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...