The Land of Giants and Dwarfs the Final Chapter #84

We awoke Saturday morning, knowing that today was the day we would be leaving this great land. Months ago, it seemed like a long way off and that it would never come. Now, it flew by far too fast. One look out the camp window and I knew we had a problem. The lake was not visible at all. Yes the fog was as thick as pea soup. We all knew that it was not a great recipe for an airplane, as they could not fly. That meant that we may not see our chariot for some time. The plane base had told Keith that they would pick us up at 9:30 that morning, so, hoping that the fog would lift quickly, we got our stuff packed and carted it out to the dock where the plane would pick us up. Keith winterized the camp and we took the paper garbage down to the area where we burnt it. The rest had to come out with us in the plane.

At about 8:30, the fog slowly began to lift and we thought that maybe they would be on time. We had a long trip back to the ferry in Godbout and needed to be there for 5 pm. We had talked the night before about going all the way back to Fort Kent, Maine and then Keith and Chris continuing on home after that. It would all hinge on when the plane would arrive. 9:30 came and the fog was gone, but no plane. 10:30 came and still no plane. Cell phones do have their advantages in some situations. It would have been nice to pick up the phone and call the base for an update. However, that was not going to happen. So, remember my little In Reach? I fired it up and sent a text to Paul’s wife asking her to contact the base for an update. After about 15 minutes, I got a return text telling us that the fog was really bad at the plane base and they would not be flying out until at least 1:30 or so. The text also notified us that she had cancelled our ferry and rebooked it for the following day. We would now have to drive two more hours to Baie- Comeau to take the ferry, as it did not run on Sunday from Godbout. Our reservation time was now noon. So then the cribbage board came out and the final tournament took place.

Around noon time, I was standing on the dock when I heard a plane motor in the distance. It came into sight and I yelled to the group that the plane was here. We made our way to the dock, only to see the plane pass by and continue on. We went back to sitting and waiting. It was becoming apparent that we would not make the ferry at Godbout today.

At 12:30, I again heard a plane’s engine and looking to the north, saw a plane come into view. The plane was heading in our direction. I watched as it began its descent and then landed on the water and glided to the dock. It was the big Otter plane this time which meant that we were all going in one group. The plane came to a halt at the dock and the pilot jumped out. He opened the back doors and began off-loading 55 gallon drums. He told us, in French, that he was supposed to take them back to the plane base and then come back and pick us up, but he decided to leave them at the camp, take us out and come back later on and retrieve them. That was music to our ears and we all loaded up for the ride back to the base.

At 1:30, we landed at the plane base, loaded our stuff into the trucks and headed out. 

Knowing that our ferry ride was tomorrow, we headed for Sept-Îles. Once there, Phil talked us into spending the night, so we all went back to the Comfort Inn and got our rooms. Just before that, Chris wanted to check in with his wife as he had not talked with her since he left. You will never guess how he called her. I had seen one of these when we had stayed in Sept-Îles the Saturday before, but did not give it much thought. Anyway, it was just like we had gone back in time. Yes, they have phone booths there and that is how he called home.

Dinner time came and we put our heads together as to where we would eat. Across the road sat a St. Hubert restaurant. If you have never eaten at one, try it. They are famous for their chicken and their sauces. We found our way there and had a good dinner, and then returned to our hotel for the night.

Sunday morning came and we got up, had breakfast at the hotel and headed to Baie-Comeau which was about four hours away. We arrived without incident and lined up awaiting the ferry. Soon it came into view and docked, and the vehicles that had made the crossing, departed. 

Then it was our turn to load, which we anxiously did. We made the two hour cross to Matane and headed back down the Saint Lawrence bound for Fort Kent. I recall arriving in Clair, NB, which is across the river from Fort Kent around 5 pm. We stopped at the U.S. Customs and without incident, made our way through and headed to Raymond’s home where family was waiting. When we got there, we found some of our wives waiting for us, and two unsuspected visitors. Paul’s daughter Olivia and her husband Bill were in the crowd. They had come to visit from Los Angeles, California. We unpacked and showed them the fish we had, and at one point knowing that Olivia and Bill would like to try some, and knowing that Paul had not brought any back, I pulled out two trout and gave it to them. Keith and Chris said their good byes and headed home. TC and I had a little supper and then pointed the Toyota homeward.

There was a sense of emptiness when I saw Chris and Keith leave and then an even greater one when TC and I pulled out. The trip was over. It had come to an end. We had put our heads together and had determined that we had caught over five hundred brook trout during our time there. They ranged from 13 to 24 inches with some weighing over four pounds. Most of them lived for another day, as for the most part, we practiced catch and release. . The only thing left were the memories we had of the trip along with the photos and my Go-Pro video. It will help remind me of the great time and the great company I had. Time did not stand still, but for six days we went back in time to a place that defied change. A place where everything was still pristine and the trees looked like dwarfs and the fish looked like giants. A place that does not readily exist too much anymore.

I hope to go back some day and am very thankful to Keith that he brought us there and allowed us to use his camp. To the other four and Keith, thank you for such an enjoyable trip. You all made it fun!

So, this adventure has now come to an end. I hope you enjoyed the blogs, and the videos with the details. Thank you for the many comments as well. Great to hear from many of you.

The Land of Dwarfs and Giants Part 4 #83

Part three ended with our supper and then bedding down. Prior to supper, Phil, a retired Roman Catholic priest, said a mass which we all took part in. It would serve as our inspiration for the coming week.

Monday came around and as I indicated in an earlier blog, I was up first, and started the coffee. To minimize the banging and clanging, I had prepared it the night before, so I only needed to start the gas stove. It wasn’t long before the group started to move and the smell of coffee got them up one by one. There was one thing certain on this trip, we would not go hungry. On the menu for this morning was bacon, eggs and english muffins. As I recall, Keith took on the cooking duties that morning and before long, our plates were full not to mention our bellies. We cleaned up the dishes and prepared for the day. It was a nice day with calm winds and plenty of sunshine. Once again, Raymond was with me. 

Keith and Chris would be together and Paul and Phil would work as a team. The morning started off slow in our boat as the fish really did not want to cooperate as well as they did the day before. That was not the case with Chris and Keith. They had the pleasure of reeling in a few very nice ones. Phil was still complaining about casting versus trolling, but he made it work and they had caught a few as well. 

The afternoon was different as it felt like a light switch had been turned on. The fish were more active and the catch was much better. As I was motoring along, I could not believe how much the landscape looked like we were in Alaska. Now, mind you, I have never been there, but the readings and films I have seen seemed to be a very close match. The trees were dwarfed in size with the majority being softwood. Black Spruce seemed to line the landscape with the bottoms totally deficient of branches. The tops had a few branches but they were not very long. There was also a lot of rock with some moss lining the rocks. Much of the rock seemed to be very old and the lake bed was all rock and gravel only, with no silt or mud. We continued through the day and as I recall, we did not even stop for lunch. We had brought a few granola bars and some trail mix to snack on. As the day came to a close, we tied up at the dock and prepared for dinner. The menu this evening would consist of steak from Joey Bouchard’s farm in Fort Kent. Phil took charge of preparing the meal and Keith set up the gas grill outside. I worked my way in and ended up cooking four of the steaks outside. Phil did the other two on the stove in the camp. After cleaning up, the cribbage board came out again and before long, we were all yawning. The coffee got set out and before long, we were all in bed snoozing away.

Tuesday morning came and I again started the coffee, and Keith got up and made us some delicious blueberry pancakes. 

The group got changed up a bit with Ray and I still together, but Keith and Phil were in one boat and Paul and Chris were in another. They planned to do some exploring and much of the day would be spent at a pond over the mountain. They would park their boat at a little cove in the lake and hike over the mountain to a pond where Keith had done some fishing many years ago. He told them that there was a boat there and they had no trouble locating it. It was not in great shape, but would serve the purpose. I recall them lamenting later on about the problem they had paddling it. They also ran into some competition once they were there. They told the story that while on the water, they heard a loud splash and looking to the side saw a couple of otters sliding down the rock face into the water. Now, I understand that the otters were none too happy to see them, and as a matter of fact, they seemed to display their displeasure by showing their teeth. They also told me that they caught some nice fish but then decided to leave and get back into their boat that they had left on the lake.

Now, one of the things that none of us minded, was the fact that there were no TV or cell towers in the area so the cell phones did not work. The result was that we were totally cut off from the rest of the world. Yes, Keith did have a radio in the camp, but the antenna was not working thus the radio did not either. However, one little piece of equipment I had would serve to keep the lines of communication open with our families. They call it a Delorme In Reach communicator. I had bought this little handy gadget a year ago to use in the event of an emergency while in the North Maine Woods. The communicator works off satellites and allows you to text people and to send out an SOS if need be. The recipient can also respond to you as well, and can see where you are as it sends your coordinates with the message. We tended to use this off and on to keep our wives updated with what was going on. It would serve us even better at the end of our trip. But more on that later.

Now, I have to admit that from Wednesday through Saturday morning, the days were a blur. Funny thing is that I asked three different people what events happened on what day, and got three different answers, not to mention, I can’t seem to remember either. So, you will have to bear with me as we move forward. I would say that the reason was that we were having such a good time that we did not even consider what day it was.

However, I recall Wednesday being very windy and much cooler. The fishing was good though and the group did really well. Ray and I made a stop for lunch that day and as we entered the camp, there sat a note on the table. It said, turn on the boiled dinner. On the stove was a nice ham surrounded by potatoes, carrots, cabbage and turnip. We obliged and then after having a sandwich, we left to do some more fishing. At the end of the day, we all compared notes and all of us had done very well, even though the wind was very bad. 

I do remember one thing that Chris said, and each time I remember it, I smile. As you may recall, Phil did not really like trolling. His forte was to cast. Well, he had resigned himself to the fact that it was trolling or nothing. As we were preparing for dinner, Phil said “I guess I am going to have to troll from here on out.” To which Chris responded. “Well, Padre, it only took you three days to figure that out?”

Wednesday was also the day that we found other inhabitants on our island. Remember that this is surrounded by deep water and there is almost no way for anything to get on it, EXCEPT for what we found on the walkway that day. Yes, two Rock Ptarmigan’s and their two babies. They had found their way onto the island and were taking every advantage at finding food. They showed up a couple of more times that week and every time, we just watched and enjoyed.

Thursday brought the only day of rain. We all left camp in the morning to a very cloud filled sky. As the day progressed, the rain started and it continued. It was cold and raw and it seemed that Ray and I were the only ones left on the lake. Being the fishermen we were, we continued to fish until we were thoroughly soaked and cold. 

Once back at the camp, we found the other guys nice and dry, and playing cribbage. There were some words about us being crazy, and why did we stay out in the rain. Our response was, “We are here to fish not sit in the camp”. That evening we had chicken for supper. Keith doctored all three of them up with seasoning, put them in pans, and placed them in the oven. It wasn’t long before they were ready and we ate our fill of roasted chicken, stuffing, rice and gravy. And then we finished what was left of the two boxes of red wine. That meant that we had one day left and one bottle of wine to go around. More on that later.

We got up Friday morning to the bright sunshine. That morning, Paul and Chris would do some exploring and Keith and Phil would join up. Ray and I, having done so well in the fish department, stayed together. Now, Paul and Chris had made a plan the night before to explore a few ponds above the Red Lake. This lake is attached to our lake by a small inlet. Ray and I had made our way into that part a few days before and had caught nothing. As a matter of fact, in two places, we had to pull up the motor and paddle. Well, they were off with two kayaks in tow. They would return later in the day and relay another explorer story. I guess while they were dragging the kayaks through the woods to the pond, with Paul in the front, the boat hit a tree. The impact riled a group of ground hornets that were in the tree and one got Paul right in the face. From there on, they said it was a blur and so was Paul. They got the kayak and got out of there. Anyway, they did make it to the pond as I understand it. Now, with the newfound revelation that he had to troll, Phil did remarkably well that day. He caught some very nice fish.

Friday night was bittersweet. We heated up the lasagna and added in some garlic bread. Now, I have to come clean on a trick I played on Phil. That morning when I got up early, knowing that we only had one bottle of wine left, I grabbed it from the refrigerator and stashed it under my bed roll. When we returned to the camp late that afternoon, Phil was waiting. His first question was, “Can we open up that bottle of wine you brought?” I proceeded to tell him that Ray and I had taken it with us in the boat and had drank it all. He was in disbelief and shortly after, I noticed a cup in his hand with one of our beers poured in it. As dinner came around, I pulled the bottle of wine out of my bed roll and opened it. A smile came on Phil’s face and his response was “you told me a fib”. Yes, I had lied to a priest, but in fairness, I had to save the bottle….. It did not take long to empty it that night and the food we were eating was again excellent. With long faces, and knowing that tomorrow was the day we were leaving, we began to pack some of our gear. Keith had told the plane base to come and get us as early as they could. We had to get back to Godbout to the ferry by 5 pm, and we knew it was going to be at least a four hour ride after we left the plane base. We put the boats and motors away and prepared to button down the camp the next day. Now, I forgot to tell you that we had a generator there that supplied all of our electricity. To top that off, Keith and his friends had built a battery system in the camp that would power one light in the kitchen when we turned off the generator, so we had a little light to read by evening after the lights went out. Our final day was about to come. Would we make it out? Did the plane pick us up? Stay tuned for the last episode of The Land of Dwarfs and Giants. 

TC would like to dedicate this blog to her father, Rosaire Cyr. He will have been gone for one year as of September 20. I am sure he watched this trip and all of us with a smile on his face.