Another Alaska Story.......

Man, it sure is cold in here. Just stuck my head out from under the wool blankets that are piled 3 deep, and its probably -40 in the cabin this morning. I guess everyone sleep pretty sound last night, cause it don't feel like anybody put any wood on the fire. Yup, its out for sure. Bet last nights coffee is froze stiff in the pot. I ought to go start a fire.......But for now I'm gonna stay right here in my warm cocoon. Figures the fire would go out tonight and not last night. Last night a warm south wind blew for a spell. It was +1 when we got up. Fueled up the snowmachines and loaded our gear in a tee shirt and long underwear. Never thought +1 would be tee shirt weather when I lived back in NY. I've seen that south wind blow in and it go from -40 to +40 in minutes. When the wind stops it drops back down just as fast. Always want extra cloths with you, so you don't get caught on the down slide without a parka. We broke some trail yesterday, tough work. The west fork is froze up good and we are putting some fox and mink sets down there. We can cut off across the old Indian walk trail to the river. Indians took this trail to fish camp for hundreds of years and the path is beat down so well you can see it in the summer from a bush plane. Two days ago we had 5 marten on the first loop. I saw wolverine tracks down on the big lake, walked right pass our wolf sets. Old Sam took me down the west fork a ways the other day and showed me a cabin that two Swedes built in 1900. The roof is starting to cave. Sam says they used to use it for line camp years ago. Our cabin is about 2o miles or so from the nearest road and our line stretches out quite a ways. Sometimes it hits you out here, "I'm standing in the middle of nowhere, on the top of the world." friends back home think we lost our minds. Livin' in the bush with no running water and an outhouse, miles from anything. Of course they've never seen the northern lights or watched a bull moose come up out of the willows. They ain't never heard timber wolves at dusk or picked low bush cranberries or watched your garden grow in 19 hours of sunlight. They don't have a clue about the bush, think its a frozen ice cube. Well I'm gonna be one, if I don't go start the fire soon. I don't like the thought of fumbling around with my frozen fingers trying to arrange the tinder and strike the match. Oh, I hate the thought of crawling out of this warm blanket, but its got to be done. Don't reckon its to healthy, sitting here talking to myself...........now where did I leave them matches?