Stomach trouble

Yesterdays capercaillie celebration caused my stomach to be upset in the morning. The rest of the bunch loaded up into one car and headed off while I stayed at the cabin blocking the sewage system. At around eleven my stomach started to calm down and I decided to pack my gear and head out. The temperature had dropped to -27'C during the night, so I put on a bit more clothing underneath my snow outfit than for previous days. I headed to the same area where we had been on our first day of hunting. First I drove to the end of the dirtroad, turned and came back. Along the way I stopped to take this picture:

As I was putting my camera back in the car a capercaillie took off from a tree behind me and flew over the road and disappeared behind the small clearing right by the road.

I drove a couple of kilometers along the main road to a parking spot. I started to ski along the edges of clearings in the forrest, in the direction I saw the bird fly. Eventhough I used my binoculars often, I did not catch even a glimpse of the bird. Along the way I saw numerous moose and reindeer tracks in the snow. When I arrived at the dirtroad again, the sun was setting and I skied along the main road back to the car.

When I arrived at the cabin, the rest of the crew had already returned. As I was driving back, the cars thermometer showed the outside temperature to be -24'C, but in the bright sunshine it did not seem that cold when I was skiing. Most surprisingly the crust on the snow carried well, and skiing was very light and enjoyable.

In the evening our head chef prepared a well spiced tomato / mincemeat sauce to go with the pasta I cooked. A heavy meal topped off a nice day.