"That's a really good idea," I reply with a slow nod. We don't have much rope, either, but we can always make more, and even if we only need to use it once all winter, it'll be worth the effort.

"There's got to be a way to make cleats or even just snow shoes without the nails," I add, my head tilting in thought. "Not that you'll necessarily need the nails for anything else until spring, but it would be nice to have enough to go around, give to other folks." I'm not an engineer for nothing, and something like that could be really useful to a lot of people.