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.

The Land of Dwarfs and Giants Part 3 #82

Part 2 ended with us getting the beauty sleep we so desperately needed. Morning came and as is usually the case, I am the first one up. Keep this in mind as we continue down our path. Knowing that it was 5 am and not wanting to wake my roommate, I dressed and left the room in search of coffee. Yes, this is one of my habits and is really needed each and every morning. During check-in, I had noticed a spot where coffee pots had been set up in the lobby, so I made my way down there to give it a try. As I entered, I noticed a guy behind the reservation desk look up in a sleepy manner. He did not speak, even after I said good morning. Having worked the night shift for a number of years, I could relate to how he was feeling. I found the pots and got my fix. I also found some reading material on Sept Iles and sat down to kill some time. The plan had been to leave early and make our way to our next destination which was about two hours away. The reservation for the float plane was for noon, but we would gamble that if we got there early, they may take us earlier. At about 6:15 am, I decided to go back to the room and when I did, my roommate was up. We packed our stuff and met the rest of the group in the parking lot as was the plan. Both vehicles made their way to the local Tim Horton’s for breakfast. Once we finished, we were off.

This time the destination was Havre St-Pierre, Quebec where our float plan would be waiting to take us to our final location. Once we got to the town, we had two things that needed to get done. The first was to get our fishing licenses which we had been told could be accomplished at the local store. The second was to get some cold items in the local grocery store. We found our way to the fishing license store only to learn that it was closed on Sunday. Hmm, now we had a dilemma. We left there and went to the grocery store. Paul had been given a list of items needed, and I had seen the list at one point on our trip, but when we got there, he could not find it nor could he remember what the list had on it. A quick call to his wife and the problem was solved. We picked up the items and headed up to the float plane base to see what we could do about our licenses. At the base, we learned that the Otter plane, remember this is the bigger one, was not available and we would have to go in two Beavers. 

The man at the base worked feverishly to find a solution about our license issue. There were two options available. We could go without our licenses and when we returned we could purchase them, or we could find another place in another town that was open for business. No one liked the idea of going without a license, and I as a guide was not interested in that at all. Eventually, we found a place forty-five minutes back from where we were that was open. We loaded up and headed out. Once we arrived there, we all got “legal” and then headed back to the plane base. This time not only was the Otter missing, but one of the Beavers was gone too. We were told that the Quebec biologists had swooped in and confiscated it as they needed to go somewhere. So, we were left with one Beaver that could not take us all at one time. A decision was made where three of us would go on the first trip out and when the plane returned, the remaining three would go on the second trip. Keith, Phil and Chris lined up and all their gear was weighed and then loaded on the plane. 

The engine started with a roar and they were off. Paul, Raymond and I would wait patiently until the return of the plane. After about an hour and forty five minutes, we saw a guy come out of the building and walk to the dock. He told us that the plane was on its way, and very soon after, it came into sight. It landed and taxied to the dock where we were anxiously waiting. 

Our gear had already been weighed so the loading began, but It was not long before the pilot told us that we couldn’t take one of the coolers because it was too big. So we replaced the items into a smaller cooler which made him happy. Final loading ended and we all packed into the plane. The engine came to life and it taxied to the end of the pond, turned and the pilot gave it the gas. In no time, we were jetting down the water and lifted up in the air. We banked left and then leveled off. We were finally on our way! In the air, I could not help but notice the number of lakes below us. There were hundreds with one right after another. I had done some research on our location beforehand and had seen that this area was full of lakes and ponds, many within walking or paddling distance from our destination. Finally, the pilot looked back at us and pointed downward. That meant we were there. I could not believe the size of the lake we were going to. The lake was called Lac a l’Eau Claire. It was long, wide and very deep. In some places, we were told it was 1000 feet down. Fast forward a bit and we found that most of the time, the water tended to drop right off the bank and drop it did. Ten feet off shore, you could find it to be 300 feet deep. The pilot banked left and brought the big plane down with a picture perfect landing. He taxied to the dock where Keith, Chris and Phil were standing and came to a halt. WE WERE HERE.

The first order of the day was to get our gear out of the plane and into the camp, and then get the boats and motors out and on the water. The camp was located on an island which we had all to ourselves. There was only one other camp on this lake. It had been recently built and was in a cove not far from our location. The next order was to get the water running and the pump in place to feed the cabin. Yes, we had running water in the cabin, thanks to the lake and an indoor toilet in the camp. No roughing it in this trip. The pump proved to be a problem as the last time Keith had been to this camp was five years ago. Yes, another guy in his ownership group had been there a couple of weeks earlier, but no one had been there before that time. We found the camp in good shape and finally got the water pumping.

Now, our attention turned to the reason we were there. We paired up and headed out on the water to see what we could catch. Raymond and I were in one boat, Keith and Chris in another and Phil and Paul rounded out the group. Now a word of caution, Phil is a cast fisherman and not a troller and this trip was a trolling trip. None the less, he was good about it although he reminded us from time to time that he preferred casting and would like to do some of that while he was here.

I manned the motor in our boat and Ray sat up front. We were using streamer flies and full sink lines for this trip. The deeper we could go, the better and the fish finder showed that. Many of the big ones were down a long way. The streamers we were using were special. Some had been tied by Raymond’s father, Rosaire and some had been tied by his sister, TC. I had put a few together myself and was anxious to find out how they would work.  Just after leaving the dock, we let out our line and began the process. Before no time, I caught a few nice trout and then Ray joined in. The fish were beautiful, all red bellies and quite large. Some were over 20 inches and three to four pounds. We fished until dark and then made our way back to the dock for supper. Once there, we found that the other guys had had the same luck. This evening, we would have hot dogs along with something I had picked up at the grocery store in Harve Saint Pierre, my favorite Canadian maple cookies. Oh and we did bring some spirits to the camp as you might have thought. As I said earlier, Phil had his wine and we helped him with a few cold ones to end the day. 

We cleaned up the dishes and decided to play a little cribbage. Paul had been in charge of bringing the cribbage boards and when we asked him to break them out, he let us know that he had forgotten them. Not to be denied, Chris left the camp and eventually came back with a flat board that he had drilled holes in. That would serve as our board for the time there, and it worked remarkably well. We bedded down for the night in anticipation of what tomorrow would bring. Would we succeed in catching more fish? Was there anybody or anything sharing the island with us? Tune in for part 4 coming soon!

The Land of Dwarfs and Giants Part 2 #81

My last blog ended with a left turn from Main Street in Fort Kent, Maine on our way to our weeklong adventure. We decided to take two trucks to our destination, Keith’s and Paul’s. Keith, Phil, Chris and Raymond were in their truck and Paul and I were in his truck. Just before leaving, Keith had handed Paul and I a walkie talkie so we could communicate between vehicles. That would prove to be beneficial immediately. Paul and I turned left, followed by Keith, and we all crossed the bridge over the Saint John River. Just before we stopped at the Canadian Customs, the radio came to life with the now famous words. “Phil forgot his passport, we are turning around and going back.” As we turned to look back, we saw their truck making a U-turn on the Canadian side of the bridge and headed back toward the American Customs. Both Paul and I knew this was not good and that came to bear. We stopped at the Canadian Customs and went through the standard questions after passing the officer our passports and then were waved through. We turned left and found a parking lot to wait, and wait we did. Now, remember, they had to go back through American Customs, get Phil’s passport and then come back to Canadian Customs. As is the case when turns are made, the Canadian Customs alerted the American Customs and they had to explain why they had passed into Canadian territory, and had not reported to the Canadian Checkpoint as is required, even when you turn around before reaching the checkpoint. They got through, and fortunately did not have a long way to travel to retrieve Phil’s passport. When they found their way back to Canadian Customs, the customs officers were waiting for them. They made them pull to the side for a check and for some reason, they only focused on one guy, Chris. Paul and I waited patiently in the parking lot and I could see the guys walking around the truck. Well, they finally released them and the truck began to move. We pulled out and were finally off. The drive took us up Route 120 by Lac Baker and Lac Long. Just after passing Saint-Marc Du Lac-Long, we turned northwest on to route 232. This road would take us to Cabano and after passing through there, we continued on Route 232 until we reached Route 234. That route would take us all the way to the coast of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. If you have never been there, you are missing some of the most beautiful views anywhere. We moved on to Route 132 and continued northwest along the coast to our destination of Matane, Quebec. This is where we would cross the Saint Lawrence via ferry. We arrived in Matane and drove immediately to the ferry entrance. Paul had made reservations and it was a good thing. There were a number of cars awaiting their turn to load on the boat. The cost to take the two-hour ride was $49.00 for each vehicle and $19.60 per person. This was all in Canadian money, which I might add was roughly worth 74% of the US dollar at that time. 

We lined up and then the cars began to enter the boat. 

Our turn came and  we eventually entered and parked where we were told to. I had heard a lot about the ferry and was looking forward to exploring it. We left the vehicles and headed up the stairs to Deck 5 where the passengers stayed during the crossing. Now, like I said, this was a little over two hours, but you had lots that you could do. We immediately made our way to the canteen where we got our lunch which we took into the lounge. We washed down a beer with our food and Phil had a glass of wine instead. Once we were finished, it was time to do some exploring. We worked our way to the top deck where we could see for miles in every direction. The Saint Lawrence was beautiful and calm that day. After we took in the sights, it was back down stairs where we took a little nap. It had already been a long day and it was not finished. Two hours passed quickly and before we knew it, the captain was announcing that we were arriving at our next destination, Godbout, Quebec and to please go back to your vehicle and prepare to off load. 

We found our way back to the trucks and drove off the boat and turned west toward our final destination for the day, Sept Iles, or in English, Seven Islands where we had hotel reservations for the night. On the way, I could not help but marvel in the electric transmission lines that lined the roadway. They were everywhere.

After about two hours, we made our entry into Sept Iles and stopped at the Comfort Inn. We checked in and got our room assignments, dropped off our luggage and now were on a mission to find some good food. After Phil quizzed the desk clerk, we decided to go to a local restaurant that specialized in seafood. Remember, this is on the coast and the seafood is right off the boat. The restaurant was named Poissonnerie Soucy or in English, Soucy Fish Shop. The meal was excellent, but we were slipping fast. We had left Fort Kent at 9am that morning and had finally arrived in Sept Iles at 5:30pm. We paid our bill and headed back to the hotel. We knew we would have a long day tomorrow and needed to get our beauty sleep. We said our goodnights and closed the first day of our trip. I was really excited and could not wait for the next day to come. It had been a long time in the making and I wanted to get to our destination. Tomorrow would hopefully be the day, however, we knew we could not control two things, the weather and the method of travel to get to our final destination. Would we be successful? That my friends is coming up in part 3.