Visiting the cottage in winter is an altogether different kind of getaway. For several weeks I had dreaded my plans to spend a February weekend with my children at our retreat on Lake Fletcher. There are unusual demands involved in opening the place, making it habitable, then closing it again. It is an ordeal which must be endured at least once each winter. But it has its rewards.
On my parents' advice I headed up North a day early to warm the house before meeting the girls after school on Friday. The cottage is reasonably winterized, but after standing empty for two or three months it has a lot of cold shadows hiding under the beds and in the corners.
The long roadGetting there presents another obstacle. The property is one kilometre from the paved road that is adequately maintained in winter. The last short stretch of the journey consists of little more than a narrow track through the trees, scaling and descending several sharp hills. In recent years, several families have begun using their cottages regularly and keeping the road ploughed throughout the winter. But it's still only suitable for a four-wheel drive vehicle, or at least a heavy one with good traction. I could only afford to rent an economy-size car for the weekend, so I had to go prepared to finish the journey the traditional way.
That meant hauling all our gear. When I was young and went with my parents, often also with my aunt, uncle and cousins, Mom would always plan a feast-like menu. I'm sure she reasoned that her team of sportsmen needed hearty fare after their exercise in the snow. But the heaviest exertion of the vacation was pulling her numerous coolers and packs of supplies up the road on toboggans. The way was usually kept packed by snowmobiles, so it wasn't impossible.
(Snowmobiles would have offered a superior way of toting all that equipment, but my parents objected to noisy machines.)
Mind you, there were times when a step off the path and you would sink up to your chest. Central Ontario gets lots of snow. The steep valleys and dense woods give ample insurance that all the snow stays on the ground until April.
Simple fareFor my weekend, I chose to forego the feasts. I could count on the cottage pantry to provide an adequate supply of cereal, soup mix, pancake mix, maple syrup, oil, vinegar, jam, peanut butter, nuts, candy and maybe even a shot or two of vodka. Thursday afternoon after picking up the rental car, I went grocery shopping. My list included chicken, cheese, eggs, milk, bread, cookies, apples, lettuce, green pepper, margarine and frozen citrus cocktail. It all fit neatly into a small cardboard box I could carry by hand. I packed clothing for the three of us into a backpack. That was all we needed.
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