Campground Adventures in a Technical World

It used to be that when a guy disappears with canoe and camper for ten days he would have done just that . 


 There would be no communication to the those who   stayed back; no  possibility that photos or adventure  would be shared ; no exchange of niceties until the grand homecoming that could only be guessed at in terms of  exact time and date.  


With the advent of  new technology and the yen to 'keep up' with modern trends, those days of total unplugging on the part of this family's fisherman has pretty much ended.


I say   pretty much ended because just because one puts a texting device in the hands of an individual does not mean that communication is automatically the  result of the texting experience. 


 In actuality it can become more of an exercise in reading than writing, employing the use of contextual, syntax, and word configuration clues along with the never ending question on the part of the reader , "Just what the H.... is he talking about?"


Some examples to prove this point.


Very gonning


Sokis, mac salad no luck fishing


Got sun rain sheter


Owls hottun


Very gonning firhing


Fursns is on


Gjawmj mj asj mg  

Have to chrach phonie


Hi had know sereve


Playing majgog


Ok having samno


At camp saw flon chop taters


Noting so far


Haas a good thing


Very gonning


Eat preogies saugeg


Having coffee then firshing


I love you eggs then to flon


2 fish over 75 center meters




I was able to decipher most through the time of day and from my own questions .


Can anyone guess which one probably means


 "I have my jammies on?"



















My most favourite camper and fisherman in the world has entered into the era of high tech communication armed with unlimited texting on his cell phone .

It's OVER! :(

No more camping  for this year.
  No more popcorn on the fire.
   No more fish fried in butter.
    No more marshmallows roasted.
     No more fishing.
      No more wood chopping.
       No more beer drinking.
        No more hooting of the owls, calling of the elk, honking of the geese.
         No more watching for skunk or mink.
          No more shimmering trees.
           No more smoke in the eyes.
            No more coyote howls.
             No more Lesser Legs, Loons, or Grebes.
              No more games of Dominoes under the stars.
               No more reading by shoulder flashlight.
                 No more flies and mosquitos, hornets or bees.

               
                      Not minding all the No Mores of this fall,

                           I do Know More than I did last spring,

                             So in saying Goodbye to it all,

                               Camping has proven to be a very good thing.

 

Camp Life Through Binoculars.

Things you don't want to see or hear on a fishing/camping trip:

1. Guy with beer bottle and no life jacket climbing into a boat and roaring off to the other side of the lake.

2.  A truck with 4 wheel drive (but not put into 4 wheel drive) stuck to its axles at boat launch.

3.  A boat being paddled with a broken oar and broken motor.

4. A flipped boat floating amongst whitecaps across the lake in isolation--bereft of passenger (see #1)

5. A boater LEAVING the boat and swimming across the lake to shore. ( again see #1).

Things that are good to see on a fishing/camping trip:

1. Young man helping an elderly couple tow their boat to safety. (see #1 above). 

2. A man and woman being profoundly nice, polite, and patient to each other (even chuckling) after getting truck stuck, having to paddle boat half way across the lake before being rescued, and locking their keys in the vehicle.  We have pretty much assumed that they weren't married or otherwise related--probably just courting.  

3. Wind and whitecaps on a lake can help you remember being 'Sea Side' in Great Britain.

4. Interesting to note that life jackets, fishing gear, cooler, gas and motor all survived the boat flipping and unescorted float to shore. (All were safely traveling with the boat tucked underneath--not one thing lost).

5. "Lost" and  extremely stupid and fortunate boater was able to get  to campsite unharmed in spite of 3 foot waves and strong winds.  Hopefully  he will tell the story to his grandchildren some day to explain why one should always   a) wear a life jacket when boating, (b STAY with the boat in case of a mishap and   probably the most important--not drink alcohol on a boat.

  

Binoculars can certainly add drama to one's life.

 Boat Safety Rules

The Best Laid Plans...

We have spent the last several weekends camping out by a nearby lake where the fishing is good and the neighbours are few.  Our camper is a 15 foot  hard sided fold down type that sleeps four.  It was a two burner stove, furnace, fridge and sink inside with a four person dining area that converts to a double bed.  As the camper is wired for electricity from a battery, there is a ceiling fan and two ceiling lights.  Camp time night reading is done with  flashlights leaning on one's shoulder.

As we spend 98%  of the time cooking, washing, and sitting outside, the inside sink has never been used, the propane stove  was used to boil water for noodles once, and the furnace is turned on for only early spring and fall nights.  Food is kept inside for safe keeping from temperature and flies.  Dishes and pots and pans are stored outside on a little camp table. Potable water is stored in the camper and there is an electric pump that allows one to get water from the  attached outside type shower hose mechanism.    All cooking is done over the fire.  We carry to the camp two chairs,  our own wood, ax and hand saw along with a metal fire ring that originally was the metal tub from an old washing machine.  All these are packed in the back of a 1/4 Ton Chevy truck. Portable washroom facilities are placed in a privacy tent set apart from the main camping area.  Fish cleaning and garbage containment is handled through using recycled bags that are packed and carried home for disposal.

Our fishing canoe is equipped with homemade outrigger system and an electric motor.  We carry the quietest  1000 W generator on the market and regenerate the battery for only an hour every three days.  For news updates of the world we carry  a battery powered  shortwave radio which is turned on for perhaps an hour a day at the most.

  This method of camping is in stark contrast to the camper or what is referred to as ' the UNIT' in modern camping terms,  that set up in the next area to us this past weekend. This  35' fifth wheeler was pulled by an  F250 Diesel truck with a 24 foot Lund and a 90 HP Honda motor attached to the rear bumper.  The screened awning trimmed with Christmas lights that was set up within 15 minutes of the truck being turned off was bigger than our whole camper.  The screened in Gazebo type detached enclosure that was  set up within  the next half hour would have covered 80% of the rest of the our camping area.  The screened in sliding insert into the screened patio door on the side of the camper would cause any insect, bird,or rodent come to a 'screening' halt while at the same time allow hands to pass things such as food, condiments, and sunscreen out into the wilderness and back again.

The WalMart purchased fire ring  that never bore flame or heat any time during the three day stay,  the 3000W generator that ran during every night, and the woman sweeping cobwebs off the underside of the hitch a long with the periodic smell of RAID that wafted over to our site were some of the indicators that these campers were not really out to enjoy what we in the Master Camping World refer to  as the " the full camping experience."

The full camping experience involves horseflies, mosquitoes, spiders, water beetles, flies, wet salt, melted butter, burned fingers, slivers and blisters,  singed hair, wet feet, leeches,  warm beer, warm water, itchiness anywhere at anytime caused by anything,  chipped plates, wet shoes, the taste of Musk oil, scurrying mice, baler twine, tarps , and bungee cords. This activity also involves mammals from the wild , through either sight, sound, or smell,  such as moose, birds, raccoons, bears, and skunks.

I think perhaps that if our neighbours had been more in touch with this true camping experience they would have been more aware and more insightful when it came to where they put their new handy dandy  plastic string-tied full sized black garbage bags before shutting off their lights and turning on their generator.  Otherwise they might have been able to listen for  the skunk, raccoon or possibly bear, as it rifled through their garbage that was left against the outside of the 'UNIT'.  They would have  then avoided the 20 foot swath of food waste, paper, plastic and cans, and loss of privacy  that was spread around the campground.

This garbage incident  is a prime example that no matter what we do to avoid it we will be taught a lesson every time.

 These campers had come to the wilderness for their own reasons and goals,  but in spite of all the tireless work they did to try to pretend that they could still achieve their non wilderness living lifestyle , the wilderness was able to still encroach on their comfort zone.  This encroachment probably caused just as much disturbance to those visitors to the wild as that which is  caused to ants, mice, squirrels, moles or rabbits that might enter into their own homes and gardens accidentally or on purpose.

In truth, the only real difference between our type of visit to the outdoors and  that of those neighbours of screen and garbage is that we don't insulate ourselves from the very place we go to visit, therefore we aren't as surprised when 'stuff' happens or goes awry.

Fishy Fishy in the Sea

Fishing Vocabulary

Lure ,
Hook,
Spool,
Spoon,
Swivel,
Fillet,
Rod,
Reel,
Anchor,
Trolling,
Casting,
Limit,
Jack,
Wall Eye,
Pike,
Len Thompson and,
Canadian Wiggler.


Some Common Fishing Rules Are:

Keep the tackle box closed in case it gets dumped.


WEAR the life jacket in case you get dumped.


Reel in as soon as you know the other fisherman has caught a fish.


Keep your rod up and your tension on.


The boat coming off the water  is the boat that has the next right to use the dock.

Never fish off the same side of the boat as the other person.



PHRASES Heard on a Fishing Weekend.

Got One!
Oh..a nibble.!
Gone!  Really Gone! Gone! Gone! Gone! (as in hook is Gone in weeds, fish, or rocks) . The same meaning can be expressed   with the phrase, "Fish On! Fish Off!"
I just bought that hook.
"It  got away you mean," in reply to, "It Let Go!"
I've seen sardines bigger than that!
I need a new leader.
It was huge!
Did it ever pull!
Where  are the licenses?
Should we keep it?
Watch out for  the Rock!
Did you see it?
Hammer Handle!
Grandpa..what if we have to pee when we are in the boat?
Sure you can look in my cooler, Sir.
WHOA!
I'm hooked.
I guess there were some rocks there.
Got the first fish!
Got the biggest fish!
Do you think they are going to run that all night long? (generator reference)
Why would they need those?



SOUNDS one hears on a fishing trip.

Boat motors.
Sea gulls.
Kill deers.
Loons.
Waves splashing.
Boats on rocks.
Trucks spinning tires.
Squeak of trailer springs.
Generators :(
Electric filleting knives. ?????

SIGHTS on Fishing Trip

Boats on water.
Boats with high sides.
Boats with low sides.
Wide Boats.
Narrow boats.
Boats on trailers.
Boats on trucks.
Fish jumping out of the water.
Pelicans sculling.
White caps.
Campsites with Halogen Lights.
Boat being paddled back to shore in the morning.
Another boat being paddled back in the morning.
Boat being paddled back (again) to shore in the afternoon.
Hooks flying unleashed from the line.
Kid in raft without life jacket.
Man in underwear in water trying to  reach lost hook.
Dogs  in water.
White caps.
Four people standing up in boat at the same time.
Two people in boat without life jackets.
Man standing behind 6 year old with rod and hook.
Man being hooked by 6 year old with rod and hook.
Conservation Officer driving ghost truck.

Ode to a Killdeer

  Early in the season camping trips help set the stage for understanding the activity of many birds and animals during the coming summer  weeks. 

 The first morning,  when I initially saw gulls flying to and fro from one lake to the next, calling and twirling in the air as long strands of material dangled behind them, my first thought was that they had been caught in some sort of plastic wrap---doomed to an early demise.  But as I looked closer, I saw that what they were doing was  carrying  reeds from last year's bullrushes that were no doubt going to be used in nest making.

Watching the courtship dances of the common coot with the splashing, dashing, pecking and squawking caused one to recall the group of baby coots and their mama swimming back and forth in front of our  late season campsite last fall .

Apparently you can't get the one scenario without the other. 

I also came across a limping Killdeer on the gravelled drive way leading into our  little camping area.   At first I tried to follow it as it limped and spread out its damaged wing as it cried and cried out in pain, and then what came to mind was my Grade 4  Science Lesson  Chapter 14 :  HOW MAMA BIRDS PROTECT THEIR BABIES  Subsection B (1) "A mother bird will often feign injury in order to distract a would be predator from discovering her nest of live chicks or eggs."

 I immediately turned on my heel and walked in the exact opposite direction from whence I came, much to the Mother Killdeer's increasing chagrin.  I found the precious but simple nest located on the ground with the only protection being a few tufts of grass and a dandelion plant close by, about a foot from the gravel driveway.

Can you see the three little eggs?

I watched that Mother Killdeer quite often over the course of the next few days.  I saw her sneak quickly, running on her spindly legs,  when she thought no one was looking, over to the edge of the road to get a quick dip of water from the ditch before she ran back to perform her 'sitting' duty.  I am not sure when she had had the time to actually eat, perhaps the male killdeer came to relieve her sometime during the  process.  The Saskatchewan Birders' Manual said that it would take 28 days for the eggs to hatch...a whole month..at least two weeks , a most dangerous time for both mother and nestlings.  

And then...
         ..... the inevitable happened.

 It was just before sundown, we saw the lights and then the dust  of a truck pulling a camper coming along the road.   We heard the truck motor slow down and the squeak of the trailer springs as it made the turn into the camping area.  The cry of the Killdeer  pierced the air as we saw the bird fly by in panic calling and twisting back and forth over the lake and then back again over the campground.

The driver had no idea  what he had done as he busily set up his outfit rolling the tires back and forth to get the right spot. The killdeer stopped its call after a few hours, barely noticeable if one didn't concentrate on trying to hear it over the sounds of all the other night bird sounds.  

I am not one to actually project human feelings unto animals, but at the same time I did feel badly for the Killdeer and her family.  Heartbeats were beating in those shells.  Something in that mother bird's instinct told it to care and nurture those eggs as much as something triggered a response of disquiet and unease at the destruction of the nest.

Is it no wonder then that when  we humans " the actual thinking species" while  visiting  places where there have been great  losses of life and tragedies,  speak of the palpitativity of sorrow in the air.  Is it no wonder then that people refer to broken hearts and spirits in their own songs of sorrow? 

 I think its even more of a wonder that  that very same Kildeer, even now, is probably planning and preparing for another nest this season; just the same as many people who have been hurt both physically and spiritually will continue on in striving for the best.