Hunting Wilderness: Starting with the Butcher

Chapter 64 Ice Fishing, Unpredictable Weather!

After seeing off the staff who had braved the wind and snow to complete their fourth inspection, Yuan Linghan, now settled in the camp, had already grown accustomed to life in the harsh wilderness. During this time, he would go out hunting whenever the weather permitted.

Unfortunately, aside from hunting some small prey, he didn't have any other major catches. Although he couldn't effectively replenish his food supplies, the camp's current reserves were enough to last him at least a month.

Other contestants might have been able to last until the end. Ultimately, it was because Yuan Linghan had a large appetite. Other contestants changed their eating habits to two meals a day, or even stayed in the shelter to minimize physical exertion.

On the other hand, Yuan Linghan's camp was very clean, with almost no snow visible. After each snowfall, he would collect the snow to continue improving, reinforcing, or raising the snow walls he had built.

After some time, even the audience was surprised to find that Yuan Linghan had built a camp with three layers of defense in the wilderness. The outermost layer consisted of crisscrossing, sharp barricades, while the middle layer was a towering and sturdy ice and snow wall.

The most central location, naturally, was a solid wood shelter built using two large trees and taking advantage of the terrain. To the uninitiated, it would look as if Yuan Linghan was in the wilderness, preparing for a defensive battle!

On a nice day, Yuan Linghan returned to the lake. Seeing the completely frozen surface, he remained cautious. He had previously considered ice fishing, but discovered the ice wasn't completely solid.

Using a pre-made bone spear, Yuan Linghan began testing the thickness of the ice on the lake. After confirming that the ice could support his weight, he smiled and said, "Perhaps in a few days, I can come back and try it out."

Ice fishing may seem simple, but it is actually extremely risky. Unlike jungles where trees provide shelter from wind and snow, lakes are completely open. The occasional gusts of cold wind are enough to cause hypothermia in people exposed to the open. Once hypothermia occurs, the consequences are extremely serious.

Thinking about how to protect oneself from the wind and snow on the lake, Yuan Linghan immediately said, "Before trying ice fishing, it's necessary to build a portable temporary shelter. If you're fishing directly on the lake, even wearing the thickest clothes, you probably won't last long."

After confirming that the ice in the lake was thick enough, Yuan Linghan did not rush to start ice fishing. Instead, he returned to the camp and used the wood he had stored to build a triangular movable support.

Once the support frame is built, all you need to do is cut some dense pine branches and hang them on the frame. This way, once you find a good spot for ice fishing, you can simply drag the temporary shelter directly to the ice hole where you'll be fishing.

To avoid freezing to death, Yuan Linghan even used an unfired pottery jar to make a portable stove. With shelter from the cold wind outside and a portable stove inside to provide warmth, there was no need to worry about hypothermia while ice fishing on the lake.

After the snowstorm subsided and the sun finally shone brightly again, Yuan Linghan, having finished breakfast, decided to go ice fishing on the lake. Regardless of the outcome, he wanted to give it a try. After all, hunting in the mountains wasn't always fruitful.

After transporting all the necessary supplies for ice fishing to the lakeside, Yuan Linghan first went to the center of the bay and found a spot with many bubbles on the ice. He chose this location because he felt there should be fish there.

He chiseled three ice holes, each about 50 centimeters in size, nearby, and used some floating ice to bait the area. Yuan Linghan kept the entrails and scraps of meat from the small animals he had hunted, such as grouse and rabbits.

Even before casting the bait, they had already used a stove to boil water to thaw it. After setting up the baiting area, Yuan Linghan returned to the shore, carried the frame to an ice cave, cut a large number of pine needles from nearby, and then neatly wove them onto the frame.

After the temporary shelter was finished, Yuan Linghan sat inside to check it out and said with some satisfaction, "Although the shelter is still drafty, it's much better than being directly exposed on the ice. Besides, there's a stove inside to provide heat!"

With everything ready, Yuan Linghan put on her warm rabbit-skin gloves again, took out her fishing hook and line, and began her first attempt at ice fishing. As the baited hook slowly sank under the weight of the sinker.

Instead of using a fishing rod, he used hand-fishing. Just as Yuan Linghan was slowly letting out the line and occasionally pulling to make the bait move, he soon felt a sudden, tremendous force coming from the hook below.

Confirming a bite, Yuan Linghan immediately pulled up the fishing line, which instantly tightened. Feeling the hook set, he smiled and said, "Looks like I chose a good spot, and the baiting worked well too; I caught a fish so quickly."

Yuan Linghan kept loosening and tightening the fishing line in his hand until the fish at the bottom of the water gradually stopped struggling, then he quickly pulled the line. Before long, the head of a rainbow trout appeared in the ice cave.

Seeing that the rainbow trout was completely exhausted, Yuan Linghan pulled the fish out of the ice hole. After removing the hook, the four-pound rainbow trout only hopped around on the ice twice before freezing solid.

"Great! This plump trout should be enough for a meal. Although there's also some smoked dried fish, I still think fresh fish tastes better than dried fish. Now I don't have to worry about the fish I catch spoiling and rotting."

After speaking into the portable camera, Yuan Linghan continued fishing. He caught five fish in a row in this ice cave, but then the activity stopped. He then moved his shelter to try fishing in two other ice caves.

Before changing ice holes, he would first scatter some bait to continue attracting fish near his fishing spot. Until he felt a wind picking up on the lake, he stepped out of the shelter to take a look and immediately said, "It's getting windy, let's get out of here!"

He knew that the winter weather in Black Bear Bay was indeed quite unpredictable. Previously, when he went out hunting, everything was fine, but within just a few hours the weather would suddenly change drastically. Perhaps it was precisely this unpredictable weather that made survival all the more difficult.

After packing all the frozen lake fish into the waterproof cloth bags he had brought, Yuan Linghan didn't forget to drag the makeshift shelter to a sheltered spot on the shore. This portable shelter could be reused for future ice fishing trips!

In just over ten minutes, the wind whipping up the lake grew even stronger, and even with his rabbit-fur hat on, Yuan Linghan still felt the wind and rain stinging his face. Without much hesitation, he quickly headed towards the campsite.

Meanwhile, the mountain winds in the jungle were quite strong, and snow was being blown off the trees from time to time. But Yuan Linghan had walked this path from the campsite to the lake several times, so he didn't have to worry about getting lost.

Despite his hurried pace, Yuan Linghan remained vigilant, his eyes constantly scanning his surroundings. No one could guarantee there weren't any lurking wild animals nearby. Carelessness could cost him his life.

After carrying his catch and removing the barricades back to the camp surrounded by the snow-covered city walls, Yuan Linghan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Finally back! We've been eating meat every day before, but today we can finally have a change of pace."

Compared to the remaining five contestants, some of them had stockpiled large quantities of dried fish or dried meat in advance. But someone like Yuan Linghan, who had stored wolf meat, mutton, rabbit meat, grouse, and fish, undoubtedly had a much richer variety.

Most importantly, in addition to meat, Yuan Linghan also stored Jerusalem artichokes, wild mushrooms, and dried wild vegetables. The variety of food meant that he could have a different kind of meal every day.

In contrast, it's highly unlikely that the other contestants could enjoy the same level of leisure as Yuan Linghan. This is why, after the show aired, viewers commented that the other contestants came to challenge themselves in the wilderness, while Yuan Linghan seemed to be on a wilderness vacation!