It’s the last week of the year, and the injured moose

Well it’s been another quiet week up here on the mountain, my little slice of heaven.

It’s the last week of the old year, and I believe all of us are hoping for a better new year. We have lost so many famous, and some not so famous, this past year, that I think everyone wants to just take a break. Let’s hope we don’t lose any next year.

I think the family near Allen’s cabin has finally left the mountain before the last storm we had yesterday. I saw evidence that they had managed to drive down (though judging by the tracks, it wasn’t easy) I have not seen any sign they have tried to get back up. The road hasn’t been plowed, nor could anybody now. There are six ft snow drifts in places at the clear cut.

Tomorrow will be a group effort to get a trail packed through those drifts.

Teepee guy has gone out and purchased a couple of snowmobiles. At least he understands it’s not easy living up here. So tomorrow I will get him, Allen and myself to bust through to the bottom.

Down at My Kitchen, the talk has been where the town is going to put all this snow from the last two storms. Seems people weren’t quite finished plowing when the next storm hit. At least we will have a couple of days before the next round hits. Then we start all over again packing trails. That is a never ending cycle up here, snow, pack trails, then repeat as nessary.

Allen was going to go into town today, but I imagine he is still digging out at his cabin. The snow drifts there can reach the peak of his roof quickly, and if he doesn’t stay on top of it, he will be buried until spring.

On my way down this morning to pack and check the condition of the road, I came upon a cow moose that had broken her left foreleg. I could tell she was in pain, but she refused to let me or my machine get close to her, and trotted as best she could down ahead of me.

She plowed through the first snow drift and that’s where I left her. I turned around and headed home. I don’t know how she broke her leg, but I can assume she might gave taken a tumble off the bank next to the road and fell on it.

I feel bad for any animal that is injured, and would have put her out of her misery had I has my rifle on hand instead of my pistol. She did manage to stay just out of range, and I didn’t want to add to her agony by wounding her. That’s life and death on the mountain, the circle of life.

Well that’s all the news for the week. Bye for now.