SNOW IS PART of many traplines, at least to some degree, and no matter where you set — cold can show up. Youngsters love it, skiers pray for it and who doesn’t like snow on Christmas? The trapping fraternity has a slightly different view of winter and it always seems to have the upper hand come trapping season. Like most trap situations, it’s how you adapt that decides if snow is an ally or opponent.
IDENTIFYING SNOW
To the ordinary citizen snow looks like snow, but trappers are keenly aware of changes. The first tiny frozen kernels are no problem, a bonus with new tracks or even sightings on the white background.
Snowstorms soon add inches (or feet) and just when you get things arranged, along come the melts. That freeze-thaw cycle causes all sorts of bad language. Wet and steel are a poor combination with nose-nipping cold added. A good, dry base with your steel bedded in the best dry material you can find helps, and there is always the reliable sandwich bag. Choosing a location that might dry from winds or good, long sunshine can help, as well.
But the toughest snow up here in the North Country is the kind that comes with relentless regularity. Just as the line trails are all broken open with fresh attraction in place, it’ll snow for three days. With snow chest high, it
