March 26, 2017 Sipping on my morning cup of tea, on a short vacation from work, enjoying the lazy pace of the morning has me totally at ease. I look up from my breakfast and notice a sparkle in Ryan’s eyes. “What is that look for?” I ask him tentatively, knowing that he has something in mind. “Want to go explore some ice caves today?” “....Yes. Yes, I do.” I answer with enthusiasm.
I quickly finish my breakfast and we gather up the necessary supplies: a thermos of tea (it is still winter after all), a fire starter, a tomahawk, a knife, our phones, and a small backpack. I climb into long underwear, outdoor pants, big socks, snow pants, my wool shirt, a fleece sweater and my North Face outer shell. I turn to him: “Too much? I mean it is March.” “Nope. Common let’s go.” And with that, we head off towards the Midland Ice Caves.
If I was being interrogated by some sort of government official I still couldn’t recall how to get to the ice caves. They are somewhere in Midland (duh?). That is near Hampton. After that, I have lost all recollection on how to get there. Like most things in New Brunswick, you need to find a local who knows where they are going. New Brunswick is not a province that many people flock to, and as a result, there are not as many signs to point you towards the sights of the province. There are no fancy signs, no admission fees, nothing that would even give the slightest hint of where you are supposed to park. You need to drive down the correct country road and then notice where there are a few cars parked on the side of the road. New Brunswick is very old school. You need to be patient, get to know the locals, and ask the right questions. If you are able to do this you are handsomely rewarded with some very cool sights and interesting experiences.
Once we turned down one of these country roads and drove for a little bit we ended up at a little path with a sign about the size of one of my hands that read “ice caves”. This is one of two signs that we encountered on a trail system with more than two junctions. Ryan knew how to get there and I trusted him not to get us lost. The beginning of the walk is a cold, windy walk down the side of some farmer’s fields. Once you get up in the woods you continue to follow the path. Make sure you stick left until you see the next sign that will look something like this:
A few more minutes into the forest and Ryan stopped walking in front of me. He tends to do this so that I can have a quiet moment of awe when I happen across the thing that we’ve gone out to see. I kept walking and suddenly they appeared. They are simply beautiful. The ice ranged from white to a light blue. There were pockets where you could climb in and try to see through the curtain of ice. We were still standing up on the edge, and I was eager to go down to look at them up close.
In a true representation of New Brunswick community building - someone had created a rope guide so that you won’t slip getting down to the ice caves. It can be quite slippery down there. They are ice caves after all! So down the rope guide, we go. The rope guide is simply a piece of rope that is tied to each tree in order to give you some grip in case you slip on your way down. I held on tight and started my descent. their beauty.
“Be careful. Small steps!” Ryan shouts after me as I take up the rope with a childish glee. “Yup! Oopf!” I exclaim as I slip slightly. Ok, Ok, small steps. After a few minutes, I get to the bottom only to notice Ryan walk down with ease.
We look at each other and scramble (only in my case, haha) over to the opening of the ice caves. There is another rope there that you can use to get up to the ice caves. Once inside we played around, sliding down the inside where a natural incline created a slide, sat in the ice seats made from the natural shape of the ice, and admired
“Brr,” I said unconsciously. “Want to warm up, have a cup and tea and eat some of the snacks that we brought?” Ryan asked. “Yup.”
After a few more pictures and a few more slides, we headed off the pathways into the forest to make a small fire to warm up. We chose a location where we knew that we were not going to cause any problems, there were no trees close by and there was a clear view of the sky which meant that there was no overhanging brush.
How do you make a fire in the winter you ask? Well, I’m glad you did.
Step 1: Find a location where you know you aren’t going to catch anything else on fire. Step 2: Dig down into the snow in a fire pit type of set up. Step 3: Go collect firewood. The size of the fire you want will change how much and what type of wood to gather. If you want a big fire that will last a long time you will need to have some bigger pieces, along with what you’d need for smaller fires: small wood. Make sure the wood is dry. Tinder: Birch trees work best for this. Find a birch that is dead, or fallen over. If you need to take some from a live tree don’t overharvest. The tree still needs this to protect itself from bugs. Kindling: Look for dead, dry branches next. Kindling will progress in size. Think of the width of a pencil to your finger. Real wood burning size: Next up is the size of your forearm. This will hold the fire for longer. After that is anything that you’d like which is bigger. Remember to go in stages in how big it will get. Step 4: Take some of those branches that are as thick as your wrist and arrange them in a grill type of pattern - lying up next to each other. This will create the base of your fire. Your fire cannot sit on the ice or snow. If you keep it on the ice or snow it will put itself out (although this isn’t the worst thing - unless you are really cold). Step 5: Set up your birch in a little nest. The nest shape will help the spark catch and to keep it out of any strong wind. Light away! Note: with a fire starter it may take a little longer than matches - not much longer, though. Step 6: Start slowly feeding the fire sticks in that progression that was discussed above. Make sure that you are feeding it equally so that it burns strongly. Step 7: Enjoy your cup of tea over a warm crackling fire. Step 8: To put the fire out smother it with snow. Easy, right?