After spending another week in New Brunswick, this time running a winter bushcraft course with some of the troops from the Canadian infantry school at Gagetown, I made it home just in time for the St. Patrick’s day storm.  We got another 8 inches of snow and ice, but storms this time of year don’t leave their snow for too long as spring is right around the corner.

It was a great week with Jeff Butler and the guys from the army.  We set up a camp, built individual shelters with bough beds and either domed or cone roofs, set some snares, did a bunch of firecraft, worked on barehand navigation and were busy from dawn until after dusk.  I brought an old down sleeping bag with no zipper and a piece of plastic that I used to cover the top of my shelter.  It did’t come all the way to the ground, which minimized condensation, but as we got several inches of rain, freezing rain and snow condensation wasn’t too big of an issue.  The bough bed I made was the most comfortable I’ve ever made, and I’ll always look back on it fondly for the restful sleeps it provided me.

With spring right around the corner my thoughts are turning more and more to open water fishing.  I’m planning on getting out to see if the smelt are running in the next few days, then it won’t be long until the rivers and lakes open up.