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Low Temperature
22 F High
Temperature
55 F Phil's snoring
VERY
LOUD!
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Lesson
Plans | |
| |  | Tent
Talk
Listen
to today's Audio Update!
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Daily
Dilemma |
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| Many
of the people that we have met have been asking us if we are going to come back
next year. Where do you think we should go and what should we study during next
year's learning adventures?
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So
Long Boreal Forest
| We did a lot of things for
the last time today on this adventure. Last oatmeal. Last dog-harnessing. Last
time strapping on the skis and poles. Dave and I gave up sleeping in the
tent a week ago, so our lasts weren't all concentrated in one day. Phil's legendary
snoring sent us searching, nightly, for alternate arrangements (i.e. a flat piece
of snow). Last night, Dave and I nodded off under the moon and the stars, only
disturbed |  |
| by the occasional snowmobile
zipping by our heads at 90 mph. We woke up at 6 a.m. with the sun and began
to | No more dogsledding?
Fennel takes the bad news with a mournful howl. |
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tear down our camp for the last time. In the midst of this daily ritual I couldn't
help but feel like the Boreal Forest was escorting us all to the door. The mercury
read 50 degrees F by 8 a.m. with the snow giving way to rivers of slush and mud. You
could forgive us for forgetting about winter's end after gliding across 600 miles
of lakes, rivers and trails for 2 months. | Dave
rights the sled after it tipped over on a snowbank. | Today
was a day of awesome change in the forest. After our last meal at the fabulous
Muskego's Restaurant in Cross |
| Lake, we started the journey
home. From the road, we saw sections of the lake and trails we'd crossed just
days earlier--now covered in water. Dogsledding season may have practically
ended today, but we can already begin to anticipate a new season 8 short months
away. Seasons will probably continue to turn, but our last day here reminded
us of other changes |  |
| the Boreal Forest is undergoing--changes much
more permanent. | Daisy settles in for
a long ride in her new luxury dog box. |
 | Our
drive out took us by two landmarks. The first, the Jenpeg dam and power generating
station, reminded us of the environmental damage we saw on Cross Lake. Areas once
prolific with fish and wildlife have been turned into swampland. Erratic water
levels on the lake make travel this time of year difficult and |
Driving home, we crossed sections of water
on the ice that had been solid just days earlier. | dangerous.
We crossed the dam silently and observed the power lines that bring much of its
electricity back to the United States. |
| The second landmark we encountered
was a massive lumberyard (the pictures can't show its size; it was as big as an
airport.). The Northern Boreal Forest, long passed over by logging interests due
to the relatively small size of the trees, feels ever-increasing pressure from
logging every day. We continued on, occasionally retelling our favorite
stories from the adventure between long fits of silence. I checked the rear view
mirror and realized there was no reason to be |  |
| sad so long as a Boreal Forest remains to come
back to. | Thistle, our youngest Husky,
matured into a fine working dog on this adventure. |
 | Adam
surveys the miles of logs. Logging pressure continues to take its toll on the
Boreal Forest. | |
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