She removed the remaining cooked chunks of fat from the pot, placing them on a clean piece of birch bark to cool down. Once cooked, fat is easier to preserve; as it cools and solidifies, it forms a hard shell that further isolates it from the air.
Then, she wrapped them layer by layer in birch bark, tied them with tripwire to a sturdy birch log, and buried them deep in the snow outside the shelter.
The low temperatures perfectly preserve them, though each time she needs to eat, she must laboriously dig them out from the snow and pry open the frozen birch bark. But compared to the risk of them being stolen by other animals, this trouble is insignificant.
As for the pot of fat-rich soup left behind, it was not wasted either. Seizing the moment, she drank every last drop. Each sip was liquid warmth, though the taste was not great; at that moment, it was supreme delicacy!
