Alaska Gold Rush Diary

Chapter 194 Roasted Rabbit and Grouse Dinner

Perhaps because we hadn't ventured too far into the wilderness, the night was relatively peaceful, and nothing unusual happened.

At 7:00 a.m., after everyone had breakfast, they packed their things and continued their journey.

Traveling along the valley became much easier; at our current pace, we should be able to reach Hibernation Valley in about five days.

Of course, this is only the ideal situation; after all, the further you go, the more dangers you will encounter.

Sofia was very excited along the way because it was her first time participating in such a treasure hunt adventure, so she found everything very interesting.

As they were walking, Logan suddenly emerged from the woods beside the valley with his hounds.

Logan and the other two hounds each had a rabbit in their mouths.

"Haha, this is great! I don't have to eat compressed biscuits and jerky today!" Walsh couldn't help but cheer.

"I've noticed that under Logan's leadership, they seem to have become a highly disciplined unit," Sophia said, looking at the well-organized pack of wolves with great curiosity.

"It seems there are more prey around, so we won't have to worry about food anymore."

They were all experienced hunters, and as long as there were wild animals around, they had no worries about finding food.

They put the rabbit away and continued on their way, while carefully watching for any wild animals.

If they could freely track their prey, they would have already reaped a bountiful harvest.

But now we must proceed along the valley as quickly as possible to reach Hibernation Valley, so we can only look for animals that roam near the valley.

After walking for a while, Wyatt suddenly stopped.

"Look!"

He pointed to a series of footprints in the snow beside him.

"It's a grouse," Bell, who also had extensive hunting experience, immediately made the judgment.

"Judging from the footprints and droppings, they must have been here about half an hour ago."

"Wait here for a bit," Wyatt said, and together with Bell, they followed the grouse tracks into the woods.

"I'm going too!" Sophia said excitedly and followed after them.

After taking a couple of steps, she turned back to Zhou Xin and asked, "Mr. Zhou, would you like to come along?"

Zhou Xin shook his head.

Now that someone else is taking care of the food, he's happy to relax a bit.

Since it was almost lunchtime anyway, the remaining three rested on the spot. They made a fire, brewed coffee, and waited for the hunters to return from their hunt.

About twenty minutes later, several gunshots could be faintly heard from the distant woods.

Before long, Bell and his two companions emerged from the woods.

Bell and Wyatt each carried a large grouse.

"Damn it, I was so close, I almost hit it!" Sophia followed behind the two, looking annoyed.

"It's alright," Wyatt said with a smile, shaking the grouse in his hand. "It ultimately couldn't escape."

"These two grouse are really big!" Walsh exclaimed.

"Tonight, let's replenish our energy!" Bell said with a smile.

The successful hunt greatly encouraged everyone, and they felt that everything was moving in a positive direction.

The group continued along the valley and arrived at their destination around 4 p.m.

According to the previously planned route, they were to leave the valley from here and cross the adjacent mountain peaks.

The smooth road ends, and what follows is a very difficult road.

Bell decided to set up camp and rest there, and set off into the mountains again early the next morning.

They cleaned and prepared all the grouse and rabbits, skewered them, arranged them in a circle, and roasted them by the fire.

Although stewing can better preserve the nutrients in food, it only contains basic seasonings such as salt and pepper, which cannot remove the fishy smell from the food. Roasting is the best cooking method.

Soon, the rabbit and grouse began to sizzle and release oil, filling the air with a delicious aroma.

Sofia and Windsor flipped the food over and sprinkled some seasoning on it.

After eating dry rations for several days, the group stared eagerly at the food that was gradually turning golden brown, and couldn't help but swallow hard.

When the food was finally cooked, everyone disregarded the heat and tore into it to devour it.

Zhou Xin didn't participate in the scramble, because a perfectly roasted, fragrant chicken leg had already been placed in front of him.

Sofia smiled radiantly: "This grouse is the best roasted ever, please enjoy."

When grilling the food, she paid special attention to the heat of the grouse to ensure it tasted the best.

"Thank you." Zhou Xin took the chicken leg and took a bite.

Seeing that Zhou Xin was eating with great satisfaction, Sophia then cut off a piece of chicken breast for herself and started eating.

After the meal, since it was still early, everyone sat around the fire and chatted about the upcoming itinerary.

It's quite a distance from here to Hibernation Valley, and you have to cross two mountains, making the journey very difficult.

Bell and Wyatt also mentioned that they had found what appeared to be wolf droppings while hunting grouse.

Judging from the increasing number of prey here, they may have reached the edge of the wolf pack's range.

It is foreseeable that as they venture deeper into the area, they will discover more traces of wolves, and may even encounter them directly.

Despite being somewhat prepared, they still felt nervous.

That night, Zhou Xin was still the first to keep watch.

Everyone else went into their tents to rest, but Sofia didn't get up.

"Why don't you go and get some rest?" Zhou Xin added a few pieces of dry firewood to the fire. "We still have a long journey ahead tomorrow, and the road ahead won't be easy."

"If you can't sleep, I'll keep you company while you keep watch!" Sofia sat on her backpack, resting her chin on her hands as she looked at the fire.

The firelight reflected in her eyes, making them sparkle.

Zhou Xin glanced at her, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

After a long silence, Sofia spoke up, "Mr. Zhou, will you be staying in Alaska from now on?"

"I don't know," Zhou Xin shook his head, "but I'll definitely be here for the next few years."

"Do you like it here?"

Zhou Xin thought for a moment and said, "I can't say whether I like it or not, but I can get what I want here right now."

""

"gold?"

"Yes," Zhou Xin smiled, "but not entirely. What I want is money. Don't you think I'm vulgar?"

"Of course not," Sofia shook her head repeatedly. "Look how hard my dad and the others work searching for treasure everywhere, isn't it all for money?"

"Haha, there's a saying in our country: money isn't everything, but you can't do anything without it."

"That's a very philosophical statement," Sofia said, warming her hands by the fire and rubbing them together. "It's especially fitting for America."

"This country has its fascinating side, and it also has its terrifying side." This has always been Zhou Xin's impression of the United States.

"You're absolutely right. It's like how I don't like New York or Las Vegas, while others complain that it's too deserted, but I really like it here."

Zhou Xin was somewhat surprised to hear her say these words.

In his opinion, Sofia, with her lively personality, should prefer bustling cities.

He didn't say anything more, and the surroundings immediately fell silent again.