Day 6

Thursday,
March 8, 2001

Last night I could hardly sleep. All I could think about was getting out on the snow-covered ice; locating some big bear tracks and following them until we find a bear.

60° below zero

Unfortunately, Mother Nature had a whole different idea about what was going to happen. I've been stuck all day in our little 8x12' tent that is no thicker than my shirt. My guides told me that the temperature has dropped to well below the 60° below zero mark with the wind chills and that it's too dangerous to travel. It makes me wonder what would happen if the tent blew down or if the heaters quit working. I don't think we would last long in this hostile environment, even with our caribou clothing. I can't believe the dogs
can sit outside in this stuff and still look so comfortable. This is just everyday stuff to them. It's incredible. One of the things I learned from my guides was that they can also use hides from the dogs to make clothing because it's so warm, but it's not a common practice.

When I look outside our tent, it's a complete
white out all around us. I have nothing to do but
sit here and dream about big bears. Our day was
mostly spent telling hunting stories and talking
about our families.