After a 24-hour rain delay we were anxious to get back on the trail and start our journey to Norway House. Even the balmy temperatures and dense fog could not damper the dogs' spirits yesterday when we left Cross Lake.

The dogs enthusiasm made Phil's first time dogsledding extra exciting. Just before I released the rope that anchored the sled to a large tree, Phil asked if he needed any instruction before he drove the sled for the first time. I tried to give him a 2 minute Dogsledding 101 course until the dogs barking grew so loud and frenzied that I could no longer be heard. Finally I just told Phil to hold on tight and assured him that the dogs would slow down after the first 5 minutes or so.

Phil handled the team beautifully and we flew down Cross Lake with Phil standing on the brake to keep the dogs from running Adam and me over. After a few minutes I took hold of the rope dragging behind the sled and towed behind the sled for a while. As we sped along at 7 miles an hour I thought, "At this rate we will get to Norway House tomorrow!" However, we soon left the packed trail behind and began a slow hard slog through deep, wet snow that was covered with a thick crust of icy snow that was not quite strong enough to hold our weight. As we trudged along, we spotted a large black wolf running across the lake. I was amazed by how effortlessly it was able to move through the deep, crusty snow.

They told me that the trail I was looking for was a short distance down the road and offered to give me a ride to check it out. I hopped in the truck and we began driving down the road at what seemed like 100 miles an hour. After talking a little more, we realized that the trail that I was looking for was not the trail they were taking me to, but we kept driving and talking just the same. After a short tour of the surrounding bush we turned around and started heading back to my drop off point. Suddenly a large beaver appeared on the side of the road.

I wanted to yell--Stop, go back I want to look at that beaver!--but I realized that I didn't have my camera on me. Plus, the guys would probably think that stopping the car to look at a beaver on the side of the road would sort be be like stopping the car to look at a squirrel in Chicago. So I kept my mouth shut. They wished me luck and left me standing on the side of the road next to the trail leading back to our campsite.

When I returned to camp I broke the news to Adam and Phil, and told them that the trail that we had hoped to take to Norway House was grown over and basically impassable. In the morning we would have to try Plan B and find a new way to get to Norway House.

After breaking camp we spent several hours traveling to the end of Cross Lake and then met up with the road once more. Our new plan was to follow the road for about 15 miles and then hopefully we would find a trail that would take us on to Norway House. As the hot sun continued to turn the deep snow into a giant batch of mashed potatoes we slowly made our way along the highway's ditch. After several miles and about four rounds of photos with passing motorists we decided to rethink the situation. We had two choices: one was to continue on along the road for several more days and hope that the old trail 15 miles down the road was passable, or we could return to Cross Lake and spend our last few days exploring Cross Lake.

We decided that returning to Cross Lake and spending our last few days poking around its countless Island and bays would be much more enjoyable than camping next to road and sucking exhaust for the next few days so we turned around and headed back to Cross Lake.

Tonight we are camped on Cross Lake, and in the morning we will slowly make our way back towards the town of Cross Lake. If our luck holds we will get to see some more critters. Spring has arrived and all of the animals seem to be on the move!

Keep Exploring!
Dave