American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 221 The Thirty-Third Day! (Please vote with your monthly tickets, my dear brothers.)
He wasn't completely immersed in this warm feeling, because there was still an important "scientific research task" to be completed.

He waited quietly for about half an hour until he could tell from the depth and frequency of December's breathing that it had entered the deepest stage of sleep.

He knew the time had come, so he carefully pulled his arm out from under December's head and then crawled out of his sleeping bag very slowly.

Throughout the entire process, he held his breath, afraid of making the slightest sound.

He quietly approached the electronic scale, stood on it, and kept his body completely still with his feet slightly apart.

The blue backlight on the electronic scale screen lit up, the numbers jumped rapidly before finally stabilizing. I silently noted down the total weight of the bag.

Then, he tiptoed back to the sleeping bag. He leaned down and took a deep breath of the soft, milky scent of December's fur.

Then he stretched out his hands and hovered them below December's body, feeling the temperature emanating from its body and judging its weight and center of gravity.

Supporting its chest and abdomen with one hand and its rump with the other, I picked up the sleeping December.

The little one stirred restlessly in his arms, seemingly dreaming of something, uttering a muffled murmur in its sleep. Its little paws twitched unconsciously in the air, but it ultimately did not wake up.

Lin Yu'an, holding the heavy yet warm "little chubby boy," stepped onto the electronic scale again and remained still. The numbers on the screen stabilized once more.

He subtracted his own weight, which he had just noted down, from this new total weight, and a precise number was instantly calculated in his mind.

He gently and carefully placed December back into its original position in the sleeping bag, tucking the edges of the sleeping bag around it.

Then I immediately picked up the electronic recorder and, in the darkness by the light of the fireplace, completed today's data:

"Weight: 10.8 kg. (Measured using the subtraction method while the pup was asleep to avoid stress and ensure accuracy.)"

He looked at the number 10.8 kilograms and his face showed an expression of uncontrollable surprise.

Speaking softly to the GoPro camera, she said, "My goodness, it's gained almost 200 grams in just one day! The effect of this professional formula is truly amazing."

Weight is the gold standard for measuring the health of cubs. Stable weight gain means that the body has fully adapted to the new food by December and is growing at an ideal rate.

Finally, regarding body length, he took out the soft measuring tape, gently pulled it open to avoid making a "whoosh" sound.

"Measuring body length is a key indicator for assessing skeletal development. In laboratories or zoos, the most standard method of measurement is to measure the straight body length of an animal in its fully extended state."

"For example, the distance from the front of the sternum to the end of the ischium in the pelvis can most accurately reflect the growth of the trunk."

"But now," he glanced at December, who was fast asleep, her body naturally curled into a C shape.

“Forcibly straightening it for measurement without disturbing it might disrupt its deep sleep and cause stress. Therefore, I can only use the curved body length method in the guidelines.”

He aligned the zero mark of the measuring tape with its moist, black tip. This was a fixed and easily recognizable mark that ensured the starting point for each measurement remained consistent.

Then, let the measuring tape follow the natural curve of its spine, close to the midline of its back, past the highest point of its shoulder blades, along the outline of the spine, all the way to the base of its tail, which is completely covered by downy fur.

His movements were so gentle that he barely let the weight of the measuring tape rest on the tip of the downy feathers, and the measurement went exceptionally smoothly.

Having obtained an accurate reading, I quickly picked up the electronic recorder and, in the darkness, used the light from the screen to complete today's data:

"Body length (curved measurement): 72.5 cm."

With this, all scientific data collection tasks for today have been successfully completed!
Lin Yu'an let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as if he had completed a highly difficult bomb disposal mission.

He crawled back into his warm sleeping bag and pulled December into his arms once more. This time, he truly relaxed completely, both mentally and physically.

Sleepiness, accompanied by the warmth of the fireplace and the even sound of his breathing, irresistibly overwhelmed his consciousness like a rising tide.

I drifted off to sleep.

On the thirty-third day, Lin Yu'an was awakened by a gentle yet persistent arching motion.

He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was a pair of pure, obsidian-like eyes, curiously sniffing his cheek.

December woke up and nudged his arm with its fluffy little head, making soft whimpering sounds that meant "I'm hungry."

Lin Yu'an smiled and ruffled the little guy's hair. He got up and opened the shelter door; instantly, the light of the entire world poured in without reservation.

It was an extreme brightness; the sunlight, after being reflected countless times across the vast snowfield, had lost all its warmth, and the pure white light, without a trace of impurity, illuminated the entire shelter.
A bright beam of light shone straight in from the doorway. Countless tiny ice crystals and dust particles floated and swirled within the beam, creating an atmosphere of sacredness.

Lin Yu'an subconsciously squinted to adjust to the sudden, intense light. He stood at the doorway, deeply shocked by the scene before him.

The blizzard has stopped.

Without the howling wind, the world was so quiet it seemed as if time had frozen. The roar that could have torn steel last night had vanished without a trace.

Instead, there was a profound, absolute silence. In this silence, one could even clearly hear the buzzing sound of one's own blood flowing in one's ear canals.

He took a deep breath, the biting cold air washing over his lungs, instantly making his mind incredibly clear.

The air was filled with the scent of pine resin from a distant black spruce forest, a scent that lingered after a blizzard.

After admiring the awe-inspiring snow-covered scenery for a moment, Lin Yu'an retreated back inside, closing the door again to shut out the dazzling light and biting cold.

I reached for the rugged electronic recorder that was next to my sleeping bag. After turning it on, I first switched to the environmental monitoring page.

"December 3rd, 7:05 AM," he said softly to the camera.

"Inside the shelter, the current temperature is 3.1°C and the humidity is 52%. Outside... well, it looks like we're getting some good weather."

After finishing his notes, he began his most important morning routine: preparing breakfast for December.

The whole process was as smooth and skillful as flowing water. The UVC disinfection box worked silently, the thermometer calibrated the water temperature, and he precisely controlled the numbers on the electronic scale to one decimal place.

Today, there was a small change. He flipped through the chapter on "gradual feeding" in the Emergency Guide.

After confirming that all of December's physiological indicators, especially the characteristics of his excrement, were perfect, he decided to proceed with the next step of the plan.

"Alright, little guy, based on your excellent performance, your breakfast will be upgraded today."

He spoke to the camera, and also to December, who was already impatiently waiting beside him.

"The guidelines suggest that once the puppies have fully adapted to formula, the total amount of formula per feeding can be increased by 5% to 10% every one to two days to match their amazing growth rate."

“Yesterday we were eating 250 grams per meal, and today I’m going to increase it to 270 grams. That’s an increase of about 8%, which is a very safe and reliable range.”

Then, accurately weigh out 54 grams of milk powder and 216 grams of warm water, shake well, and measure the temperature.

Before handing the bottle to December, a new entry was made in the electronic feeding log:
"7:20 AM, feeding. 1:4 ratio of feed ingredients, total intake 270g. (Due to good adaptation yesterday, a gradual increase feeding plan will be implemented today, with an initial increase of 8%)"

The breastfeeding process was still warm and smooth. December, full and satisfied, burped contentedly, and Lin Yu'an patiently patted her back to help her burp.

Then it ran to a corner of the wolfskin bed, hugged the red rubber ball, and began its daily "morning exercise".

After settling the little darling in, Lin Yu'an finally had time to officially begin his outdoor work for the day.

He put on a thick coat and opened the heavy wooden door again.

Although he had already witnessed the wonders of a snowfall, standing once again in this silent and magnificent white world filled him with awe.

Last night's blizzard covered his shelter and the newly built snow house and smokehouse with a thick "new blanket".

In particular, the air intake and smoke exhaust of the snow house were completely blocked by soft snow. If they weren't cleared, today's cold smoke plan would not be able to proceed.

He didn't linger too long admiring the beautiful scenery, but immediately began the cleanup work.

It took nearly an hour to finally clear a clean working area in front of the shelter and around the fumigation room.

After cleaning up, Lin Yu'an stood in front of the snow house that looked like a giant mushroom growing out of the snow, patted the snow off his hands, and looked expectant.

"Alright, the physical work is done. Now, let's begin our technical work for today."

"After enduring a night of blizzard, our cold smoking chamber is intact. Today we will conduct our first official cold smoking operation to process these precious red-spotted salmon."

He first returned to the shelter and took down several red-spotted salmon that had been carefully marinated with coarse salt and juniper berries from the beams. These fish had been hanging in the dry air for over 24 hours.

Holding one of the fish up to the camera, the surface of the fish was no longer wet, but had a slightly dry but sticky texture.

Under the light, the fish skin reflected a soft sheen, like it was coated with a thin layer of varnish. He gently touched the fish skin with his finger, feeling a distinct stickiness on his fingertip.

"As you can see, after air drying, a slightly sticky, translucent film has formed on the surface of the fish."

“In the professional smoking process, there is a specific term called ‘protein film’ or ‘air-dried film’.” He began to explain in detail, speaking slowly to ensure that every detail was clear and understandable: “The formation principle of this film is actually a simple biochemical process.”

"When salting fish, the salt will damage the cell structure on the surface of the fish, causing some water-soluble proteins to dissolve."

"When fish is placed in a dry and well-ventilated environment, the surface moisture will evaporate, and the dissolved proteins will form a protein film on the surface of the fish."

"Don't underestimate this film; it plays a crucial role in the cold fumigation process."

"First, it's sticky, like glue, which allows the flavor compounds in the smoke to adhere firmly rather than simply slide off."

"Secondly, it acts like a layer of armor, locking in the juices inside the fish during smoking and preventing the finished product from becoming dry."

"Without this film, there is no perfect smoke. Before any smoking, allowing this protein film to form on the surface of the food is the first and most crucial step to success."

Then, he dug out a lot of wood chips that smelled of damp wood from the snowdrift outside the shelter.

He grabbed a handful of wood shavings and showed them to the camera, saying, "The choice of incense is also an art. I mainly prepared dwarf willow wood and a small amount of birch wood shavings."

"In the Arctic region, this is the most readily available smoke material. The smoke produced by burning hardwood has a mild flavor and is rich in guaiacol and eugenol, which can bring out the classic smoky flavor."

"Never use sawdust from coniferous trees such as spruce or pine, because they are rich in resin and produce bitter, pungent black smoke when burned, which will only ruin the taste of the food."

"Remember, cold smoking is about 'distilling' the thick smoke, not 'burning' the intense flames."

"Therefore, the smoke materials must be wet so that they can burn slowly and incompletely at high temperatures, distilling out the fullest smoke through smoldering and pyrolysis."

Having prepared the ingredients and smoking materials, he arrived at the aesthetically pleasing "smoke factory" built of soapstone slabs.

He opened the firebox lid and placed a few pieces of hardwood charcoal, still containing embers and completely carbonized, that were left over from the fireplace the night before in the front "combustion zone".

He continued to keep the charcoal in a smoldering, high-temperature, flameless state, glowing entirely red. Then, in the "smoke zone" in the middle of the furnace, he piled up a large amount of wet sawdust, almost filling the space.

He closed the cover, leaving only a small gap for observation.

"The principle behind this stove is actually very simple; it's dry steaming," Lin Yu'an explained to the camera in a more colloquial way.

"The charcoal fire in front is like a red-hot iron; it doesn't produce much smoke itself. But when the hot air it generates passes below, it steams the damp sawdust on top."

"The moisture and aromatic substances in the sawdust are forced out, forming thick, white smoke. This process is called 'pyrolysis,' and the resulting smoke has the purest flavor."

Soon, an extremely thick plume of white smoke began to rise continuously from the exhaust vent at the end of the stove. This smoke was not hot to the touch and carried a pure, primal aroma of wood.

"Now, it's time for cooling and purification," Lin Yu'an explained, pointing to the white snow-making flue connecting the stove and the smokehouse.

"The smoke from the steam is still too hot, and it contains some unpleasant-tasting water vapor and tar. If you use it directly to smoke fish, it will turn sour and bitter."

"This two-meter-long snow-making flue acts like a natural cooling and purification pipe."

"When the scalding steam flows through it, it exchanges heat with the snow wall, which is tens of degrees below zero, and the temperature drops rapidly."

"So what eventually reaches the fumigation room is cold and clean 'dry smoke'."

Lin Yu'an squatted down and precisely controlled the burning speed of the charcoal by finely adjusting the angle of the stone slab at the front of the stove's air inlet, thereby controlling the concentration and temperature of the smoke.

After several fine-tunings, he found a perfect balance that could produce the most stable and dense low-temperature smoke.

"Smoke factory, successfully started!" he said with satisfaction.

He threaded the prepared red-spotted salmon through their gills with a sturdy hemp rope and carried them into the hemispherical snow-shaped smokehouse.

Inside the fumigation room, the light was dim, the sound of the wind was completely blocked, and it was unusually quiet.

A thick plume of smoke was slowly pouring in from a chimney in one corner of the ground, swirling, gathering, and flowing beneath the dome like a living fog.

Finally, the reserved exhaust vent slowly releases air, forming a perfect air circulation.

More than twenty fish strings were hung on a pre-set wooden pole, ensuring that each fish was evenly suspended in the core area of ​​the smoke circulation, allowing the smoke to envelop every corner of the fish's body.

"Alright, now all we have to do is wait."

“I will come back to check on it every hour for the next few hours. Now that the weather is so nice, it’s not good for December’s growth to stay in the shelter all the time.”

"I decided to take it out for outdoor activities so it can experience the sunshine and snow."

Lin Yu'an returned to the shelter, where December was rolling around on the wolfskin bed, hugging the red rubber ball and having a great time.

Upon seeing Lin Yu'an return, it immediately dropped its toys, waddled over, and rubbed its little head against his leg.

"The snow has stopped and the sun is out. Do you want to go out and play?" Lin Yu'an squatted down and rubbed its little head.

December seemed to understand the excitement contained in the words "go out and play," letting out a cheerful "woof" sound and her bright black eyes filled with anticipation.

Lin Yu'an smiled. For a polar bear cub, the snow is its paradise, and its affinity for snow is an instinct etched into its genes.

He didn't dress December in anything; its thick, fluffy coat was its best winter clothing. Then he put the red rubber ball in his pocket.

"Let's go, let's set off." Lin Yu'an said, without carrying December, but opened the door and walked out first.

Then, turning back, she called to it with encouraging eyes and a gentle voice: "Come, December, come out and see."

December hesitated for a moment at the door, her little nostrils flaring as she sniffed the cold, fresh air outside.

It could see the snow path leading to the white world outside the door, but the thick, unfamiliar snow beyond the path seemed to remind it of bad memories, making it instinctively hesitate.

Ultimately, however, his trust in Lin Yu'an and his innate curiosity overcame the sense of security he felt in his familiar surroundings.

It tentatively took its short legs and set foot on land outside the sanctuary for the first time.

It first walked carefully on the solid snow track that Lin Yu'an had cleared, step by step, like a child who had just learned to walk.

When it reached the end of the ski slope, it was startled when one of its front paws accidentally stepped into the soft, deep snow beside it. Its entire leg sank in, and it quickly pulled it back.

Looking at its comical expression of wanting to explore yet being a little scared, Lin Yu'an smiled and encouraged it, "It's okay, just go forward boldly, that's your world. How can a polar bear be afraid of snow?"

As he spoke, he took the lead and stepped into the deep snow, clearing a path for December.

With Lin Yu'an leading the way, December grew bolder. Following Lin Yu'an's footprints, it plunged headfirst into the soft snow.

The thick snow almost buried half of its body, and it had to struggle to "swim" with every step forward, which it found novel and fun.

It looks like a small boat sailing in a white ocean, its little bottom rising and falling on the snow.

And so, the man and the bear crossed the soft snowfield and finally arrived at the snow house smokehouse that was working quietly not far away.

Here lies a vast lake, where the snow near the shore has been compressed by the fierce winds, forming a naturally flat and wide sports field capable of supporting the weight of December.

When December's little paws emerged from the deep snow and truly stepped onto the solid ice and snow of the lake for the first time, it was as if their four little feet were glued to the ground.

A distinct sensation of cold, hardness, so different from the soft earth of the shelter and the deep snow just now, came clearly from the pads of its paws.

It curiously raised one of its front paws, hovering it in mid-air, as if pondering what this strange thing was.

Then, it carefully put it down and gently scratched it with the tip of its paw, making a soft "rustling" sound.

The sound seemed to please it, and it switched to its other paw, as if playing an invisible piano.

It lowered its head and sniffed the pure ice and snow hard. The cool air made it sneeze loudly, and its whole fluffy little head shook.

This sneeze was like a key, awakening its suppressed nature, which then erupted like a flood bursting its banks!

"Ouch——!"

December let out a joyful roar, full of milky sweetness yet with a hint of wildness, like a small white tank suddenly starting up and frolicking on this open ice and snow platform!
The solid snow surface made its running no longer as stumbling as it would in deep snow, and its four short legs ran alternately at an unprecedented frequency.

For the first time, it experienced the joy of speed and the wind rushing past its ears!
They excitedly rolled around on the ice, surrendering their entire bodies to this cold and white world.

It lay on its back, its soft white belly exposed, rubbing itself on the snow without any restraint, as if trying to infuse the cool air into every inch of its fur.

When it got tired of playing, it plunged headfirst into the soft snowdrift next to it, and the soft snow instantly buried half of its body.

(End of this chapter)