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Tale of the Little B's and the Three Elks!
Report Submitted by Little Bs
(trip) Date: Sunday Mar 26, 2023
Submitted: Monday Mar 27, 2023 at 22:31
Participants:
The Little B's and the Three Elks, of course!
Discussion:
Once upon a time (many, many minutes ago) in a far-off land (not TC2T Turns Close To Town), a pair of Little B's set off to visit their friends the three Elk brothers. They lived separately, but not too far from each other. The second-tallest Elk (Middle Elk) lived next to a busy road, and so had many visitors every day. The shortest Elk (West Elk) lived to the west about a half-kilometre from the same road, but nevertheless had several weekly visitors. The tallest Elk (East Elk) lived to the east almost 2 kilometres from the road, and so had very few visitors at all.
Feeling sorry for East Elk, the Little B's decided to visit him first. The Little B's had an ambitious plan to travel to East Elk's home from halfway up Packers, going off-trail to visit the many delightful meadows along the way. They had hoped the snow would be supportive even at that low elevation, but they were wrong. Alas, perfect snow conditions only happen in fairy tales. Instead, they had to continue up Packers and Pocaterra, then Tyrwhitt down to where it goes over Boulton Creek. Upon arriving at Boulton Creek, The Little B's found two sets of old ski tracks, barely visible under past snowfalls. But which set of tracks should the Little B's follow? One was easy to see, but crooked. The other was straight and true, but soon completely disappeared under the new snow. Despite their aesthetic preference for direct paths, the Little B's reluctantly follow the crooked but visible one. Eventually the two paths converged and the Little B's arrived at East Elk's expansive meadow in the middle of his country estate (photo 1).
The Little B's had a delightful visit sitting with East Elk on his snofa (photo 2), chatting and sampling his mustard collection. Now full of mustard, the Little B's bade farewell and headed over a hill and up a dale toward Middle Elk's home. Many years earlier the Elk brothers had cut a straight and narrow path that connected their respective homes. Despite the path up the hill being steep in a few places, it was no problem for the Little B's who never went anywhere without their kicker skins. But they did see an old track one could follow with a gradient suitable for kick wax. At the top of the hill (photo 3) the Little B's headed south, where East Elk said they would find a viewpoint toward the magical land of mountains and glaciers (photo 4). From there, the Little B's hastily passed through a wasteland of evil spirits: a block of ravaged forest now devoid of trees!
Once clear of the wasteland, a wide straight path led up to the home of Middle Elk. Unlike his brother's country estate, Middle Elk preferred the urban life next to a busy road with plentiful electrical power, allowing him to order an aluminum picnic table online and get it delivered the very next day! The table was normally overflowing with passers-by, including winged beggars seeking alms. But by the time the Little B's arrived in the mid-afternoon, the table was bare. Middle Elk apologized that all his visitors had cleaned out his mustard collection. Despite their obvious disappointment, the Little B's put on a cheerful face and went on to visit West Elk. But the Little B's were horrified to learn that a pair of evil trolls had stolen all of West Elk's mustard the previous day and had absconded with it to a knoll above Frozen Lake! (photo 5)
Because it was now getting late, West Elk encouraged the Little B's to hurry home before it got dark, lest they be attacked by the trolls. So off the Little B's went, back to home, where they lived happily ever after!
The End
Total distance: 27.00 Km
 Photo 1 Approaching East Elk's expansive meadow on his country estate
 Photo 2 Chillaxing with East Elk on his snofa. (East Elk had just got up to get more mustard.)
 Photo 3 From the top of the hill, heading south to the viewpoint
 Photo 4 The faraway magical land of mountains and glaciers!
 Photo 5 The evil trolls hiding on the knoll, covered in mustard stolen from West Elk!
7 comment(s) posted
Comments:
2023-03-27 at 22:50 - comment by MaSid
Wicked. Glad you got that one done. How was the descent in the cut block with the little B’s? Finally a supportive crust for lighter gear?
2023-03-28 at 07:23 - comment by aqua toque
An enthralling tale. Destined to become a modern classic bedtime story for young skiers everywhere.
2023-03-28 at 22:15 - comment by Little Bs
MaSid - Sorry about the delay in replying, but we had to search out the original unabridged version of the story to answer your question. Here's what it says: "From there, the Little B's hastily passed through a wasteland of evil spirits: a block of ravaged forest now devoid of trees! The wasteland contained many pit traps under the snow to snare the unwary, so the Little B's took a gently descending line with just enough speed to escape the one or two times that a pit opened beneath them."
2023-03-29 at 16:20 - comment by MaSid
Thanks Mike. I won’t bother going back with the LT gear as a result. Looks like you may have missed the better viewpoint. Head south in the final westernmost meadow. This gets you to the top of the old cut blocks for a slightly more aesthetic scene than the new cut block to the north of the meadow.
2023-03-29 at 18:00 - comment by Little Bs
MaSid - Thanks for your directions to the viewpoint. Unfortunately East Elk was deep into his mustard cocktails when he tried to tell us how to get there.
 "Maille O My!" mustard cocktail
2023-03-29 at 20:29 - comment by aqua toque
Dang Little Bs, where did you learn about cocktails? From your Dad?
That one will go great with my signature dish:
Grilled Elk Tenderloin with Molasses and Mustard
1/4 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, divided
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons coarse-grained mustard
1 3/4-pound Elk tenderloin
Step 1
Whisk molasses, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and both mustards in small bowl to blend. Place Elk in heavy-duty resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over. Seal tightly and refrigerate 4 hours.
Step 2
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Drain marinade into heavy small saucepan. Sprinkle Elk with salt and pepper. Grill Elk until thermometer inserted into center registers 145°F, turning occasionally with tongs, about 20 minutes. Transfer Elk to serving platter; let rest 5 minutes.
Step 3
Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon vinegar to pan with marinade and boil until thickened to sauce consistency, about 1 minute.
Step 4
Cut Elk crosswise on slight diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange Elk slices on platter; drizzle sauce over.
 Grilled Elk Tenderloin with Molasses and Mustard
2023-03-29 at 22:18 - comment by Little Bs
aqua toque - The cocktails were the creation of East Elk. And by the way, the Three Elks might have a few things to say about your meat choice!
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