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.