8 hour therapy session...

Session started at about 9:30, when I left my house on skidoo following Anne and Yayi, and April and Trev. The overnight camping excursion had been cancelled with threat of a big blizzard, so instead we decided to go to the trees for a little drive then a bonfire for lunch. We started driving through the trees, everything dusted with snow (and when I say dusted I mean like the kind of layer of dust you find in the antiquities section of a university library, haha). It was very beautiful, calm, relaxing, and detached from the hectic topsy-turvy week.

We didn't see many ptarmigan at first but it was fun going through the trails of soft snow, weaving through the forest, and climbing the mountains just south of Tasialuk. We set up our fire on the east side of the lake. With axe in hand, April and I trudged our way through the trees to find some deadwood for the fire. I love snowshoeing especially in the deep snow, it is so exhilarating, physically challenging and exciting when you realize yours are the only tracks on that stretch of land, and you are the first to admire the snow sculptures made when the snow caked itself onto the short trees and bushes.

We got a nice fire started, roasted hotdogs, vienna sausages (that was just April though) and marshmellows. Nothing tastes better than that! After relaxing around the fire for a while, we decided to go trudging around again with the snowshoes, exploring a bit and finding some more firewood. Then Anne and Yayi returned (they had to go back to town to get their groceries from the plane) so we all went together through a mountain pass to Old Woman's lake, where Nancy, Mark, Chris and Marie had gone to do some fishing and were hanging out in a school tent that was set up by a lake for the day trips with classes that will begin in a week or two (weather permitting)



It was so nice getting a line in the water. There is a new system now that allows teachers (any non-Inuit) to get licenses for fishing and small game hunting up here. I got my licenses so I am now allowed to try fishing again. (It was frowned on the last couple years so I didn't fish, however I did catch some my first year since things were much more relaxed) It was also so nice hanging out in the tent. The smell of the boughs, the warmth of the fire, and the subtle chill of the wind coming in from the opened door occasionally, make for a seriously comfortable and relaxing experience. We spent the entire afternoon- Mark, Nancy, Samuel (Marie's teenaged son) Imaapik (Nancy and Mark's 3 year old), and the girls (Andrea and Heather- Mark and Nancy's daughters, and Sybilla their "adopted" daughter)- chatting and nibbling and enjoying being outdoors.

Once it got dark we decided to pack it up and go home. I checked the clock when I came inside and it was 5:30 pm... I felt like things were good in the world again and that I had just had an absolutely wonderful and therapeutic day!