A Wonderful Weekend

What an awesome weekend we had here in the valley. Friday, Ken and Megan came in to stay with us. They are both volunteers for the wolverine study. They made it in about 2:00 pm after walking the bare road. We headed out for a ski to Lake Josephine shortly after they arrived. Ken also volunteers with the track surveys in the park, so he surveyed the trail to Grinnell Lake. I followed closely behind trying to retain some of this important knowledge. We saw tons of tracks, ranging from snowshoe hare, vole, and weasle, to lynx, coyote, and wolverine. We made it up to Grinnell Lake (this time with no appearance by the wolverine) where Ken directed Megan and I over and over again until he got the "perfect" shot with his fancy camera. Eventually we headed back to Josephine to collect hair samples. We made it to the lake just in time for the tail end of sunset. Shortly after we watched the moon rise over Mt. Wynn. What an incredible view! We skied across Josephine with the moon rising to collect hair samples from the foot of the lake. Soon, we were cruising down the trail (some more gracefully than others) towards Swiftcurrent Lake. We skied back to the cabin by moonlight and enjoyed the rare night with no wind. After dinner the four of us headed out for some moonlight sledding. We only have one sled, so we pulled out the cardboard and had a blast. Once again, Ken spent many tense moments directing Megan to get his perfect shot of her sledding. I think it worked out in the end.

Saturday morning, Megan, Ken, and Jeff headed out to Apikuni Falls. After hiking to the falls Megan headed back out, but Ken stayed behind. The three of us left in the afternoon for the Iceberg Lake trail. We hadn't made it very far up the trail when our other guests arrived. Leslie, Dan, and Nick (more wolverine volunteers) met us up on the trail where we spent the next couple of hours fooling around on the hills. Jeff and I raced down the hill and unfortunately, he beat me two out of three times. Bummer! The boys were being boys and trying to do jumps off of some of the hills (Again, some were more graceful than others). Leslie was a rockstar and tried it herself. Unfortunately, things didn't go so well (blood was involved). We all decided to head back to the cabin when it started to get dark. We heard the coyotes going nuts on the way home. Once home, we had a good 'ol time playing DDR and flip cup (sorry GPI) and drinking some high class whiskey (Black velvet, baby).

It was a rough go of it Sunday morning, but we all rallied and headed out to actually get some work done. Well, all of us except Jeff who stayed behind to try to fix the toilet that was destroyed. Don't worry, I won't say any names. Ok, yes I will...Nick. (Alright, alright, it wasn't his fault so much as bad timing and bad plumbing). Anywho, we made it to all five of the wolverine sites to collect hair samples and replace some of the deer legs. We were out all day which was a nice cure for the hangover. The wind started howling about 3:00 pm, but at that point we were almost done. Leslie, Dan, and Nick headed back out around 5:00, so it is once again quiet around here.

Monday, I will be heading to Whitefish for anywhere between a few days and a couple weeks. I will apologize in advance for the lack of blog writing in the mean time. Perhaps I will get a few blogs in from Whitefish or will be able to get Jeff to blog.

Then We Were Off to Apikuni Falls

Today Jeff and I headed out to Apikuni Falls. It's a short trip from the cabin and took less than two hours. It was quite windy, but the view was worth the trip in the icy wind. We chose snowshoes since the trail is relatively steep and we still haven't had much new snow. The falls were so beautiful with all of the blue ice. Trust me, the pictures don't do the falls justice. We didn't stay at the falls for too long. The wind was funneling though there, kicking up lots of loose snow.

After we returned to the cabin, we brewed our third batch of beer. It's an anchor steam, and I can't wait to try it.

P.S. The porter turned out well.

A Ski to Fishercap Lake

What an incredible day! When the sun came up this morning, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I ran out onto the lake in my slippers (it was 1 degree) to snap some pictures of the mountains as the sun came up. So amazing! Later, Jeff and I ate an early lunch and headed out on our skis. We just couldn't pass up such a beautiful day. We decided to ski out to Fishercap Lake. We saw five separate sets of wolverine tracks along the way as well as snowshoe hare and coyote tracks, and the tracks of a very busy little squirrell. We also saw a beautiful gray jay near the Swiftcurrent Motel. The view on the ski out to the lake was incredible, and it was only topped when we reached the lake itself. The snow on the mountains is such a perfect, untouched white. What a day! The temperature was only 9 degrees when we left, but it warmed up to the upper 30's in the sun. Plus, we had another day without an ounce of wind. I feel so lucky being able to see and experience this place in the solitude of winter! The ski back was so fun (it's mostly downhill) and took a fraction of the time it took to get there. We skied around the Swiftcurrent property to make sure everything was in order (and it was), and we even heard coyotes calling up on the side of Mt. Altyn. We are back home now, and I'm (sort of) busy working on those darn job applications.

Beauty Surrounds Us!

What a night for football on Sunday. That Vikings/ Saints game was awesome. But don't worry Brett Favre fans. He won't retire this year. Not with his last pass being an interception. Oh, how I hope the next two weeks fly by to the good ol' Super Bowl. Although, it is always quite sad when football season ends.

Monday, it was back to work for Jeff. There wasn't any work for me, so I pretty much bummed around the house all day. I replanted my basil, thyme, and chive plants so that I could start growing the leaf lettuce plants. Supposedly it only takes three weeks until harvest. I can't wait to have a nice, green salad! Oh, I forgot to mention that on Sunday we had some delicious fresh basil on our pasta. YUM!

Today, Jeff and I spent most of the day over at the hotel. (I even went in early...a first for me.) I finished my work by 2:30, so I decided to take advantage of the perfect weather and go for a ski. Today was awesome. We hit a high of 30 degrees, it was sunny, and there was no wind! I skied around Swiftcurrent Lake then headed out to Lake Josephine. There were coyote tracks all across Swiftcurrent Lake as usual. The trail out to Josephine is still a bit crummy. We only have about three inches of powder over top of the icy snow. But, I made it to Lake Josephine without any tears this time, so I will call it a success. Both of the deer legs on Lake Josephine have been devoured by the wolverines. And, there were lots of wolverine tracks around the dock. I didn't see any mountain goats (I was sure that I would), but I did see some tracks up on the hillside. On the ski back home, I noticed that there were fresh wolverine tracks over top of my ski tracks. I must have just missed it when I skied to the other side of the lake. Bummer! I made it back to the cabin about 4:30. There were ten bighorn sheep grazing on the side of Mt. Altyn. What a day!

A Camping Adventure

So, Friday night Jeff and I ate a senior citizen early bird dinner. We dined on pork chops at 4:00 pm before departing on our camping trip. Neither of us saw the point in hauling food and cooking equiptment with us on our camping adventure. We had no interest in cooking in 18 degree weather when we would only be two miles from home. We left the cabin at about 4:30 pm to head out to Lake Josephine. We were looking forward to getting back on our skis that were stranded at the ranger station for almost three weeks. Well, as you probably know, it has been above freezing for three weeks now. It just cooled down to the lower twenty's and teens this week. Translation: all the snow is now ice. Even crossing the lakes was less than desireable because the skis were sliding in every direction (except forward it seemed). Once on the trail it is a short, gradual climb, then a short flat area, then a short, gradual decline. This would be easy to ski under normal circumstances, but since we were essentially skiing on ice, it sucked! I literally was on my rear more often then on my skis. I couldn't go up because I couldn't dig my skis into the ice and I couldn't do down because there was no way to slow down. Everything just ended in a big crash. At the risk of sounding weak and pathetic, I was so frustrated and banged up that I actually broke down. This was not a good way to start our camping trip. I ended up walking the remainder of the trail and then skiing (very slowly) across Lake Josephine. We camped in the middle of the lake just out of the hazard area for the avalanche chute. When we got there, I opened my pack to find out that the hot chocolate I was carrying leaked throughout my pack. Luckily, it wasn't as bad as I first thought it was though I'm not sure I felt lucky at the time). Jeff and I set up the tent and crawled inside. I donned all of my extra clothes (I brought a lot) and put on my nice knit gloves. Jeff and I were enjoying the hot chocolate and chatting. Then, as luck would have it, I dropped my cup of hot chocolate all over my sleeping bag and gloves. AWESOME! So I had to use my bandanas to mop up the mess. Now my sleeping bag was wet and smelled like chocolate, and my gloves were useless. Good thing the bears are snoozing away. At this point, I wasn't exactly having the time of my life. It was cold, very cold, and nothing was going my way. Jeff and I bundled up in our sleeping bags, read for a while, then attempted to doze off. Jeff is a much warmer sleeper then I am so he had no problem sleeping. I may have gotten an hour of two of sleep. In the middle of the night, Jeff started screaming in his sleep. This is not the first time he has done this in a tent. I think he has this recurring dream while camping that a bear is coming into the tent and has bitten his hand. I like to make fun of him for this. Lucky for him, I have given him a lot of material to make fun of me.

As soon as the sun started to come up, I woke Jeff up and convinced him that we should go home. Lucky for me, he complied. We made it home just before 9:00 am. I drank some decaf tea, ate breakfast, and turned in for some sleep in a nice, warm bed. Jeff and I spent most of Saturday relaxing. Jeff rallied and went to the hotel for an hour to do some work. It snowed lightly, but steadily all day. I haven't had to shovel snow in weeks, so I'm out of practice. But, from the looks of it, I will be getting some practice soon!

Today, we will be watching football. A storm front has slowly made its way over the mountains, and it is starting to snow. YIPPEE!

Who do you think you are Bear Grylls?

So, our busy week is drawing to an end. Yesterday, Jeff and Troy spent the afternoon strolling out to Lake Josephine. (I decided to be responsible and publish a blog for the third graders.) There has been much activity at the wolverine sites on Lake Josephine and Swiftcurrent Lake. The deer leg at Lake Josephine was torn down and devoured, and there was wolverine hair all over the gun brushes. Cool, huh? After the boys came back, we chowed down on some delicious meatloaf. After dinner I went outside, plopped down the lawn chair in the middle of the snowdrift, and star gazed for a while. What a beautiful sight! Later, Jeff and I watched Man vs. Wild which was somewhere in Montana (I'm guessing the Beartooth Wilderness). It was the most ridiculous thing we have ever seen. I thought Bear Grylls was supposed to be teaching wilderness survival not how to get yourself killed fast. Please watch this show. It will really make you appreciate how much smarter you are than this guy.

Troy left this morning. He biked the whole way and made it out in just over an hour. Man, I wish I had a bike out here. Jeff and I worked all morning in the hotel. I went back over after lunch and finished up the third floor while Jeff relaxed at home. It was another perfect day. We hit a high of 33 degrees, there was no wind, and the clouds didn't roll in until the early evening.

Tomorrow, Jeff and I plan to camp out. Yay!

A Feast at the Firehorse Cafe

Ok, so I'll admit that I'm still a bit amped up about the wolverine sighting. I just still can't believe that I actually saw one! Well, Kass and Sally took off about 11 am on Monday. Once they left, I headed over to the hotel to get some painting done. It was warm and just a touch windy. After work I walked up to the top of the hill behind the dorm, post-holing most of the way (ugh!), to check on the wolverine site on Cracker Flats. All is well there. I followed the beaten path of the bighorn sheep back towards the cabin. Monday night I finished my third Harry Potter book (Yep, Shayla has turned me into a nerd) and packed for the trip out to the Post Office that we would be taking in the morning.

Jeff and I left the cabin about 8:30 am for the Post Office. We left in a mad dash in order to make it before the 10:30-12:00 lunch hour. The entire road is clear except for three or four patches of snow. We could have biked almost the entire way if only we had bikes. This warm spell is really beginning to chap my ass! Anyway, Jeff's boss Troy met us at the gate. He is taking sort of a working vacation and staying with us for a couple of nights. Troy drove us the rest of the way to the Post Office where we had some nice goodies from Dave and Pattie, Uncle Scott and Aunt Becky, and Charolette and Tim. Thank You!!! Then, to our shock and surprise, the Firehorse Cafe was open. So we all ate big burgers and drank sodas then shoved off for the gate. It was a nice walk in (40 degrees and very light wind), and we were back at the cabin by mid-afternoon. Jeff and I taught Troy Pass the Pigs, and we watched a movie to cap off the night.

Today is another beautiful day. The sun is shining and it is 36 degrees. Jeff and Troy are over at the hotel working and I am baking pitas to go with all of the wonderful fresh veggies Troy brought us. After lunch we are going to go explore!

P.S. I'm still working on getting the video of the wolverine on here. Hopefully, it will be soon though!

Wolverine Sighting!

Well, Jeff and I have had quite the busy week. Eric and Leah were here for three nights and left on Friday. Saturday, Kass and Sally (two more park employees) came in for a recreational trip. Kass is the 2010 centenial coordinator and Sally is a naturalist. They camped out not far from the cabin, but we were able to spend lots of time together.

Jeff and I spent most of the day inside on Saturday watching the disappointing playoff games. I baked bread twice ( I have a bad habit of forgetting about the bread) and finally finished the Times Square puzzle I was working on. Kass and Leah made it in about 7:30 pm or so. They were actually able to bike most of the road because of this warm spell that we are still under.

On Sunday the four of us headed out to Grinnell Lake. Kass was on skis and the rest of us snowshoed. It was a beautiful day. And, we are back to crossing the lakes again, thankfully! The trip out was quite enjoyable. When we got to Grinnell Lake, we saw wolverine tracks crossing the entire lake. We followed them across the lake to our lunch spot. There we were, dining, and chatting, when all of a sudden Kass yelled "wolverine, wolverine." And, there it was running across the lake in all its glory. This was only two days after I told the third graders, "I've never seen a wolverine, and I probably never will." I will happily eat those words! It was so cool. They are such a rare animal to see! So, that's a wolf sighting and a wolverine sighting in just a few days. We also saw seven goats up above Josephine Lake, so it was a great trip out.

We got back to the cabin around 4:00 pm. We played some dice and cards and ate a delicious dinner full of fresh veggies. YUM! We will be having more company on Tuesday. Jeff's boss is coming out to check on some work in the hotel and will be here for a couple of nights. Busy, busy!

How about a deer leg for dinner?

I know that I've been MIA for a couple of days, but I have good reason. Tuesday night Jeff and I were searching for some missing items when there was a knock at the door. Yes, I said knock! Two people from the wolverine study showed up to put up the study sites. I knew that they were due in and would look for me, but the weather was miserable despite the warmth, and it was also an hour and a half past sunset. So, I didn't think they would be coming in that day. But, they made it! Leah and Eric accepted our invitation to stay here in the cabin with us, so Jeff and I have had a grand couple of days with great company. Yesterday, the three of us spent all day setting up three wolverine sites.

I'll take a timeout here for a brief explanation of the study. John Waller, a wildlife biologist in the park, runs the wolverine project. There no longer is the funding to trap the wolverines and put microchips in them for study, so John is conducting a non-invasive study of the wolverines in the park. There are several study sites all over the park. Leah and Eric came to set up the five sites here in the Many Glacier valley. So for example, there is a site on Swiftcurrent Lake. We attached an eight foot long wooden pole (sometimes a dead tree) to the end of the boat dock. On the very top of the pole, Eric attached a deer leg. Along the pole, in a spiral pattern, twelve gun brushes were attached. The clencher is the stank, otherwise known as the lure. The stank is skunk sent and beaver anal cavity juices. YUM! A few drops of the stank is placed on the pole to attract the wolverines. Trust me a few drops is all you need! So, the idea is that a wolverine will climb up the pole to get to the deer leg and will leave some of its hair on the gun brushes. Thus, we have DNA! Amazing, isn't it?

Time in! So, yesterday we set up the site at Swiftcurrent Lake and two on Josephine Lake. Jeff came with us to the first site then headed into work. The weather was quite enjoyable. There was minimum wind, and it was in the forties. The downside to all of this warm weather is that everything is melting, and we can no longer just ski across the lake. Not to mention, the impressive snow drifts that were building are no longer impressive. After we were all done, we enjoyed a wonderful evening playing cards and bullshitting. Eric taught us the game 500, and Jeff and I somehow managed to beat Leah and Eric one time!

Today, Leah, Eric, and I headed out to Cracker Flats to set up the fourth site. I will say the weather was quite unpleasant today. We were still warm (36 degrees) but the wind on the flats was icy and brutal. Long story short, it was a difficult site, and we spent two hours out in the horrible winds. We came back for lunch and a little R&R, then Leah and Eric headed to the fifth site at Fishercap Lake. My knee is crapping out on me, so I decided to stay behind. Jeff treked part way with them to check the shutters on Swiftcurrent Motel but came back quickly to get me. There was a pack of wolves up on the side of Mt. Altyn chasing some bighorn sheep. Thanks to Jeff, I got to see a couple of them before they moved to the other side of the ridge. It was awesome! Everyone went on their way, and I headed home. (This is where I would insert a frowny face if I knew how). Tonight is Leah and Eric's last night, so I'm sure we will have a good time!

What is going on?

THE LAKE HAS OPEN UP...DOESN'T MONTANA KNOW IT IS ONLY JANUARY!
43 DEGREES AND GAINING. UGH!

Dripping Sweat.

We are in a heat wave here at Many Glacier! It was 41 degrees today. The part that stinks though is how slushy everything is. Yesterday, Jeff and I spent most of the day watching football. There were too many games on to get much else done. I wandered outside for a while, but unfortunately was mostly a homebody. The sun was shining yesterday and the wind was definitely blowing. The bright side to being indoors though is that I finally sat down with the avalanche gear and learned how to use it. We have locator beacons, shovels, and probes, but I don't ever plan on actually having to do a rescue! I read how to do a rescue anyway and then made Jeff read it. It doesn't do me any good if Jeff doesn't know how to rescue me. Later, I finished yet another book and am now on to the next.

Today was quite warm, as I mentioned above, and very gusty! We were hoping to make it to the Post Office, but the weather was quite disagreeing. Instead, Jeff and I spent all day working over at the hotel. We have decided that the lake is no longer our preferred route for travel. There is about six inches of slush on the lake now and a huge chunk broke off by the bridge. I'd rather be a wuss and take a longer trek to work than be brave and fall through the ice. It is supposed to be warm all week. Everything is melting and the mountains are looking quite bare. I wonder when the sheep are going to come back.

57 yard return to start the game...Go Bengals

Yesterday was another no work day for me. It's fun at first, but then I just don't know what to do with myself. Plus, I'm worried that once in the real world, I just plain won't want to work. It was really windy yesterday which ruled out much outside time. Also, the clouds are back. Yay! On the bright side, it has be nice and toasty lately. We have been averaging 32 degrees for the past few days.

I finished puzzle number one and moved on to puzzle number two. I've also started the first Harry Potter book. Shayla is awesome and sent me four Harry Potter books to keep me busy. Now we get to have nerd talk on the phone! Jeff was able to get some work done at the hotel. He has been fixing cracks, and priming, and doing all the stuff that I am apparently not qualified for. (Not that I'm complaining.) I made bread, but I was so into writing my lesson for the third graders that I forgot about it and it fell into nothingness. Bummer.

Today, I awoke to more gray skies. Jeff went over to the hotel for more manly work, and I did take two on the bread baking. It is much more successful when you don't forget about the rising bread. I also made some apple sauce and am in the process of drying apple slices. (Our apples were starting to turn.) There was more puzzle work, and now Jeff and I are preparing for the playoff games. I'm not a Bengals fan or a Jets fan, but the poor Bengals haven't won a playoff game in nineteen years. Not to mention, they just lost to the Jets 37 to ZERO last week. So to that I say, GO BENGALS! (That's for you Jim.)

I was hoping to do a bit of ice fishing between games, but the wind is a howling. Perhaps tomorrow?

48 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

Yesterday was a nice, easy day for me. Jeff was still preparing rooms to paint, so I was off the hook when it came to working. I watched a little tv (yes Jimbo, I even watched part of The View) then got dressed to go outside. It was a beautiful day but very cold. I shoveled what little snow had accumulated along the house, then strapped on the snowshoes for a tour of the property. I headed up above the hotel to check out the view and the snow drift forming against the hotel. The drift is up above the first floor now. Also, the breezeway to the annex is socked in. I saw some bighorn sheep tracks but no actual wildlife. I didn't hang around too long on top of the hill since it was in the negatives, but I enjoyed the time I had up there. I headed back home, built a fire, and thawed out.

Jeff and I bottled our second batch of beer. It is a porter, and I'm super duper excited for it. It smells awesome. We should be enjoying the beer in two short weeks!

I've finally dug into the puzzles we have, so now there is no stopping me. It is way too addicting. I am also reading an interesting book called Indian Creek Chronicles (thank you stanger at Friedas for recommending it). It's about this kid from Milwaukee who ends up in school in Montana. Long story short, he lands a job living in a tent, forty miles from the nearest plowed road, alone and for seven cold winter months. It makes me appreciate my plush accomodations, that's for sure! Check it out. It's an interesting tale. It's by Peter Fromm.

Today was another beautiful day, but the wind really picked up in the afternoon. It started out at negative fifteen but warmed to the upper twenties. You would have never known it though because of the icy wind. Jeff and I got quite a bit of work done at the hotel today. Oh, and I counted the steps to the fourth floor. Fifty-eight glorious steps. Note: There is no sarcasm here. I am happy for the extra exercise!

We are settled back in at the cabin. I started a fire, but because of my lack of tending, it is lacking a flame. Bummer.

Playoffs Are a No Go. Boo!

Not much new over the last couple of days. Victor and Allie made it back to Whitefish safe and sound. Jeff and I spent all day watching football on Sunday (of course). Both of our teams won, but unfortunately the Steeler's could not climb out of the hole they dug themselves (of course neither could the 49er's). Maybe next year Heinzy. It is still up in the air who we will root for in the playoffs. Knowing Jeff and I it will be two different teams!

It has been snowing lightly for the past three days. Today there was NO wind!!! Jeff and I finished up in the basement, ahem, I mean lake level rooms today. We will be working on the fourth floor of the main part of the hotel tomorrow. The bright side is that now we get to climb four flights of stairs everyday. I'll take all the exercise I can get out here (unless it mean cross-country skiing to the Post Office hehe).

The following are pictures courtesy of Victor and Allie.

Good Times With Good Friends

So, Victor and Allie made it out for New Year's Eve. We thought they wouldn't make it out because Victor was sick, but it turns out they are rock stars...very tough rock stars. Originally they were going to leave Whitefish at 8 am to head out here, but Victor had to go to the doctor and all that good stuff. To make a long story short, they started hiking in at 4:30 PM. Jeff and I headed out to meet them at the ranger station. It was completely dark by the time we made it to the ranger station, and it was only 10 degrees. Victor and Allie hadn't made it there yet and the cold was setting in, so Jeff and I ditched our skis and headed toward the dam to make sure everything was ok. We spotted their headlamps, so we ran up the hill to hide and scare them when they passed by. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at hiding, and I started laughing, blowing the hole thing. As it turns out, luck was against Victor and Allie on New Year's Eve. They had rented skis from Sportsman's Ski Haus, but Victor's ski boots didn't fit his skis. Way to go Sportsman's. So, they were on foot, trudging through almost a foot of fresh powder (and more than a foot in several deep spots). Jeff and I left our skis at the ranger station and treked in with our guests.

We made it to the cabin just before 9 pm. Everyone was extremely exhausted. This exhaustion was caused most in part by the contents of Victor and Allie's packs. Remember how I said they were very tough rock stars? Here is a list of the contents: A gallon of vodka, a gallon of orange juice, a bottle of bailey's, three packs of Jello, a bottle of wine, a pound of skittles, five pounds of carrots, a head of cabbage, plus all of our mail which included a chia pet (thanks Heather!), three nips of liquor (Heather again), four Harry Potter books, candy, and cookies (thanks Shayla), Christmas cards from a hundred third graders, clothes and cards (Thanks Uncle Steve and Yingzi), gifts from Pete (thanks for wrapping them so nicely), and miscellaneous personal items. Whoa!

All four of us lounged around recovering for quite a while. We didn't even end up eating dinner until 11 pm (this seems to happen frequently when Victor and Allie come to visit). We managed to amuse ourselves until 4 am playing guesstures.

Most of us had a tough time rallying on New Year's Day. We ate some cinnamon rolls for breakfast, then Jeff and Victor went out to drill another hole in the lake. We all headed over to the hotel for a while via a nice trek across the lake. It was absolutely, ridiculously windy! We sledded a couple of times, but when I rode down the hill I forgot to hold on to the string when I crashed. The sled went flying away up over the hill before I even had time to recover from the crash. I took off running up the hill after the sled, and by sheer luck it got caught up on the other side of the hill, and I was able to recover it. I was done sledding at that point. After we got back to the cabin we played some Hearts, ate dinner, played more Hearts and guesstures, and somehow made it to bed before 2 am. In case you were wondering, Allie and I won the guesstures tournament. It turns out the men couldn't handle their alcohol. Hehe.

Victor and Allie took off this morning about 11 am. We opted not to walk out to the ranger station with them because of the wind. We would have had a hell of a time getting back to the cabin.