-36 and everything is hunkered down

Friday, December 21 to December 24:

We arrived at the cabin to a balmy -28 Celsius. By bedtime, the thermometer was reading -36. The road in (Boulder Road) was drifted in with snow and hadn't been plowed in awhile, making 4-wheel drive necessary. Luckily, the big hill on Boulder Road has been in good shape this year; unlike last year when it was touch-and-go each trip whether the chains would have to come out or not. Smiley Rock Road is now completely out of commission, adding an extra 20-minutes travel time to the cabin on the rough Boulder Road. This road is given its name for a reason.

Dakota went right away to check the mink set near the cabin while I started a fire in the cabin to start warming it up. The woodstove in the cabin is the perfect size and regardless of the outside temperature, the cabin is always toasty warm. I can get 5 to 6-hours burning time out of the stove if it's filled to the max before bed. Dakota returned with another bait thief, ermine #9.

Dakota with another ermine.

The snow from the roof is building up and adding another layer of insulation to the cabin sides.

Overnight it warmed up and by morning it was -22. Our plan was to run the north end of the trapline only. Sunday we would run the south end. Throughout the night it dumped another 4-inches on us and I was sure that running the Pipeline Trail would be a tough task, trying to find the trail that would be drifted in. I knew early on that our chances of a catch were slim, most of our boxes were filled in with snow and frozen up. And I was right; we returned to the cabin without a catch and the time delay at each set only allowed us to get up one more lynx cubby.

On the top side of the Pipeline trail.

The one-sided cubby we built on the Pipeline Trail.

Saturday never saw the temperature get over -22 Celsius and Sunday was the same. We were locked in at highs of -22. Another 2 inches of snow fell overnight and South Trail, which always seems to get more snow than anywhere else on the trapline, would be tough to navigate in the early portions that are wide open, and it was. Several times I was pulled off the drifted-in trail but luckily we never got stuck like we had on West Trail the previous trip. Today we decided to put up a cubby on South Trail where lynx tracks were frequent and two more on Old Forest Trail where lynx tracks had also become commonplace. We also built a hanging beaver lynx pen surrounded by seven snares. By the time we were done, it was dark and I couldn't get photos of the set, but will next time through.

One of two walk-through cubbies we built on Old Forest Trail.

A CD is suspended on a string from a branch above the cubby.
As the wind makes it spin, it flashes, even in moonlight. The CD is an attractant to lynx.

Sunday we awoke to more snow and the same -22. I thought chains might have to be used to get out, but we made it to the top of Boulder Hill without issue. Before we left, Dakota wanted to move the mink box near the cabin to another location along the creek. While I got a bucket of wash water for the cabin, Dakota made his set. We'll be back shortly after Christmas for about seven days. We hope to get a bait station set up and several more lynx cubbies and trail snares. We'll also be making some snow-hole sets for fox and coyote. As the photo shows below, on the way home the Peers Highway was in poor shape and very icy.

Until next time!

Snow in the window

December 14 - December 17:

Dakota and I arrived at the cabin with about an hour of light left in the day. It was -13 Celsius and there had been about 4-inches of new snow. We unloaded our stuff and then removed the snow from the roof of the cabin. The snow we pull down from the roof builds up over time. It's starting to look like we'll have to shovel it away from the windows as it's getting pretty high.

You can see the height of the snow outside the cabin window.

Saturday morning we awoke to a chilly -26 Celsius. The day warmed up though and we reached the forecast high of -7, which is actually too hot when you're working the trapline. My preferred temperature would be about -15 Celsius, without a wind. A little warmer with the wind.

We started off our 65 kilometre (40 mile) route at daybreak and early on we had our first-ever catch in a plastic box set for marten. It amazes me the number of ermine we have on this trapline. Their tracks are everywhere and it feels like we've been feeding as many or more than what we've caught. When we realize we have a bait thief (quite often because of a snapped trap with nothing in it and stolen bait, but also because some ermine manage to avoid the trigger wires and eat all your bait right inside the box), I reset the trap but change the angle on the trigger. My hope is that it will change the way he enters the box and hopefully catch him. If you can't catch him, you might as well remove the box from your route as it will never have bait in it for very long. In this case with the plastic box, the voracious little predator leaped up into the box to get the bait but hit the trigger wire.

Our first ermine catch in a plastic vertical-set marten box.

My plan on this run of the trapline was to shut down West Trail. It had failed to produce and added an extra hour to the trapline route. We needed to free up some time for setting lynx cubbies and checking non-productive traps was a time killer. On West Trail, we got stuck pretty good when I got sucked off the trail into the deep snow. The 4-inches that had fallen was concealing the trail in many places so navigation was tough, especially on the Pipeline Trail. Dakota and I both worked like dogs to get the Ski-doo and sled unstuck. In all, it slowed us down by about 40 minutes.

Things were looking pretty bleak until we hit South Trail, where we picked up our first-ever marten in a plastic box. This box Dad and I had set up along a ridge above a creek when he was here. The location just felt right. Prior to getting here, Dakota and I had come across four traps that had been snapped and had their bait stolen; the work of ermine.

Dakota with a big male marten. He looks lighter in colour than the others we've caught.

Shortly after catching the marten, we caught our seventh bait thief. This one was a new guy who hadn't bothered this box previously. Ermine are a favourite of both Dakota and mine because of their killer instincts and tenacity - anything this small that can take down a snowshoe hare should be admired. They don't bring much on the fur market but they are easy to skin and board, so catching a few is okay. They can shut down a marten box though, which isn't good.

Bait thief number seven.

Our next catch came on Broken Bridge Trail. Dad and I had placed a box on a tree that had fallen over and was wedged between two other trees at about a 30 degree angle, perfect for a marten box. When we returned to bait it, it had fallen even further and was now closer to the ground. Too close by my estimation. But on this day, it connected with our sixth marten of the year and our second on the day.

The day's catch so far.

We finally hit Clear Trail with light waning. Several snapped traps and those that had catches had to be reset, slowing us down. That and getting stuck on West Trail had us running late. Wherever Dakota had been catching squirrels, we had been leaving those snares down. The remaining snares were now few and for the most part, empty. They too were cutting into our lynx trapping season so it was time to wind them down. Today, however, one of those squirrel sets produced a good catch, giving Dakota somewhere in the neighbourhood of 20 squirrels.

The day's catch was two marten, two ermine, and three red squirrels.

Sunday was lynx cubby day. I'd marked several locations where lynx had been frequenting closer to the cabin. Both Clear Trail and Unnamed Trail were showing consistent sign, so our plan was to get up three cubbies on Unnamed Trail and two on Clear Trail. It took us the better part of the day to put up the cubbies, giving us seven in total. We also walked to the walk-in mink box and took it down as well, trying to free up more time to focus on the lynx. That night I skinned a marten and the two weasels. The other marten would have to be skinned at home or taken home on a board - didn't think that would be a good idea.

A marten hangs by the stove to unthaw before skinning.

Dakota waiting for supper.

Two big steaks in the fry pan.

Monday morning was a brisk -22 Celsius with snow in the forecast - what else is new up here! We decided we had enough time to do a short check before loading up. Unnamed Trail proved to be the most interesting. While we didn't catch anything there, you could see where an owl, most likely a Great Grey, had dove into the snow at several locations, diving down on a mouse or vole. These owls can hear a mouse moving under the snow, and not just a little bit of snow either. Once they detect the sound of a mouse's movement, they dive from the tree straight into the snow and nearly at a 100% success rate, come up with their prey.

An owl leaves his imprint after connecting on his under-the-snow prey.

At the beginning boundary of my trapline on Boulder Road, we have a marten box set up that has been robbed since the beginning by bait thieves. This box you can actually see from the truck window with a pair of binoculars, so, coming in and going out, you always have to have a look. Now, this particular bait thief I have been trying to catch for about a month now, but have only been successful in feeding him. This time on the way out, I noticed something looked different at the set. My binoculars confirmed it was the bait thief. My trigger wire configuration change finally got him.  Maybe now I'll get my marten box back.

Until next time!

Bait thieves on the trapline

Dakota and I arrived in the dark on Friday, December 6 to a balmy -15 Celsius. This would be the first run of the marten line since Dad had left the previous Sunday. I was hoping for a better catch rate than what we'd been having but again, learning the area is going to take some time. Marten tracks have been hard to find but in this part of Alberta, it snows nearly every day, covering up tracks quickly.

The first thing we noticed when we arrived at the cabin was mink tracks everywhere. We have a mink set you can practically see from the window of the cabin, and sure enough, his tracks headed right to our set. With flashlights on, we followed his trail. Unfortunately for us, he only peered into the box, as his tracks stopped dead at the entrance. On further inspection, we discovered our bait, small rainbow trout heads, were completely gone, most likely stolen by an ermine and reason enough for the mink not to enter.

The next morning we awoke to -26 Celsius with light snow falling. After loading up the sled, we hit the trail. Early on we knew our luck wasn't going to be too good. In one location near Unnamed Trail, we have a marten set, a mink set, and an ermine set. The marten set is above the main creek, while the mink set is near the creek bed and the ermine set is slightly elevated from the creek. Each trap had been sprung and each set was now without bait. We encountered this in three more locations before we finally caught a marten on the high side of the Pipeline Trail. It was the same set we'd previously caught a small female in before. This one was a big male that would stretch the board to its limits.

Dakota with a big male marten displaying some impressive orange markings.

There had been about 3-inches of new snow since the last time we were here and in many places on the Pipeline Trail, snowdrifts had built up and our trail was tough to follow. I have a pretty good idea of where it is though and you can feel it as you drive the Ski-doo. Now and then, when you lose the trail, the deep snow tries to suck you into it and you have to fight your way back. It must have been windy while we were gone because the Pipeline Trail was a battle its entire distance.

Dakota poses with a bait thief that lost the roulette game.

After picking up a small ermine, we continued our run to West Trail, picking up just a flying squirrel. These guys aren't worth anything and basically go into the bait rotation. They are a remarkable creature though, with webbing that runs their body length from foot to foot and a cupped tail that helps them glide through the sky great distances. They are highly carnivorous and practically nocturnal. If you get into an area with a high number of them, you can be pulling them from your traps quite regularly. So far, we'd only caught one, but today we'd removed three from our traps. Flying squirrels exist in great numbers in Alberta.

Taking a break at the "Picnic Spot" on Broken Bridge Trail.

Our marten success rate hasn't been as good as hoped and next weekend we'll start focusing on shutting down parts of the marten line, most likely West Trail to begin with. We'll give South Trail a little more time yet, as this is where we'd seen the most marten sign but haven't met any success. Lynx season is now open and they will be prime so it is time to get some cubbies up. The numbers of lynx here appear to be ridiculously high, but then again, so is the snowshoe hare population; their connection cannot be dismissed.

On Sunday morning we hit the trail early. I had three locations I wanted to put a cubby up at before we left. We set our first cubby up on the Cabin Trail, another on Gulo Trail and one on Clear Trail. It takes a little time to construct a cubby, especially when you snare the surrounding trails. Of the three cubbies we built, two were walk-through cubbies, or snare pens as some like to call them, while the one on Cabin Trail is merely an enclosed space with trails leading to it.

The cubby on Cabin Trail. If you look closely, you can see the snare and the bait.

On Clear Trail. Our cubby is just a few yards behind us.

Smiley Rock Road is a road we use that cuts off several miles to get to and from our parking spot on the trapline. However, Smiley Rock Road isn't maintained in any way. Meaning, whatever snow falls on it, stays on it, and you have to follow the ruts closely or you can get sucked into the ditch. And, with nothing around to hook on to, if you get stuck, you're walking. Last winter, when I first bought this line (February), I was able to use Smiley Rock for a few trips before it became impassable, or at least, risky to use.

When we were packing up to leave on this trip, it began to snow pretty heavy and considering Smiley Rock was an adventure getting in, I was concerned about using it to leave. But, realizing the only thing keeping the road open is me, I decided to take the road as opposed to the long distance route, about 20 minutes longer on crappy roads. To put it mildly, Dakota said, "That was some sketchy road," when we finally made it to the end. Not sure if Smiley Rock is now out of commission for the year or what. I hope not.

Dakota looking a little frosted around the edges, but not too bad considering the weather.

Until next time!

Running the line

Dad finally made it back and between the two of us we were pretty excited to get some traps set and spend the next 12 days livin' and workin' the trapline. It was finally time to bait the marten boxes and get out some ermine (weasel) sets. Dakota and I had already put out several mink sets that just needed to be refreshed with lure and have their traps reset. I had some duck offal, some rotted down freezer-burned moose hamburger and about 60 fist-sized chunks of beaver meat for bait I'd collected. Dad was also helping me in the bait department, collecting fish heads and trimmings - he probably had about 100 pounds of the stuff.  

I arrived at the cabin a couple of hours before I had to meet Dad. My plan was to get the cabin warmed up and all of our food stuff put away so that I'd only have to haul Dad's gear in once he was there. I had the sled full when I took off on the Ski-doo with the first load. The forecast was for cold weather over the next few days with -25 Celsius being the low at least one night. Daytime highs were to be around -10 to -15 Celsius.

Dad pulling snow from the roof. Once the cabin is warm inside, as you can see, icicles begin to form
and hang from the shingles. They can also get pretty heavy. Removing the snow lessens the impact.

After getting Dad unloaded, a bite to eat, a few beverages and lots of conversation, Dad and I hit the sack. Our plan was to get up early and start baiting marten sets. I figured it would take two days to get all the marten sets baited and the traps set, about 50 in total over about 40 miles of trapline trail. The first half of the trapline would be the first order of business, this would include most of the trails nearer the cabin including the Pipeline Trail and the west end of the trapline I now call West Trail. Dad had never rode on the musher before so it would be a first for him. I was concerned about the steep hill on the Pipeline Trail and coming down it with a heavy load in the sled with Dad on the musher. The hill has a big berm on it half way down and then another a short distance away from the first. If going too fast, it could be a wreck at one of the berms. Dakota and I nearly crashed the first time we came down it after not being able to get up it. Using the brakes on the Ski-doo often speeds you up when the track gets sliding. Pumping the brakes is the only way to help keep control while the sled is pushing you from behind. But Dad dug his heel into the snow and acted as an anchor for the Ski-doo and sled and we managed to stay straight, riding the rest of the way down the hill without issue. That day we finished 25 marten sets and put out five weasel boxes.

The next day we would tackle South Trail, Broken Bridge Trail, Old Forest Trail and the Muskeg Trail back to Boulder Road, this would complete the loop. But first we would have to put the bridge back in at Broken Bridge Trail. I had left five planks and the two main support beams there before the bog kept me from getting back through the trail. This would be my first time back since early summer.

The makeshift bridge. After a few trips across and a few days of snow, the bridge filled in and works fine.

After putting the final touches on the bridge, we crossed over it and carried on down Old Forest Trail. When we reached the end, we suddenly found ourselves in a bit of a dilemma - everything had changed! I was notified of some logging activity on the south end of my trapline but hadn't expected them to be this far north yet. The trail was now impassable, a pile of knocked down trees and the mess that goes with clear-cut logging had the trail completely blocked off. If we would have to turn around, we'd never get back up the big hill on Broken Bridge Trail, at least not with the sled behind. We needed to find a way out! I knew the direction we needed to go, but we would have to find a trail through a reforested cutblock. Luckily, we managed to find a good trail that led us to another good trail and soon we were on Muskeg Trail. The loop could now be completed.

That night, the thermometer dropped to -26 Celsius but we stayed warm in the confines of the cabin. The elbow off the rear of the wood stove had burned out so we replaced it with a new one. The stove is easy to control and filled with wood before bed, can easily last five to six hours.

The next day, we decided to check about 30 sets and were disappointed to find out we hadn't caught any marten. We had a fisher walk-by and a pair of marten tracks close to a set, but no success. We decided we were too soon, the sets needed to sit for awhile and do their job. Back at the cabin, we donned snowshoes and headed off through the bush to a mink set Dakota and I had previously set up but was now without trap or bait. This set is about a 10-minute walk from the cabin and on the edge of a beaver dam. Dakota and I have seen mink tracks here before, including one embedded into a lynx track.

Dad in snowshoes on the trail to the walk-in mink set.

After a day of working around the cabin and a trip into Edson for gas, it was time to run a check of our sets. With no idea of how long it would take to run the entire line from start to finish, and enough safety provisions onboard to spend a night out in the cold in case of a breakdown, we took off at first light, about 8:00 am. The weather had changed and we were now complaining it was too warm with highs of -4 Celsius.

Dad on the musher on the Pipeline Trail.

Our first catch was an ermine (better known as the weasel) in a marten box on Pipeline Trail. We'd seen signs of the little bait thieves at work at several traps and I knew it was just a matter of time until one got caught. They were playing a dangerous game, passing through the trigger wires of the 120 Conibears to feed on the bait. This guy decided to pull the entire bait out of the box. His greed got the best of him.

This ermine tried dragging half a duck carcass out of the box.

On South Trail, we discovered that the wolves Dakota and I had previously encountered had returned. We followed the tracks of just four this time but once again they had dug up and urinated in the same spots, marking their territory once again. I'm sure they will be back again in a week or two so we'll keep an eye out for their tracks and try to figure out a way to catch a couple of them. Later, we followed the tracks of what could have been the other four of the pack on an extension of the Pipeline Trail near Smiley Rock Road. Problem is, both places are wide trails with nowhere to place snares. A leghold and a drag may be the only option. There are far too many wolves in Alberta and the removal of a couple will help in their management.

On this run, we found four traps that had been sprung without catching anything. Evidence showed it was the work of the bait thieves. We reset the traps and refreshed them. We also made two more marten sets near tracks we'd encountered on the trail. On Clear Trail, we caught our first marten.

The first American marten on the trapline.

One thing about members of the weasel family is their ingenuity. From ermine stealing bait to mink chewing off the screens of ermine boxes to steal the bait, every day on the trapline is an adventure watching the antics of these remarkable creatures. This is one of the reasons why I love spending time in the bush; it's a completely different world and a cruel and dangerous one for the creatures that call the bush home.

Taking a break on Broken Bridge Trail.

The next day we decided to set a couple of legholds for coyotes that were traveling on our trails. I dug a hole through the snow and into the frozen ground so it was about a foot deep from snowtop to bottom of hole. Inside I put some bait (rotted moose) and in front and slightly offset to the hole, I embedded a #3 Soft Catch and covered it with a piece of wax paper and then about an inch of snow. Some beaver castor was used for a lure and the placement of guiding sticks ensured the coyote would step on the trap should he find the bait. The trap was secured by chain to a nearby tree. The chain naturally buried itself in the snow completing the set. We did this twice. Now all we needed was a coyote to use our trail again and find the bait.

Once we were done, we decided we would check the few traps that were near us, about seven in total. Much to our delight, we picked up a mink in a marten set and a ermine in a mink set. It's not uncommon to catch mink and ermine in different sets. In fact, both mink and ermine are often caught in marten sets.

Dad holding an ermine and a mink.

The next couple of days were uneventful. We spent time working around the cabin, burning garbage, shoveling snow (it snowed every single day we were there) and getting water from the creek. We walked to the walk-in mink set and I did some skinning. The traps we did check were all empty and the weather was still too warm, -6 Celsius were the daytime highs. We discussed needing colder weather, hoping it would get the animals moving. Our leghold sets hadn't connected either but coyotes had walked by both sets without showing interest, obviously the lure wasn't working and would have to be changed to something different. 

After chopping a hole through an inch of ice over shallow running water, I was able to get wash water.

Our hopes for colder weather suddenly came true. The thermometer was -23 Celsius when we took off at first light to run the entire line. We now knew we could run the line in about six hours, a total of about 65 kilometres or 40 miles. We would be back at the cabin before 3:00 pm. After fueling up the Ski-doo and loading the sled, we hit the trail with our hats pulled down tight.

Things were going pretty slow until we hit the Pipeline Trail. There, we caught a marten in an early set on the low side of the trail. At the top of the Pipeline Trail we connected again, picking up another marten. Things were looking good, and then we went into a bad streak, only picking up another ermine and a couple more squirrels the rest of the way.

Dad with one of two marten taken on the Pipeline Trail.

Another ermine playing Russian Roulette with a 120 Conibear.

We arrived back at the cabin in the early afternoon. I started skinning while Dad played cards. We drank a few beers and enjoyed each others company. We laughed at the photos we took of each other when we returned. I had an icicle hanging from my moustache that had frozen to my beard and I had to break it off before I could talk properly. Dad looked like an abominable snowman. We wanted cold weather and we got it!

Six hours on the trail in cold weather can freeze you up.

Dad giving his best Yeti impersonation.

With only a couple of days remaining, our time together on the trapline was running out. With the exception of a short trip into Edson, we'd been away from civilization for the better part of ten days but neither of us wanted our trip to end. While our fur take had been smaller than what we'd hoped for, we still managed to catch some fur and had a great time doing so. Learning a new trapline can be challenging and it will take a couple more years to figure out exactly where the best spots are. All my traps were placed based on habitat and just a handful on sign because marten sign has been weak, but again, not knowing the intimacies of the trapline...

The Ski-doo ran great and the sled followed behind perfectly. The sled is wide enough and with enough weight in it and Dad on the musher, it acts just like a trail groomer, packing down and leveling the trail as it goes over it. Some of my trails are now in perfect condition for travel. Others, like on the Pipeline Trail where it is a wide open space, will always be an issue as long as there is a wind. The drifts fill in the trail and it becomes hard to pick out. 

Our catch, 3 marten, 4 ermine and a mink. We also caught a few squirrels but they are Dakota's to skin.

Lynx season opens December 1st and their sign has been encouraging; in fact, we encountered lynx tracks daily. The snowshoe hare population has to be at or near the top of its cycle as their tracks are everywhere in great numbers. It could make catching a lynx with a full belly of rabbit a little difficult, we'll see. With all the sets refreshed, Dakota and I would be back in just a few days to run the line again and get some lynx sets in.

I bid Dad farewell at the Long Lake turnoff. He was heading west, me east. Our trip had been a great one and one we'll be doing again soon.

Till next time...