Being that the horizon, from our present vantage, was obscured by the ridges that rose above our site, I decided on a whim to dash back out to the east shore of the bay on my snowshoes to catch the setting sun. Though the colours of this sundown were not pervasive across the horizon, the clouds to the west were like floating ghosts of pink and orange, exuding a wonderful ever-changing spectrum of colour, which was diffused off the snow, illuminating even the darkest recesses of the forest.
Witnessing the sun set over a lonely, frozen, snow encrusted lake or river in the chill of winter has long been one of my favourite wilderness experiences. There is something endlessly calming and beguiling about our primary source of heat and light, and life, building up to a great crescendo – the pinnacle of its glory – before suddenly fading beyond the farthest trees and leaving behind a cold and silent world; one that is starkly different, but no less enchanting.
THE TERRA INCOGNITA 