EPISODE 97 FLY CAMP BUILT AT DUSK: SUPPER WAS A BIT DISGUSTING 1964

EPISODE 97    FLY CAMP BUILT AT DUSK:  SUPPER WAS A BIT DISGUSTING    SUMMER 1964 PARADISE LODGE


alan skeoch
August 2020

We had trouble getting a bush plane…Only available in late afternoon.  This was  unfortunate because it meant
our crew had to set up  our fly camp as  night approached.  But it had to be done.  These last few anomalies
were too far west of base  camp at Paradise  Lodge so the camp  had to include an airborne component.  Such
flights were very common on other bush  jobs but this  was the first for the Paradise Lodge crew who were
new to the business.  The fellows were quite excited about the idea of flying in to a tiny lake and setting up a
campsite in  the wilderness.



“Looks like a good spot down there…where that slab of treeless granite meets the lake.”
“No problem…lake is small but we can set down.”

The Cessna touched the water so gently it was hardly noticeable were it not for the huge Chevron
of water driven up by the pontoons.

“I  think we can get everyone here…and the canoe…in two flights..before  dusk.”, the pilot had explained.
And  he did just that. 


As the sun got close  to the horizon the Cessna took off for Sault Ste Marie.   We were 
on our own.  

 Five of us were then left alone to get the camp  constructed as  daylight
faded.  Not so easy.  We had with canvas wall tents…three of them to erect.   First act was to saw down
ridge poles and de-limb them.  Then six sets of support beams. Lashed together.   No time to look for perfectly flat ground 
in the forest.  each other.  Amicably we hoped.

It was  not a pretty sight but it would  do.   The job might take three or four days and then we would
fly back to base camp.  No  need for a pretty campsite.   Dusk became darkness before the tents
were lashed in place.  We had  not eaten but already  had  a nice fire going on the bare
granite well away from the tinder dry forest.

All of this was  quite standard.  Perhaps  boring to anyone reading this story.  Maybe interesting to
real outdoorsy people whose criticism is unwanted. We were on a job not a fishing holiday.

The main event?   That happened in the blackness of night.   A supper all of  us would remember.

“How about a big stew for supper?”
“Fine.”
“I have just the thing….a great stew…dried in packages….just add water.”

My enthusiasm was misplaced.   Sadly.   The stew  was advertised as  a perfect meal for
backpackers.  Packages rather  than cans, therefore light in weight.  Full of all kinds  of good
things…meat, potatoes, carrots, broth, onions…the works.   And no work required.  Just
rip open the package and dump the dried contents  into boiling water.  I did so…several 
packages dumped and  boiling on an open fire in the splendid darkness of  a summer night
in the wilderness.

We got the tents in place.   And then dug into the stew.  It tasted good.  Thick with lots
of chunks and a spicy  gravy.    


Then we went to bed.  Satisfied with the camp and more than satisfied  with the stew.
As a matter of fact we could not eat all the stew … set remainder
it aside for morning clean  up.

“Jesu Christ!  Look at this!”
“What?”
“The pot if full of dead worms…little dead white worms…dozens of them.”
“That bastard that sold this so called  perfect stew must have known.”
“Who was he?”
“No idea…just sounded  good in the camp outfitters advert.”
“Yuck!”
“Anybody have a gut ache?”

Nobody was  sick.  The worms had  been well cooked and must have
been quite edible.   Actually we all had a good laugh.
There was some concern about our food supply.  How many packages
of dried food ?  Too many, but we had the usual  back up.  As I remember
that back up was a case of pork and  beans…lots of bread  and  eggs
for French toast and  a few boxes of Nielsen’s  Jersey Milk Chocolate bars.
A good  sized sack of rolled oats, dried  milk powder…
The basics.  We would be fine.  I do not remember any bitching.  We just got
on with the job.


Breaking camp a few days later did not take long.  The Cessna arrived  in the morning
and that meant we were back at Paradise  lodge by noon.  We  were overjoyed to
see our cook again.

alan skeoch
August 2020

P.S.  Look at the rock along the sore….the high and low  water marks.  The lower the lake levels
got as summer progressed the more dangerous takeoffs and landing became.  Sometimes
log  deadheads lurked.   Sometimes lake bottoms, sharp rocks,  were deceptively shrouded in
water weeds.  Pilots got nervous by late August.  For good reason as will be
described in Episode 99.




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