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.