Winter at the Cabin

One aspect of why moving to Duluth is so appealing is the proximity to my friend’s cabin. The cabin is up in the middle of nowhere, off the grid, and always a good time even when there’s work to do there.

Winter cabin trips are special, and I took one this past February after many years of not being up there. Any trip the cabin is made complete with stops along the way either to admire the views or admire the views at a local brewery. Also, no trip to the cabin is complete without a stop at the grocery store in the last town along the way.

Trips in the winter involve parking the truck at an unplowed driveway and snowshoeing down a hill and across the lake. We attempt to do this before it gets dark, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen that way. This time, we didn’t make it but the sunset and stars were worth the late start. Once you’re at the cabin, it’s all about getting it warmed up with a fire which will take the night. With the shorter days, a lot is done by lantern and headlamp. Bed times in the winter are earlier, and the cooler for food/beer is the outdoors. It’s amazing.

This last trip was pretty relaxing, as it was quick so not much time to do anything but enjoy not being plugged in to the world. We played so many rounds of Scrabble and Phase 10 that this time we even created ten additional (harder) phases. I read my book, a little, and made awesome food on the wood stove. It was a whole lot of lounging and I’m okay with that. We went down to the lake one clear night to look at the sky, which is always spectacular up there.

I’m looking forward to more frequent cabin trips - all year. There are a lot of projects and ongoing work that needs to be done, and I’m happy to be closer to help so I can also enjoy the solitude the place provides.