Skunked!

December 2-4, 2016: I returned to the trapline in early December after having Paul join me on the previous trip. This time I was alone. One of my objectives was to start hauling out the wood that the logging company had promised me was cut and was just waiting for me to pick up. In all, there were three truckloads that had been cut to exactly 18 inches in length as promised. The guy I had been dealing with told me he had spray painted my name on the pile, hoping this would keep others from taking it... it worked!

Finally, the promised wood pile. Just over three truckloads I took home over three trips.

Using my snowmobile for the first time but still without much snow, I traveled the distance of my trails keeping an eye out for barren spots or areas where rocks were slightly hid underneath, often without success - I'd cringe every time one of my new skis would grind over rock. However, I was grateful to be rid of the quad and now riding much faster and warmer.

Other than the wood, my other objective was to get as many lynx cubbies up as I could. December 1 marks the opening of lynx season so it was time to get to work. I wanted to get at least a dozen or more of them built to start. My lynx quota is five and judging by the amount of lynx tracks I'd been seeing, I expected to fill that quota. The weather was in the minus teens but when you're trapping, you never really seem to get cold because of working in between stops, especially when building lynx cubbies.

A photo of the sun on distant hills just before the entrance to Clear Trail.

I wasn't having much success with my marten boxes nor my mink sets. Even the weasels appeared to have slowed from previous seasons - I had only picked up a couple along the way. My trip was starting to look pretty bleak in the fur department.

Even the weasels were starting slow.

The way my trapline route runs, the last trap to check is under a bridge on Grizzly Road before you take Cabin Trail back to the cabin. The trap under the bridge is a mink set that has been successful in the past for not only mink, but also, of course, for weasels. A weasel was the last thing I wanted to find here though because I had no fur of any size to show for my trip. I was hoping for a mink or perhaps even another fisher.

Much to my surprise, my last trap held a skunk! Who would have thought there would be a skunk running around on this high-altitude trapline; certainly, not me! This trap is at about 3800 feet.

I figured I was going to be skunked on this trip and at the end of the day... I was!

The high-altitude skunk caught in a set for mink.

Until next time!