Eight minutes later, they were on the sled. She reviewed the checklist in her mind ... they were as ready as they could be. She lifted the hook. “Let’s go!”
Yutu and Amka stood at the edge of the village and waved them off. The air was still as could be, so why didn’t it make Whitney feel any better? Was this churning in her gut telling her they’d just made a horrible mistake?
The first few miles passed in relative quiet. The fresh snow was deep and concealed most of the trail, but the dogs knew the way. Peter kept a lantern in his lap to help give them light, but the sky pressed down on them. Lower and lower the clouds closed in until they filled the surrounding air. Thick and full of crystals.
Oh no. Ice fog.
It made watching the trail even more difficult, but she let the dogs use their instincts and senses. They’d been on this trail hundreds of times, and their sight was far better than any human’s.
Several minutes passed, and Peter leaned forward with the lantern. But all that did was light the bubble of fog they were in.
Pepper barked four times. Her signal for needing direction from Whitney. The sled slowed.
She couldn’t see a thing.
Then the wind picked up from the north with such force that it almost knocked Whitney off the sled. She looked up,and the fog was being pushed away by the wind, which should have brought relief, but instead increased her dread. Glancing back to the north, she braced herself for what she feared was there.
A wall of gray clouds headed toward them like a stampede.
“Whoa!” She shouted with every ounce of strength she had.
The dogs obeyed. Scanning the horizon, she searched for shelter. To the south there was a small bank of tall scrub brush. At this point, it was their only hope. She glanced back to the north and then called out, “Haw,haw!” Her team pulled to the left and went straight for the scrub.
Peter hadn’t said a word, just sat in the sled and held the lantern high. His silence and understanding were much appreciated.
They were in trouble.
The storm had come much faster than even Yutu thought.
The brush was right in front of them. “Whoa!”
While the dogs were stopping, she jumped off the sled and grabbed the hook. “Good dogs.” She set the hook. She’d have to position the sled on one side of them and the scrub brush on the other. Another look to the storm surging down on them and she ran to Peter.
“We don’t have much time. We need to dig a trench for us.” She ran the line of dogs. “Stay. Stay.” Waiting for them to lie down, she saw the concern in their eyes, but they obeyed. She grabbed the two small buckets she carried for food and water and handed one to Peter. “Dig as deep into the snow as you can on the south side of the scrub. I’ll position the sled on the other side. It’s got to be big enough for us and the dogs. I’ve got a small tent we can put up, but I’m not sure it can withstand the wind, so the trench is our best bet.”
He nodded.
They started digging. The buckets weren’t large, but it was better than using their hands.
Thankfully, the snow moved with relative ease. Probably because of the protection of the scrub. Within a few minutes, they’d dug a couple of feet deep. Now if they could just get it wide enough and long enough. Before long, she was huffing and puffing. Sweat trickled down her forehead and froze, but there wasn’t time to worry about that. They needed shelter and fast.
She stood and peeked at the sky. “We don’t have much time.” Snow pelted them.
“I’ll keep digging. You go get the sled and the dogs.” Peter didn’t even look up, just kept slinging bucket after bucket of snow.
She raced to the sled. Unhooking the main harness from it, she kept the dogs tied together and walked them several paces away from the shelter so they could relieve themselves. Her dogs must have sensed her urgency, because they made short order of the task and sat at attention. She pulled Pepper next to her, and the other dogs followed. She took them to the far end of the trench and anchored their harnesses into the snow. “Down.” She pointed.
In a neat line, they went into the trench. Dug themselves a little nest and lay down. They curled up next to each other as if they understood exactly what the storm meant. Whitney took a large piece of burlap and covered that end of the trench with it, anchoring each of the corners with sticks. Glancing up, she saw Peter watching her. “Helps to keep their heat in.” As fast as she could, she positioned the sled on the south side.
With the brush on the north, and the sled on the south, if she could get the tent over them, they might have a fighting chance. It depended on how much snow the storm dumped on them and how long the blizzard lasted.
Peter yelled, his voice barely audible above the roar of the wind. “Is this enough over here?”
“It’s going to have to be. I need your help to get the tent up.” It might well blow away in a good blizzard, but she at least had to try.
He scrambled out of the trench. “Just tell me what to do.”
She paced out the dimensions of the tent and moved the sled closer. Peter had managed to dig almost four feet deep. That would definitely help. The tent might have a chance. She gave him two long wooden stakes. “Drive those into the snow.” She pointed. “There and there. I’ll get the other side. Then we have to get the oilskin over the stakes, and then I’ll place the center post.”
