Jatahmund Lake

This is the view of Jatahmund lake from the cabin (the dock is in the lower right - we won't need that for a while!) The runway for the plane is right in front.

The mountains stretch across your entire field of vision.

This is the cabin we stay in. It's pretty roomy, and the wood stove is enormous. 

There are 4 bunks and a lot of sizable holes in the wall and floor (improves the ventilation). We melt snow from the lake to get water in the bucket you can see sitting on the wood stove.

Our kitchen area is only cramped when all four of us are insatiably hungry from a long day out in the snow. The most popular item on the menu has been potatoes baked in the wood stove for dinner and tortillas with eggs for breakfast. We are well stocked with Sriracha and peanut butter.

We were able to go out on long excursions during the first few days out there, but the temperature soon plummeted and we started having issues with our snow machines. The thermometer only goes down to -30 F and it bottomed out pretty early on in the week (we have since acquired a thermometer that goes to -60 F). We stayed near the cabin and cut firewood. Lots of firewood.

Just so long as the stacks don't start obstructing my lake view...

We found ancient snow machines buried in the snow. Do they work? Probably not.

This is the beginning of one of the trails we put in. After about 3 miles you start to get in to deciduous forest that looks promising for lynx. 

The landscape is pocked with tons of little ponds and lakes. There are caribou beds in the foreground of this pond.

Caribou tracks are all over, and we saw animals every day (usually in small groups of less than 10). Sometimes the caribou would make a highway that packed the snow nicely for skiing. 

Putting in the trail with the snow machine was terribly challenging because the tussocks roll you around. Skiing on this trail is much more pleasant. You see more tracks too when you aren't struggling to stay upright!

Black spruce forever.

Our trail twists through these crazy forests.

I get pretty frosty after skiing for only 30 minutes (and I'm down to my base layers when it's -30 F). The most important backcountry rule is to avoid sweating at all costs. When you are skiing it's easy to wear enough clothes to stay warm at any temperature (I haven't tested this at 50 below yet, but so far it's held true). Other field essentials: you need to carry a hot water thermos, which is unfortunately heavy, to keep your water from freezing. The only thing you can eat (comfortably) is trail mix because food freezes so quickly. Unless, like me, you're borrowing an old hand-me-down thermos which leaks heat so effectively you can keep a sandwich warm until lunch.

The sunsets and sunrises are unparalleled. I couldn't be working in more beautiful country!