American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 168 Winter Has Arrived
The thirteenth day
Lin Yu'an was awakened by a very slight rustling sound.

When he opened his eyes, the shelter was dimly lit, with only the faint, dark red glow emanating from the nearly burnt-out charcoal in the fireplace.

He ducked and crawled out of the low doorway; outside, everything was a blinding white.

The snow finally came! It wasn't heavy, but it was fine and dense, like grains of salt, covering the entire earth.

Upon seeing the snow, Lin Yu'an's expression became extremely solemn.

"Good morning, everyone. Today is the thirteenth day, November 13th." He exhaled a thick puff of white breath at the camera.

"It's snowing. This isn't a good sign here. It means the temperature has stabilized below freezing, and the rate of environmental degradation will accelerate significantly. I must check my food supply immediately."

He wasted no time; the waterproofing work last night relieved him of any worries about the shelter, and now all his attention was focused on the pressing issue of food.

He grabbed his empty backpack and axe and headed straight for the beach.

The view of the coastline confirmed his concerns.

The tide is at its lowest point of the day, and a thin layer of "ice porridge" floats on the sea surface, a sign that the seawater is beginning to freeze.

On the mudflats, a thin layer of transparent ice has already formed in some shallow puddles.

"The bay is starting to freeze over."

As Lin Yu'an carefully walked on the slippery rocks, he explained in a serious tone, "It's just thin ice on the edges right now, but it's a clear warning."

“In a few days, the ice here will become thicker, making my collection activities extremely difficult, and I may even be forced to stop.”

He found his usual mussel bed, and now the mussels in the shallowest part of the water near the shore were covered by a layer of sea ice about one centimeter thick.

He used the back of his ice axe against the ice, and with a "bang," the ice cracked, revealing the mussels underneath. Fortunately, the ice wasn't thick.

But he soon discovered an even more serious problem: the icy seawater was bone-chilling, and his waterproof gloves made his fingers stiff and numb after a few seconds of contact with the seawater, severely affecting the efficiency of the collection.

He had to frequently pull his hand away and shake it vigorously to regain consciousness.

It took him twice as long as usual to barely fill the container with more than ten kilograms of mussels.

"Harvesting efficiency has decreased by at least 70 percent."

"I must stockpile as many mussels as possible before sealing it off completely, to expand my granary."

He carried the mussels back to camp to feed them for the next few days, then immediately went to the coniferous forest to check his four rabbit snares.

The thin layer of snow became the most direct information board.

He arrived at the location of the first trap and carefully examined the snow. The trap was intact, but there were several clear rabbit footprints nearby.

"It came by, but avoided it."

Lin Yu'an squatted down and pointed to the footprints, analyzing, "After the snow, the ground turned pure white, and my lasso, made of dark steel wire, became extremely conspicuous against the white background."

"Moreover, the snow covers the familiar scent paths of rabbits, making them more cautious and wary of anything abrupt or unfamiliar."

He inspected the remaining three traps, and they were all similar.

"The efficiency of traditional ground lassos drops precipitously after snowfall."

“I need to improve my trapping strategies, for example, by looking for passages that are covered by dense bushes that rabbits will inevitably go through, where the visual camouflage requirements are much lower.”

He noted the idea down, brushed the snow off the lasso, and turned to walk toward the lake.

The situation at the lakeside was equally dire. A thin layer of ice had formed on the shore, and only the central area was still filled with black water. Three fishing rods stood silently, unmoved.

"The water temperature is too low, and the fish's activity level has dropped to freezing point. Unless a school of fish happens to pass by the hook, the probability of being hooked is extremely low."

After a thorough inspection, the result was a disastrous "all-out air force" (meaning a complete loss of air power).

"Alright, the inspection is over. The results were terrible, but the amount of information was enormous."

He faced the camera and solemnly summarized: "It told me three things. First, my intertidal sampling window is closing on a daily basis."

"Secondly, my land traps need to be adjusted and upgraded immediately."

"Third, the difficulty of obtaining freshwater fish has increased exponentially."

"Therefore, I must complete the construction of the shelter in the shortest possible time, and then devote all my energy to stockpiling the last seafood and improving my hunting skills."

He stepped into his warm, dry new home, the fire still burning in the fireplace, radiating comforting warmth—the only good news of the day.

"Well then, let's get back to work. There's no time to waste. I'm going to put the first layer of insulation on the roof—moss."

He picked up a bundle of moss that had been prepared beforehand from outside the shelter and began his official construction work for the day.

These mosses appeared even darker green amidst the falling snowflakes, exuding a fresh scent of earth and plants.

The tarpaulin on the roof was covered with a thin layer of snow. He first swept the snow aside with his hands to expose the surface of the tarpaulin.

Then he spread a large patch of moss, like a blanket, on the lowest part of the roof, near the back wall.

"Moss is one of the most perfect insulating materials in nature, especially in such cold and damp environments."

As he laid it out, he explained, "Its structure is very loose, and it is filled with countless tiny pores."

“These pores can trap air, and still air is a poor conductor of heat. This forms a natural barrier that greatly prevents heat from escaping from our shelter.”

"In addition, it has another very important characteristic: water absorption." "It's like a giant sponge. Before laying the soil layer, you can lay a thick layer of moss to help lock in moisture. At the same time, it can also protect the waterproof tarpaulin underneath from being scratched by stones or tree roots."

He laid it out with extreme care, carefully aligning and pressing the edges of each patch of moss with the adjacent one to ensure there were no large gaps.

And so, starting from the bottom of the roof, he slowly laid it up, piece by piece, like a jigsaw puzzle.

About an hour later, the entire tarpaulin roof was completely covered with a thick layer of dark green moss.

From a distance, his little wooden house seemed to come alive instantly, as if it had been covered with a soft, vibrant blanket.

"The first layer of insulation is complete. Now we need to apply the second and most important layer: soil."

He climbed down from the roof and walked to the pile of clean soil that had been carefully sorted and stacked when the cave was dug.

After several days of wind and snowmelt, the soil had become very compacted. He needed to loosen it with an ice axe before he could put it into the collection bag.

"The heat retention principle of soil is different from that of moss. It does not rely on locking in air, but on its own thermal mass."

"Simply put, it has a high density and a high specific heat capacity. During the day, it absorbs the heat emitted by the fireplace that penetrates the roof, as well as the heat from the outside sunlight."

"On cold nights, it slowly and continuously releases the stored heat, just like covering our shelter with a thick, insulating blanket."

He began his most arduous task of the day—carrying out the collection bags one by one.

He poured the first bag of soil evenly onto the moss layer at the bottom of the roof, and then, using a pre-prepared wooden board, patted and compacted the soil like a bricklayer applying cement.

A layer of logs, a layer of waterproof cloth, a layer of moss, and a layer of mixed grass and soil.

The four-layer structure forms an indestructible super roof with top-notch thermal insulation performance.

Starting tonight, he will have a truly warm, dry home that can withstand any wind and snow!
"The roof is completely finished." He said to the camera with a bright smile.

As afternoon approached, the snow fell even heavier.

The snowflakes had turned into real, fluffy snowflakes, falling gently and steadily. The world was turning white at a visible speed!

Fortunately, Lin Yu'an already has a home that can shield him from all this wind and snow.

As he entered the shelter, he immediately felt a warmth and tranquility that was completely different from the outside world.

The fire in the fireplace was burning brightly, illuminating the entire low-ceilinged space in a fiery red glow.

He took off his down jacket, wearing only a fleece liner, and didn't feel cold at all.

He decided to treat himself to a big lunch.

Fresh mussels collected in the morning, along with a few cattail roots, are put into a pot and simmered slowly over low heat.

While waiting, he didn't stay idle.

He began to tidy up the interior of the shelter. He used flat stone slabs to pave a clean platform on one side near the entrance to place tools and food.

He then used the leftover scraps of logs in the corner to build a simple shelf to store some odds and ends.

Under his care, this small space gradually took on the feel of a "home".

He looked at the still unsealed opening at the doorway: "Now, this shelter only needs a door to be installed before it can be upgraded to its final form!"

The door is not only for keeping out the cold, but also the last line of defense against uninvited guests who are equally hungry in the wind and snow.

This work also required the utmost care, so he decided to wait until the snow stopped before collecting wood to seal the doorway and make the door.

Thirteen days later, in the afternoon.

Inside the shelter, it was warm as spring; outside, snow was falling heavily.

Soon, a rich aroma filled the entire shelter.

The flames in the fireplace danced merrily, crackling as they burned the dry firewood, bathing the entire low shelter in a warm, orange glow.

Lin Yu'an sat on the ground in front of the fireplace, holding a blackened iron pot. The pot contained a steaming bowl of mussel and cattail root soup that had just been cooked.

He scooped up a spoonful of scalding hot soup with a wooden spoon, blew on it, and carefully put it into his mouth.

A rich, warm current, a blend of the salty freshness of seafood and the sweet aroma of cattail roots, instantly slid from his mouth down his esophagus and spread throughout his stomach, dispelling all the chill he had accumulated while working and patrolling in the snow.

He looked at the still unsealed opening at the doorway. The wind and snow were blocked by an invisible wall, with only a few snowflakes being swept in by the airflow and then instantly evaporated by the heat of the fireplace.

The feeling was incredibly strange, as if he were at the crossroads of two worlds, with a warm and peaceful home within a step and a cold and harsh wilderness beyond.

At this moment, all fatigue, hunger, and cold vanished.

Instead, there is an unprecedented, heartfelt sense of security and peace of mind.

He sat in front of the fireplace, holding a pot, watching the snowstorm outside while taking small bites of mussels.

An unprecedented sense of "birds have vanished from a thousand mountains, human tracks have disappeared from ten thousand paths, an old man in a straw hat and raincoat is fishing alone in a small boat on a snowy river" filled his heart!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(Thank you all for your monthly votes. I'll be clearing out my votes at the end of the month, so I'm asking for one more vote~ Just one vote will do.)
(P.S.: I'm already stockpiling chapters, and I'll be releasing a whole bunch early next month!)

(End of this chapter)