your not doing yourself any favours holding
it. You could bring a pee bottle so you don't have to venture too far.

The days adventure ends with a hearty meal, a fair amount of banter, a
few nips, plenty of laughs and snacks and the pleasant thought that
today we stay to rest, tomorrow we will be leaving to go further into
Nitro creek.

Chapter 4.(not yet completed)
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