American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 12 The Harvest of the Trap

Lin Yu'an gripped his logging axe and held his camera, watching warily the bushes from which the strange noise was coming. His heart pounded in his chest, and adrenaline began to surge.

He held his breath, trying to make out the sounds in the darkness. The rustling sounds, accompanied by low sobs, grew closer and closer.

Lin Yu'an took a half step back, positioning himself in a more advantageous position to exert force, and at the same time slightly adjusted the angle of the camera on his chest, hoping to capture something.

Just then, a pair of eyes, gleaming with an eerie green light in the darkness, slowly emerged from the shadows of the bushes!
Lin Yu'an saw the newcomer clearly through the infrared camera: a fox! It had obviously been attracted by the earlier struggle.

At this moment, it was staring greedily at the snowshoe hare not far away, which was tightly bound by a lasso and on the verge of death. It was letting out a threatening growl, as if warning Lin Yu'an not to compete with it for this "windfall".

Lin Yu'an laughed heartily at the camera, "Oh, so it's you, little guy. Looks like you want a piece of the pie too, but no way, you're my prey."

Seeing that Lin Yu'an did not back down, the fox became even more agitated. It arched its back, growled louder, and even revealed its sharp teeth.

Lin Yu'an didn't bring a hunting bow, not wanting to get entangled with it too much; being bitten would be a greater loss than gain! When dealing with this kind of small to medium-sized carnivore, momentum is often more important than strength.

"Get out of my way!" Lin Yu'an roared in a short, explosive voice.
The red fox was clearly startled by Lin Yu'an's sudden aura and fierce movements. It instinctively shrank back, and the whimpering in its throat subsided.

It glanced warily at Lin Yu'an, then looked longingly at the snowshoe hare on the ground. In the end, it tucked its tail between its legs, reluctantly burrowed back into the bushes, and disappeared into the darkness.

"Phew..." Lin Yu'an breathed a sigh of relief.

He shrugged at the camera. "Looks like my voice still has some use. Let's take a look at the spoils!"

He strode to the trap, where the snowshoe hare was completely silent. He carefully untied the snare, picked up the rather heavy hare, and a genuine smile appeared on his face.

"Fantastic! Perfect protein source! I didn't expect to have a midnight snack tonight!"

He excitedly waved the rabbit in his hand at the camera; it was his first real catch since arriving at Lake Chirko, making it a significant achievement.

He didn't linger there; he picked up the rabbit and quickly returned to the shelter.

Warm firelight flickered inside the shelter.

Lin Yu-an began skillfully processing the snowshoe rabbit. Facing the camera, he explained in detail as he worked: "When processing a rabbit, you should start by skinning it from the hind legs, as this makes it easier to maintain the integrity of the fur."

His knife skills were precise and steady, and soon a complete rabbit skin was peeled off.

"Be careful when removing the internal organs to avoid rupturing the intestines and contaminating the rabbit meat. Most of these organs are inedible, but they can be left as bait for later traps, as some other animals may be interested in them."

He rinsed the cleaned rabbit meat with stream water and then cut it in half.

"Alright, now we can prepare our two-way rabbit feast in the wilderness!"

Lin Yu'an picked up half of it, skewered it with a sharpened twig, and slowly roasted it over the fire.

He then put some rabbit meat chunks and the previously collected, confirmed non-toxic wild Jerusalem artichokes into a stainless steel pot, added stream water, the seasonings he had secretly brought, and salt, and began to stew.

Soon, the aroma of roasted rabbit meat and the delicious smell of rabbit soup filled the small shelter. A sprinkle of salt made the hungry Lin Yu'an's mouth water.

When the first piece of golden-brown, seemingly oozing-oil rabbit leg meat entered his mouth, its tender, juicy, and savory flavor with a primal caramelized aroma made every cell in his body cheer. Then, a sip of the steaming hot soup, a blend of meaty and herbal fragrances, swept away all his fatigue and chill!

"Mmm—! It's so delicious!"

Lin Yu'an let out a satisfied sigh and gave a thumbs-up to the camera, "Guys, this is absolutely the best roasted rabbit I've ever eaten in my life!"

As he ate, he shared his joy with the camera and expressed his longing for his family. The warm food and his hopes for the future were his most powerful weapons against loneliness and hardship!
At the break of dawn.

Lin Yu'an's late-night snack from last night turned into a hearty breakfast. After replenishing his energy, he returned to the permanent campsite he had chosen the day before.

He stood in the center of the open space, looking around, already sketching out a blueprint for his future home. "Alright, starting today, I'm going to lay the first foundation stone for my new home!" Lin Yu'an said to the camera, his voice full of enthusiasm.

He took out the homemade bark map and a small piece of charcoal from his backpack and began to sketch the general outline of the shelter on the relatively flat bark surface.

As he drew, he explained to the camera: "Based on the terrain here and my initial ideas, I plan to build a semi-underground stone shelter."

"The main structure will utilize the natural slope of this hillside, excavating a portion inward to create a semi-subterranean space, which will allow for better use of geothermal heat for insulation and will also be more stable."

He pointed to some scattered stones of varying sizes at the bottom of the hillside and said, "The stone resources around here seem to be quite abundant. I will use these stones to build the wall."

"Stone walls offer far better insulation and defense than simple wooden walls, especially in areas where grizzly bears are present."

"For the roof, I will use felled logs to build load-bearing beams and rafters, and then lay waterproof tarpaulins."

"Finally, a thick layer of soil, moss, and turf is added to form a 'living roof,' which is waterproof, heat-insulating, blends in with the surrounding environment, and increases privacy."

His plan was clear and detailed; once the plan was completed, it involved arduous physical labor.

His first task was to clear a sufficiently flat area and begin preliminary excavation work.

Without a shovel, he could only rely on the back of his logging axe and a sturdy wooden stick to dig and pry open the slightly hard soil and rocks bit by bit.

This was an extremely physically and mentally demanding process. Sweat quickly soaked his clothes, and his arms ached from the prolonged exertion.

But he didn't stop at all, he just silently repeated the digging motion again and again.

While digging, he also carefully collected stones of suitable size and relatively regular shape from the surrounding area, piling them aside for later use.

As the sun gradually set in the west, after a day's hard work, Lin Yu'an finally cleared a flat area of ​​about ten square meters and began to dig out the outline of a shallow pit.

He straightened his slightly aching back, looked at the land before him that bore witness to his hard work, and felt a great sense of accomplishment.

"Great, the first step is complete!"

"Tomorrow, we can start trying to build the first wall! This will be the first foundation stone of our new home!"

He wiped the sweat and dirt from his face and gave the camera a bright smile.

at dusk.

Lin Yu'an went to check the simple "fish nests" he had set up by the stream yesterday. These small coves, simply enclosed with stones and branches, were intended to trap some small fish that drifted with the current.

Fortunately, in one of the fish nests, there were actually two trout the size of a palm swimming around!

"Haha! Looks like we'll have fish soup again tonight!"

Lin Yu'an carefully caught the two lively trout, afraid that they would escape.

He showed his catch to the camera, saying something Westerners often say: "Although it's not big, it's a gift from nature. In this wilderness, every bit of food is precious. We must learn to be grateful and cherish what we have, making sure we make the most of everything."

Dragging my tired body back to the temporary shelter, I skillfully cleaned the fish and used the remaining rabbit meat broth to stew a pot of delicious fish soup.

The warm firelight flickered once again inside the shelter.

The aroma of the fish soup dispelled the day's fatigue. Lin Yu'an sat by the fire, slowly savoring the fruits of his labor, his heart filled with confidence for the challenges to come!

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(End of this chapter)