Au Nord Du Quebec

Skidoo or Ski-don't...that is the real question here. Since the new year, I have had many new experiences by Skidoo (aka snowmobile). Skidoo's are one of the most fun machines ever created. I have not ever driven one, so my experiences are from the passenger seat, or more accurately the backseat. A few weekends ago, a friend and I decided to try going hunting for ptarmigan at his usual spot about 30 minutes outside the community. First came the loading of the Skidoo onto the trailer then hitching the trailer to the car, no big deal. Once we arrived at our spot we parked the car, prepared our gear and the dogs and set off in the snow. It is important to note that we had just received a few FEET of fresh fluffy snow. The trail was completely covered by snow so we were on our own. Let's just say it is not the brightest idea to go Skidooing in fresh, deep powder with two humans, two large dogs and cargo... We kept sinking in the snow, leaning to the left or leaning to t...

As the temperature drops and I travel back north, I realize just how comfortable my wool socks and Roots sweatshirt are. I was welcomed home this weekend to a 22 hour power outage, meaning 22 hours without electricity, heat, hot water, NOTHING for 22 hours! All of this happened while it was a brisk -15 C (5F) outside. As the temperature dropped in the apartment, I scrounged up as many blankets as I could and as many dogs as I could to keep my bed warm. Just kidding about the dogs but I am lucky to have Lily to keep my feet warm this winter! The quickest decision when I woke up in the morning was to leave the community and venture to Chibougamau to eat a hot breakfast and stock up on non-perishable food in case the outage lasted longer than the day. Luckily, the power came back just as I pulled back into the community, around 3pm. I made a very smart purchase today, buying myself a pair of Bilodeau winter boots, these are both the warmest and most ridiculous-looking boots in ...