Winter – Page 3 – Jack McClure

A Night Out

March 2, 2017 by Jack M

My bed was covered in gear. Sleeping bag and pads, big puffy jacket, light jacket, puffy pants, stove, kick wax, gloves, mitts and all other sorts of related pieces were sprawled out. I was going on a ski trip. The idea was to head over to the Glacier River, travel up and over to the … Read more

The Hunt

February 27, 2017 by Jack M

Note: This is a work of fiction. However, some of the writing was inspired by real events. As the rain fell, it was absorbed into the sod roof. The water worked its way through the various layers of sedges and moss before finally dripping on the floor of the cabin. A layer of spruce boughs … Read more

40 Below

February 23, 2017 by Jack M

January 19 I wake in the morning to a warm room. A relief. Two of the past three days have reached -40 below or colder. I had previously awoken to a cold room and chilly floor, even with a bed of cols remaining in the woodstove. The change has me thinking the cold spell had … Read more

Mail Day

October 12, 2021February 20, 2017 by Jack M

Over 60 years ago, in 1956, the post office in Wiseman, Alaska was closed. The building still stands today, near the entrance to the community by road, with its logs rotting away into the ground year by year. Ducking underneath the shrunken door, one finds a jumbled mess inside. Dust covers everything, the counter, old … Read more

The Snowshoe Hare

February 14, 2017 by Jack M

Born in early summer, the hare had witnessed the onslaught of predators from above. During these warm months, goshawks, great horned owls and golden eagles among other birds had perched high on the spruce trees, scanning for the slight movement that would signal a tasty treat. Staying within or close to willow thickets, the young … Read more

Freeze Up

February 8, 2017 by Jack M

October Ice pans float down the river. I walk across the rocks, frozen in place, out onto the ice attached to shore. The ice is stable. It’s already a few inches thick and sufficient enough to hold my weight above the water flowing below. I move cautiously towards its edge, stopping a foot and a … Read more

Returning Home

February 8, 2017 by Jack M

This is the excerpt for your very first post.

Confronation with the Locals Part 2

December 23, 2015 by Jack M

I had undergone a transformation over the past year and a half. On the Colorado Trail in the summer of 2014, I found myself so scared of bears after hearing one huffing and stomping around in close proximity to my tent one night that I thought they were waiting around every bend. I would get … Read more

Winter Notes

October 29, 2015 by Jack M

Darkness. I stand in a clearing, surrounded by the boreal forest as snow falls down at a rapid clip. The clouds have sunk quite low in the valley, encompassing the mountains and the surrounding area, limiting my view to silhouettes of spruce trees a few hundred yards distant in the dark Arctic night. This land … Read more