A winter hike - some snowy sand dunes

[Mike Harlos]

Hi,

Went on a hike here in Manitoba today in an interesting area that is a small pocket of sand dunes. Still gets as cold as the rest of the prairies in the winter. Thought the photos might be interesting for those in different climates

Here's a row of trees on the drive out to the hike; these are a wind-break for a farmer's field. There was a fair amount of hoar-frost this AM:

Here is a view of the snow-covered dunes:

These are likely rabbit tracks:

My new Daniel Winkler knife; damascus blade, sheep horn scales, full tapered tang:

Found some nice resin-rich fat wood in a stump of a pine tree blown down by wind:

And lastly, some seeds (I believe)... I'll have to look these up to see what they are

 

[Sisyphus]

nice looking area, is it coastal? Where is the sand from? I live on lowland former-glacial plains we have a lot of drumlins which look similar to those dunes, but they are made of rocky soil.

Lovely knife aswell. the rough forge texture on the flats is perfect.

 

[Mike Harlos]

Hi,

Thanks

The area is central Canada, on the prairies. Apparently the sand originates from glacial meltwaters. Here's a quote from their web site:

"The area you are about to explore had its beginning more than 15,000 years ago. The Assiniboine River, much larger than it is today, created an enormous delta as it brought glacial meltwaters into ancient Lake Agassiz. Of the original 6,500 square kilometres of delta sand, only four square kilometres remain open; the rest is now covered with a rich variety of plants and wildlife.

Wind-patterned sand, cacti and high temperatures make it tempting to call Spirit Sands a desert. Yet the moisture received here is 300-500 millimetres per year-nearly twice the amount received in a true desert region. This abundant rainfall enables plants to colonize or cover the dunes, decreasing the open sand area."

 

[jabbadahut]

That knife is sweet, same as last post, the texture of the blade is amazing and i love the handle, beautiful because of its quality not because its pretty pretty.

your country is amazing, i have only ever been to canada in the winter which is my favourite season, the temprature range -30 to +30 is mind blowing.

If i were to emigrate any where in the world canada would be my 1st 2nd and 3rd choice.
plus you got icehockey too

 

[Sisyphus]

Lovely knife aswell. the rough forge texture on the flats is perfect.

My mistake, looking at it, it looks as though its actually a really aggressive etch!


That area sounds like a pretty unique landscape indeed.