I finally forced myself to get up and get things going for the day while I let Cindy sleep a bit longer. I started off by getting a fire going back in the nuclear oven, aka, wood stove. I was going to do things a bit differently today in hopes of avoiding another naked cool down outside at 1 am. Today I was going to leave the door open while we were there so the stove would not build up so much heat. Might use a bit more wood that way but it would be much cooler in the cabin. The park provides the wood for the stove and most of it was white bark birch. I had seen a video on youtube about extracting the oil from birch bark so I knew the bark would probably burn very well. I was right as I took some bark someone had already peeled off the tree and brought in to dry and placed it on the hot coals left over from last night's run away reactor episode. With just a few puffs of breath on the coals the bark ignited and burned very well. A few pieces of split kindling and then some more wood and we were back in business.
After fire starting 101, I got ready to make our breakfast of apple cinnamon muffins, peeled oranges, and oj with coffee, white hot chocolate with butterscotch schnapps for the lil lady who was still sleeping soundly. You have to understand that although we are staying in rustic cabin with no electricity and outside potty we were far from ruffing it. I knew in order to make this trip something that Cindy would enjoy I would need to step up my game a bit which was the biggest reason it took us four sled loads to get everything back to the cabin. Not only did we haul in all 10 bottles of wine but we had a 24 qt cooler, a single burner gas stove, a collapsible oven, and numerous other cooking devices along with everything else. We were far from ruffing it.
I was very excited to finally get to try out the Coleman Camp oven I had bought for our trip.
All the reviews I had read and videos I had watched made me feel reasonably sure it would work. After I got it all put together which takes just a minute or two I sat it on the stove and started preheating it. By now Cindy was up and getting ready to run to the potty. Did I mention it was hovering just above 0 and the wind was still howling? So Cindy was bundling up for the 100 foot trek to the outside facilities. While Cindy was out I set off the smoke alarm as the shipping oil cooked off the oven. Maybe I should have heated it up once before we left home. Oh well. With the muffin mix in the muffin pan and the oven preheated I slid the pan in the oven and shut the door. The one suggestion I might make to Coleman on the oven would be that a viewing window would be really sweet.
I went off the suggested time and by the time the muffins were done Cindy was back inside warming up by the stove and the table was ready for our first breakfast on the shores of lake Superior.
Breakfast was really yummy and I could have eaten 6 more muffins. 16 miles the day before left me with quite the appetite. I started cleaning up after we were finished while someone crawled back in bed for just a quick lil nap. Cindy was out like a light as soon as her head hit the pillow. I piddled around the cabin and kept the fire going while my lady rested up for another day on the trails.
It was really nice to just be able to sit and stare out the window. Very seldom do I get "free" time at home as there is always something I need to be doing and usually stay busy till I crash at night. This day I just sat and watched Cindy sleep, I love to do that, and read the cabin's journal.
Most people who stay in the cabin had written a journal entry and it was fun to read about everyone's experiences. I had to laugh at one guy who thought he was really something for carrying in a small cooler as I looked around at the grocery and liqueur store we carried in! My new motto was "Have pulks, will not suffer" as we were quite comfy in the cabin with everything we brought in. I took a few minutes to make a entry in the journal about our first day in the cabin and warned others to go easy with the stove in hopes of helping the people after us avoid having a night like I did.
Cindy finally started to stir around noon or so. The wind was still howling along the lake but we bundled up and headed off on our skis anyway. After our experience yesterday with the groomed trails we decided to stick to the non groomed trails in hopes of having better snow. We headed up our trail to the t intersection then went west on the Deer Yard Trail towards the hemlocks. The hemlocks are a stand of virgin timber that for some reason were spared the wrath of the saw when the area was logged off. In some of the pamphlets people left in the cabin I had seen a pic of this area after the logging was done. It looked like a nuclear bomb had been set off as there was not a tree left standing from the shoreline in for several miles. The caption said that a wood pecker would have to pack his lunch if he was going to fly to the lake for a drink! But for some reason a grove of hemlocks was left and you could definitely tell when you reached them as they were large evergreen trees reaching far above all the other trees around them.
It was sad to see so many of them were starting to die and succumb to gravities constant pull on them as there were several laying on the ground. the trail through them was very pretty though and the wind while still howling above us barely moved the low hanging branches above us. I made the point of telling Cindy that this is where I wanted to ring in the new year at that night at midnight, standing in these beautiful hemlock trees. I think Cindy answered without giving much thought it when she said "Sounds great" .
We continued along the trail to the up hill portion by the road. From where we parked Pearl to our cabin was about a 165' feet drop to the cabin spread out over a mile. Well if you went west on the trail the climb back up to the road was even higher as the road went up hill just west of where we parked Pearl. The trail was packed ice and very slick so the climb was a bit a challenge but we finally made it up to the road crossing on the trail. The road is closed to everyone but skiers and snowmobilers just west of where we parked Pearl and as we got to the road several sleds did go racing past us heading down into Silver City. After they passed we crossed the road and headed east down to the ski chalet. The wind that had been howling had all but died and we had a really nice ski down to the ski chalet. Again, we were surprised how much more snow there was us just a couple hundred feet from the lake vertically and south of the lake a mile or less. The area right along the lake shoreline definitely receives less of the snow than the inland areas.
We had a nice break at the chalet and each enjoyed a slice of pizza and carbonated beverage.
While we warmed up by the fire we let Cindy's phone charge up. We had very limited cell coverage but oddly enough we did have one bar in our cabin. So we would turn Cindy's phone on from time to time to get caught up on all her texts. Turned out we could receive texts a lot better than we could send them. After the phone and watch were charged back up we headed down the snow/ice covered drive back to Pearl as we needed to get a few things we left in her. Our skis really got a humming going down the snow packed drive to the Chalet as it was a pretty good hill. Cindy had a bit of an issue there but I was in front and totally missed it.
Back at Pearl we swapped our waxless skis for antique wood Asnes skis. I had really been looking forward to skiing on them again as we have only had them out once before but we really enjoyed how well they glide versus the new waxless skis. They are probably close to 40 years old but they are super pretty and I updated the bindings so we can use our new ski boots with them. We decided to ski up the road back to the trail that we had so much trouble climbing up on the way to the Chalet. We really should have stopped to think about that before we did it. If it was that steep coming up it, it was going to be really fast going down it and now we had the rocket skis on our feet. Oh well, lesson learned. Cindy was the first to go down the trail once we got to the trail head. She did not go far before she was going faster than she felt comfortable with and seeing how she was rapidly approaching a large hemlock she wisely took a dive. I waited for her to get back up then I started down. To keep from hitting Cindy I had to take a dive before I got to the large hemlock in the turn that got Cindy. It was about now that Cindy started asking me what the trail was rated. Going off my memory, I said easy. Which technically was correct as the first part was rated easy. But the second part, that we were on now, turned out to be rated more difficult and it was suggested to be one way. I think I know why.
We finally made it down the hill and we skied along very nicely on our old wood skis. There is just something really cool about these skis and we really enjoy skiing on them. We meet a older lady on the trail and chatted a bit with her. She told us the lantern ski was still on for that night which was good news. She said about the only reason they ever cancel it is due to lack of snow. We skied back to the cabin and fed the stove a few more pieces of birch then headed back out to ski the Superior Loop so we would have an idea of what the trail was like before we skied it that night in the dark.
All along the Superior Loop we saw the blue Dietz lanterns that they would light that night for the lantern ski.
As we approached the warming hut we saw a park employee that I recognized to be the park interrupter Bob Wild. I had been emailing back and forth with Bob before our trip checking snow conditions and getting tips on what to bring. We stopped and introduced ourselves and Bob seemed like a super nice guy. We skied on around the loop a little further before turning back due to darkness quickly approaching. It was time to head back to the cabin and wait for the lantern ski to start at 6 pm.
Back at the cabin we hung up our wet items on the clothesline and played some rummy. I am just learning and Cindy was having a field day cleaning my clock. We shared a nice bottle of wine as we played and just enjoyed being together. I was really thinking that now that Cindy was starting to loose her fear of freezing to death in this cabin in the middle of no where and that she was really starting to relax and enjoy the whole experience. I could tell she was still tired but being the trooper she is she was powering on.
Shortly after 6 we put our ski gear back on to go do the lantern ski. I had put our thermoses full of warm spiced wine in our packs so we would have a nice warm adult beverage to enjoy around the fire. As we skied out from our cabin under a starlit night sky the moon was providing great illumination. It was the first time we had seen the sky since we arrived in the Porkies and it made for a beautiful night ski. If it was not for the uneven terrain on the trail we could have skied without our headlamps on. As we turned onto the Dear Yard trail we could see the lanterns twinkling in the distance through the woods and it was not long before our trail intersected the Superior loop. It was very neat to ski in the dark with the trail being lit by the lanterns. At one point I had a little issue getting too far off the packed trail trying to ski next to Cindy. Wound up spitting snow for a bit. We both had issues going down the only steep part of the trail where it dropped down to lake level. It was a bit hard to read the trail with our lamps on their dimmest settings. Again, lesson learned. We finally arrived at the warming hut and joined the others around the fire. We enjoyed a warm cup of wine while talking with others and sharing where everyone was from. There was a single mom with three young kids there and they too were staying in a rustic cabin up on the road. There cabin is the only one you can drive right to. I awarded her the title of being the bravest one there. Rustic cabin with three young kids on your own, think about it LOL! We snapped a pic of Bob
and he returned the favor and snapped on of us while we enjoyed the fire. Cindy looks a bit cold.
We finished off our wine and headed back out to finish the loop then return back to the cabin for dinner.
Arriving back at the cabin Cindy was wiped out. I did not have to tell her twice to stretch out and take a break while I cooked dinner. Again, she was out like a light. I quietly cooked dinner while Cindy slept which was good as it took a while to get everything prepared. We had picked up steaks and a small shrimp cocktail for our New Year's Eve dinner when we stopped in WI. I used the oven and made some biscuits to go with it. I really need to work on my biscuit recipe as they are like bricks. Would like them better if they were a bit lighter and fluffier. I had set the table and had everything ready to eat before I woke Cindy up. I think her nose woke up first as she was sniffing the air as she opened her eyes. We enjoyed a nice dinner and glass of wine or two. Again, I am really liking the simplicity of life in the woods. No tv, no internet, although by now I had figured out the issue with our radio and we did have some music to go with dinner. It was just very enjoyable and relaxing. I will admit, I was missing our boys. We did not have room for them anyway by the time we loaded up all our gear in Pearl and I am pretty sure Cindy knew getting me to leave to go back to the brown wasteland we live in called Indiana would be much harder had I had the boys with me.
With dinner done I told Cindy I would clean up. Again, no arguments from her as she laid back down on our bed. I spent the rest of the evening cleaning up, feeding the fire, and reading some more of the journal and other info people had left in the cabin.
Remember back a few paragraphs where I told Cindy I wanted to ring in the new year standing in the Hemlocks? Well the time had arrived to wake up my beautiful lil lady and see if I could coax her out of her slumber to get all geared up to go back out to ski one more time in 2014? I gently woke her up and reminded her about going to the hemlocks. She did not hit me so I took that as a positive sign. But it was about then that a large gust of wind howled across the cabin. She looked at me asked if that was a wolf? Sadly, I had to reply no, just the wind. Cindy asked if it was going to be blowing the whole time we were out and I assured her it would not be blowing in the hemlocks and we would be fine. Cindy went ahead and got up and quietly got all her ski clothes back on. I knew I was really pushing it at this point but I wanted to give her a trip to remember and what neater way to ring in the new year than doing it in a way that no one else is doing? Sounded good to me. We headed outside to get our skis on with the wind howling and the snow falling down around us. Cindy lead the way out our trail, again, not a peep out of her. As she will tell you, I get nervous when she is quite. I knew I had already asked a lot of out of her taking this trip with me as she was the only one out of the six in our ski group that would even come with me. I feared maybe I was about to cross the line of asking too much. It was a bit blustery but soon I could make out the outline of the large hemlocks even in the total darkness that surrounds you in the north woods. As we entered the hemlocks the wind did in fact die down as not even it cannot penetrate the fluffy bows of the hemlocks. Cindy came to a stop on the trail and quietly said she saw lights up ahead. I told her that was strange and to go check them out. She cautiously skied on and came to a stop in a semicircle of battery operated tea lights that were placed around the trail. I skied past her just far enough to turn around and came back to stand beside her. She had the most surprised look on her face that I had ever seen. I wasn't sure if she was still waking up or was having a hard time processing the situation. I took her hands and wanted to say to her that "I know I had asked a lot of you going on this trip with me but I want to ask you to take one more great adventure with me." but the words got a bit mixed up on the way out. I think my tongue froze to my lips on the way there. I tried to gracefully drop to one knee, still on skis, which was anything but graceful, then reached into my coat and pulled out a ring box as I looked up to a still very stunned Cindy and it was then that I asked her something I should have asked her long before now. With the giant hemlocks as my witness, I asked Cindy to marry me as I opened the ring box, upside down. She did not hesitate to say yes, sigh of relief from me as I feared it might go either way on the ski to the hemlocks. Nearly falling over on my way back up to my feet I discovered the upside down ring box and was very glad it did not fall out. With happy tears flowing down Cindy's cheeks I slid the ring on her finger. I held her close to me in the soft glow of tea lights under the bows of the hemlocks. Just then the fireworks signaling the arrival of the new year started going off up the Keweenaw peninsula. The timing was impeccable!
Do not feel bad if you did not know I was going to ask as no one knew. I had been planning this moment for well over a year and was really starting to stress when they did not have snow a week before our departure date. I wanted to make this a trip that both of us would remember forever and I think I may have succeeded. To say that Cindy was a lot more livelier and talkative on the ski back to the cabin than on the way to the hemlocks is an understatement. I think it really started to sink in that I had finally asked her on the way back.
It was some time before Cindy finally wound down enough to go to sleep. With the windows cracked and the fire not on run away mode like the night before it was much more comfortable in the cabin. Cindy was back where she belonged, in my arms with her head on my chest, instead of on the edge of a twin bed trying to escape the heat radiating off of me. All snug in our little cabin we drifted off to sleep for the first time as fiancés with the sound of the wind howling and the waves of lake Superior crashing outside...
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