A trip we will remember forever!!! Day two

 After a great nights sleep I was up early looking out the window checking to see how much snow we had gotten overnight. With the way the wind was howling it was hard to tell. Heck it was hard to see across the parking lot. It had snowed but who knew how much.
 We made our way down to breakfast and found the coolest waffle maker I had ever seen. There was a batter dispenser where you filled a small cup with batter. Then you poured you batter into the waffle iron and shut the lid. Once the lid was shut you rotated the handle 180 degree to turn the whole iron over. The timer started counting down as soon as the lid was shut. In 2 minutes you opened it up and got your waffle. And a very tasty waffle at that. I wish I had one of those machines here at the lodge.
 After breakfast we took a pic looking out the north side windows to show how close the hotel sits to the lake.

 Cindy was surprised to see the lake right out side the hotel as she was concerned about flooding. The lake happens to be at an almost all time high this season thanks to the ice cover it had last winter that stretched into the summer. As I was taking our things to the car I had to take a pic of all the sleds outside warming up.

 Their owners had come out and fired them up so they could be warming up while they got their gear on inside. We had heard something out our window about 11 the night before. Turns out the sleds got in a bit late. I heard something about a bar crawl in Bergland down the road LOL!
 From the hotel we headed down to the park office to see when we could get our cabin. Someone was a bit anxious to get to the cabin, guilty.  We were a bit early as we could not get in till 3. Bummer. Not a problem though as there were ski trails that started in the back of the parking lot so we just got our gear and headed off. Cindy snapped a pic of me getting ready to go

 Get used to that look on me as that will be what you see for the next few days! As we were gearing up there was a young couple, turned out to be brother and sister, getting ready to leave. We chatted with them a bit and found out they had just spent one night in a yurt then the next night in a cabin. All they had was a large back pack each. Cindy commented there would be no way she could get enough stuff in a back pack to make it one night, much less two! Before long we headed off down a trail into the woods. We were skiing!!!! Finally! Cindy lost her balance in a dip right as we entered the woods and went down. I really thought she had hit her chest on a cut off log so I stopped in a hurry to make sure she was ok. Cindy was fine but in the process I managed to break the two rear feet off my ski pole basket. Wow, 50 feet in and I had already broke something. I was hoping that was not a omen of what might happen later on this trip. I lucked out and was able to still use the pole just fine so all was good.
 As we made our way down the connector trail we saw another couple coming out with a Golden Doodle dog. Harry, the dog, came right up to me so I was scratching his ear. He must have liked it as he just laid down across my skies and took a break. We talked with his parents and it turned out they were also the parents of the two kids we met in the parking lot. They had been taking a family trip to the Porkies for the last 8 or 9 years. Cindy and I thought it was really cool that they could still get their grown kids to still come and hang out with mom and dad in a remote cabin. After talking for a bit Harry finally got up and we all skied on.
 The snow on the ski out was really nice. They had not groomed the trails yet but someone had already skied out so we had tracks to ski in. The woods was so pretty with the snow clinging onto the trees. The trees really blocked the wind so even though it was only about  10 degrees we were nice and warm in our ski gear. Here is the first pic of Cindy skiing in the Porkies

 It was interesting to see that the depth of snow was increasing as we went higher up the hill on our way to the east vista overlook. We had to stop over a small stream and take a selfie on skis, the first of several

 We were using our new Go Pro and I was not aware of how wide the view was as I wound up getting my had in almost every pic I took with it. The whole time we were skiing up there was a light snow falling on us and by the time we got to the east vista we both had a pretty good covering of snow on our heads and gear

Ok, truth be known, some of the snow on me probably came from me falling down shortly before we took this pic. I don't know why it is but it always seems that I manage to fall down just standing still. It is like I forget I am on skis and the next thing I know I am on my back like a turtle! The view from the vista was a obscured by low clouds so we could not see very far but it was still very pretty. But the wind was howling up that high in the opening of the vista so we did not stay there long.
 As we made the turn to go to the vista off the main trail we had passed the ski trail grooming machine coming down the trail. We both thought we would have a great ski on the way down the hill with freshly groomed trails. Boy were we wrong. Instead of smooth fast tracks to ski in we spent most of our time dodging the mud holes!!! Since the temps had been in the 50's less that a week before the ground was not frozen when the snow finally came. So when the groomer drove over the trail the tracks sank through the snow and pulled up the mud in the really wet places. I know they were packing the snow for a base but it still made a awful mess for us to ski through. Not only was it muddy but the grooming also screwed up my mental notes on what trail to take back to the car. So needless to say we missed our turn. Looking back on it we actually stopped to talk to another couple with a dog at the fork in the trail we should have taken. Turned out that while we had to ski through more mud the wrong turn was actually a very good thing as we wound up coming out in the parking lot of the downhill ski chalet! We skied right to the door and went inside to check it out and take advantage of the flushing potties one more time before we headed into the rustic cabin. The chalet turned out to be an awesome find as not only did they have running water but they also had hot food and drinks, and two very large fireplaces with electric outlets to charge Cindy's phone and GPS watch.

 All warmed up  and charged up again we headed off to ski back to the car as it was almost time to get our cabin!! We skied the road back to the car instead of going back on the trails to avoid the mud. The road ran right along the shoreline of lake Superior so we had to take a pic of it

 Behind us in the pic you can see the ground curving out into the lake, that is where our cabin is located at. Once back at the visitors center Cindy used the potty one last time before we headed off to the parking area for our cabin. They time had come to put the pulks to the test!
 Things got pretty busy once we got parked and we started getting everything loaded up. The wind was blowing pretty hard and had we been in Indiana I am sure it would have been called a blizzard. I laid the pulk sleds out and then put the tarps in them that we would use to wrap up everything we were carrying to one keep it in the pulk, and two to help keep the snow out of it. It did not take long and we had our first loads ready to head out. With Cindy in the lead with the lighter load off we went into the woods headed for our cabin. It did not take long for me to realize that a woman's body had the advantage when it came to pulling a pulk. With my scrawny hips my belt that the pulk tracer poles were hooked to started sliding down. I pulled it back up several times but to no avail. It just kept falling down. It finally slid down to my knees so I had to stop and fix my belt. Cindy either did not hear me or was too upset with me for conning her into coming on this insane idea of a fun time. Either way she did not stop, instead she just skied on. I had to make double time, pulling a pulk with 10 bottles of wine and a ton of other stuff in it, to catch up with Cindy but I finally did.
 We finally reached the point where our trail to the Whitetail cabin turned off to the north from the Deer Yard trail. Cindy made the right turn with her pulk in tow and we headed down to our cabin. It was probably another 1/8 of a mile before we started seeing snow covered roof tops coming into view. Turned out it was our potty roof that we saw first, then the wood shed across from that. Finally we could see our cabin sitting in the distance with a nice covering of snow on it's roof.

 The little cabin sitting in the pines and birch trees with the lake in the back ground, I was in heaven! Cindy, quite tired already from a day full of skiing, was hiding her excitement incredibly well. We dropped our pulk belts and went inside to check out our digs. It was not quite the Ritz but it was very cozy. I felt the warmth of the cabin when we walked in as it retains heat quite well and people had been in it the night before. It was a bit dark as it was already starting to get dark outside so we hurried up and unloaded our pulks and headed back out for the second load. As we skied back to Pearl for load #2 Cindy was already starting to worry about being able to stay warm enough in the cabin. I assured her we would be fine.
 Once back to Pearl I had Cindy stay hooked up to her pulk while I loaded her sled. When it is that cold out the less you take your gloves off the better you are and I wanted to keep her warm. So I stuffed my ski gloves in my jacket to keep them warm and put on my thinner gloves so I could feel what I was doing. I loaded Cindy's sled and was doing the burrito wrap with the tarp and fasting the tie downs when two older couples pulled up in a Buick. They had driven up from the Detroit area to visit family and wanted to snowshoe in for the lantern lit ski that was to be held the next night, New Year's eve. The one gentleman asked us if they were still going to have it as he heard they might not due to the cold temps. We told him we thought they were but were not sure. Then he asked if I was familiar with Buckshot as he used to hunt up in that area? I knew that Buckshot was a town that taken over by the park when the established it but I told him we were not from the area and it was our first visit. I then told him we were there to stay in a rustic cabin on the lake for the next two days. His eye brows raised and with a very surprised voice said "SERIOUSLY?" I chuckled and said yes to which he said good luck and they drove away, probably laughing their butts off at us. Cindy and I have several good laughs over "SERIOUSLY?".
By the time I had my pulk loaded and secured it was almost dark. We skied back to the cabin one last time and arrived just as darkness swallowed us up. Once inside I got some lights on for Cindy and lit the fire as she was fearful we would freeze at any moment. Then it was time to unload the pulks and set up house. While the fire got going we chose our bed, there were eight bunks to choose from. Cindy picked the one closest to the woodstove on the bottom bunk. I tried it out and it was a bit firm to say the least so we stole another mattress pad off another bunk and stacked it on the first one. Much better. WE brought sheets, pillows, a double sleeping bag that we share, and a heavy quilt. My last fear was freezing. Little did I know how right I was to fear that the least.
 The cabin already had two clotheslines hung up by the woodstove so we hung up our wet ski gear and put our coats on the hooks next to it.

One nice thing was there were wood pegs to hang things up all over the walls. As the woodstove continued to heat up I got started making supper while Cindy played a game of solitaire. I opened a bottle of wine, now down to nine, and we shared a toast to our adventure. As supper cooked we could hear the wind howl and waves crash on the shoreline below the cabin. We filled our bellies with chicken and pasta in alfredo sauce which was pretty darn tasty. I ate all I could but we still had leftovers. I used canned chicken breast that I browned with spices and then used Bear Creek alfredo and pasta. Was really easy and very tasty.
 After the dishes were done I got out my NOAA weather radio so we could check out the temp and forecast. The automated female voice just kept reading off warning after warning. Lets see, there was a gale warning with winds of 40 knots, a wind chill warning with wind chills below -20, a large wave warning with waves of 20'+ along the western shore of the Keweenaw peninsula, a freezing spray warning, and few others I forget now. We just started laughing as what else could we do? The wind just kept howling outside as we set in our cabin all warm and cozy playing rummy.
 It had been a long day and we were getting tired. We did the math and between the map and Cindy's GPS watch we added up that we had skied about 16 miles. Two of those miles were pulling a loaded pulk, all be it down hill, to the cabin. I guess it was about 10 or so local time that I stoked the stove and shut it down hoping to get a five hour run out of it before I had to get up and feed it again. We crawled into bed and covered up all nice and snug. We laid awake for a bit and talk about our trip so far and what fun things we still had to do. Before long sleep overcame us and we were out like lights.
 It was just a bit past midnight when I woke up unable to breath properly. At first I was perplexed as to why then it hit me, like a blow torch! It was so dam hot in the cabin I was on fire! I have never been so hot in my whole life. I was laying on the side of the bed closest to the woodstove and although I had unzipped the sleeping bag and was laying on top of it, the radiant heat off the stove had cooked me from the inside out! I got up and grabbed my led headlight and found my backpack I wear when we ski. I have a thermometer on it that I use to check the temp of snow so I know what wax to use on our skis. The pack was on the bunk above us and I really wish I had taken a pic of it as it read 105 degrees!!!!  So much for being worried about staying warm. Cindy was still sleeping, or at least trying. I asked her if she was hot, and she said a bit warm. I was well beyond a bit warm. Heck, even my belly button had popped out like a temperature sensor they put in turkeys to tell you when they are done. Seems I had been blocking all the radiant heat from getting to her. I was so hot I had to go stand outside, naked, in the wind and snow with the temp down close to 0 to cool off. I really thought about making a snow angle but figured I would just melt through the snow to the bare ground I was so hot. I finally came back inside the kiln and opened two windows to get some airflow across the cabin. Now one would think that with the temp outside at 0 it would not take long to cool off the cabin. Well, we slept till 5 am with the windows open before I even thought about closing them. As I laid back down in bed I was still roasting. I really hoped that I would get an occasional cool breeze across me to help cool me down but what breezes I did get felt like the heat off a blast furnace by the time it got to me. Normally Cindy and I sleep like two lego blocks but not this night. Even though it was only a twin size mattress she found a way to get away from me. I commented about that and she said I was just too hot to lay next to. Gee thanks. I told her that if that is what a hot flash feels like to women going through men o pause I feel very sorry for them. I finally cooled off enough to get back to sleep. I woke up about 5 and pulled the quilt over us and zipped the sleeping bag as it had finally cooled off enough we needed the covers to stay warm. Cindy asked if I was going to feed the fire. All I said was "are you crazy?" and went back to sleep...