Sound the Retreat, TC, Head for the Truck #39

What could be finer?  It was a beautiful Saturday morning, nice sunshine, warm temperatures, and little to no wind. Sounds to me like a recipe for a trip to the North Maine Woods. So, TC and I loaded the truck and away we went. This time, we brought the 17’ canoe with the motor in case we decided to do some trolling. We also packed TC’s spinning rod in the event we saw a stream that peaked our interest. We made a quick stop at Ben’s Trading Post to pick up some worms, yes worms. In all my days, I never thought that I would have to buy worms with so much dirt everywhere. But then again, I never thought we would have to pay for water either.

We headed to the woods and in no time, we were at the six mile gate.  Ed was on duty and in between printing the pass; he let us know that the bugs were pretty bad. I was not buying it, as I had just been in the woods last week and there were none to be found. No matter, I want you to know that I am pretty tough. I have never run away from bugs in the woods. If you venture into the woods, you just know that you are going to run into them at some time. You learn to co-exist with them, and they make things like OFF and CUTTERS to help you cope.

Well, we got to our destination, and got out of the truck to untie the canoe and get our stuff ready, and I want to tell you we got our first dose of reality. The bugs were there in full force. We knew then and there that we had a fight on our hands. But remember, we don’t back down……

Now, SIMULIUM YAHENSE, or black flies are little flying bugs that tend to be a big nuisance.  When they bite, you know it and you continue to remember for several days afterward. They thrive on buzzing around you, or by you, like Maverick did when he buzzed the tower in TOP-GUN. There is one exception, the black flies don’t stop after one time, no sir, they continue and continue until they get you or you get them, or you retreat to a place where they cannot get you.

TC and I hurried up and got the boat on the water. By then, there was a good breeze and I thought we would escape them. Ah! No… It became quickly apparent that they made the trip to, and they brought reinforcements. They harassed us, landed on us, bit us and we just kept adding fly spray to no avail. A pair of loons on the water kept a watchful eye on us the whole time we were there. They probably had made a bet as to how long we would last. Then the rain came and I was certain that the flies would leave. Wrong again, they stayed and for some reason, I really believe they brought additional platoons. They were everywhere.

Two hours went by and finally we decided to retreat to the truck. Before we landed, TC made a plan to load the canoe real quick and throw everything in the back of the truck and go down the road a ways where we could regroup, and at the same time escape them. Someone in the fly platoon must have heard our plan, because as we landed, the entire army was there to greet us. It was horrible. I don’t quite remember how long it took us to pack up, but let me tell you, I don’t think I can ever do it that fast again.

Once down the road, we stopped and tightened the canoe and took off our rain gear. At that point, I realized that we had lost the battle. We had fought hard, but could not claim victory. They had driven us out of their territory. There was one thing that I kept thinking about as I drove home. I had lost the battle, but not the war. TC and I lived to fight another day and we will be up to the challenge. And, no, we did not stop to do some stream fishing. Now, I wonder what I can buy that will be better than OFF and CUTTER.

One final note, TC did catch her first trout on her new fly rod. See, the trip was not a total retreat!