Summer Journal

Summer Journal Day 10

Monday, August 10

1 PM

It rained last night and we slept late. The Achilles tendon on my left ankle for some reason is very sore. I don’t know why, but it kept me awake last night. Ibuprofen didn’t help.

It didn’t get cold last night, but we were ready with our wool blankets. I had mine spread on top of my sleeping bag and Chris put his inside his bag.

We played Yahtzee and Chris won. I then read a bit before trying to sleep.

About 9:30 this morning Frank and Joey pulled into camp. What a small world this 3.5 million acres is. This is the second time we’ve run into them. They were checking campsites and cleaning fire pits. I invited them to breakfast and they were quick to say yes. While they finished their work I cooked up some eggs, bacon, home fries and made a big pot of coffee. We hadn’t seen each other since Chris and I were camped on the Machias River. There was some catching up to do. Joey wanted to know if Chris had tried out his fishing hole on the Mooseleuk River and wanted to see the new fly rod. They asked about Deboullie and what we had done after that. Frank, who is maybe somewhere between 50-60 years old with a full gray beard and bright orange suspenders, a hat with a wide 360 degree brim and a constant smile, gave me today’s newspaper. He gets up at 2 am every morning to deliver the Bangor Daily News in Presque Isle.

“You do what you can to get by,” he smiled. “We don’t work here for the money. It’s a way of life.”

We talked about life in the North Maine Woods, winters, summers and all the things to do. Joey grew up in the woods. When he heard that Chris was driving on the runway, he remarked that he had been driving up here on the logging roads since he was six. He also canoed 54 miles of the St. John River when he was 10 years old.

We talked together for about an hour, but they had to get back to work. We topped off their coffee cups and they thanked us for the meal. Then they got back in their silver Chevy pick up truck and headed out to the runway and back into the woods. There is something to be said for the simple things.

It was great to have a newspaper. At home I’d toss it on the kitchen counter and maybe read snippets here and there over the course of any morning. This was a treasure. I didn’t bother cleaning up the breakfast mess. Chris grabbed his pole and headed for the river. I retired to the tent with my newspaper and did something very rare for me. I read it front to back.

I was still in the tent reading when Chris came back from the river, empty handed again, and said as he walked by the tent, “I’m going to the store Dad, need anything?”

Someday he will and I’ll have him pick up milk or something.

“I’m all set,” I answered.

He climbed into the truck and was off speeding up and down the runway. He claims that this time he hit 73 mph.

Chris got the fire going because it helps with the bugs. It’s cool and humid and the sky is overcast. It’s just a yucky day.

Monday, August 10

2 PM

Chris has gone down to the river to do some more muskie fishing. Last weekend was the big muskie derby in Fort Kent and there was a picture in the newspaper showing the fish’s sharp teeth. It also mentioned a girl named Hafford that caught a prize winning muskie. I’ll have to find out if it was Mike’s daughter.

I’m trying to stay off my sore Achilles. I can’t imagine why it hurts so much.

The newspaper weather forecast says it should be nice during our stay at Little Lyford so maybe this year we’ll get to hike Gulf Hagas. Last year while we were at Little Lyford it rain the entire time and we were advised not to hike the Gulf because of slippery footing.

Frank told us this morning that the Katahdin Ironworks-Jo Mary area is very popular and that if we go there as I told him we might after Little Lyford, that we might find a lot of people. Apparently it is the Millinocket Riviera. I don’t think we’ll be going there. We’ll check with Chuck at Little Lyford and see what he recommends as far as a destination when we leave.

We’ve had a couple of rain showers go by in the last hour. It’s not a very nice day. Maybe we won’t climb Ross Mountain. It is supposed to be steep near the top with a lot of rock scrambling. We’re pretty far out in the woods and we probably shouldn’t take any risks. But it would be cool to make a phone call from the top.

It’s raining again, no big deal.

Monday, August 10

3:30 PM

My Achilles still hurts. The Ibuprofen isn’t helping. Chris’ ankle is swollen purple from bug bites and bleeding from all the scratching. The mosquitoes also seem to like his face. He has a couple of large welts, one on his forehead and another on his cheek. The little buggers are adding to my torment by biting me on the back where I can’t scratch. Chris also has a large bite in the back of his neck.

We’re spending most of the day in the tent. Chris runs out to cast a line in the river every once and a while and continues to drive up and down the runway. At least in the tent the bugs can’t get me.

Last night just before we fell asleep he turned to me and said, “Nice surprise Dad.” He was referring to the chance to drive the truck for a couple of days on this abandoned airstrip. He’ll be a pro at the takeoff roll by the time we leave tomorrow.

Monday, August 10

4 PM

The overcast is thinning out; we can see a few hints of blue sky. Chris has the fire going. We’re hoping the smoke will drive off some of the bugs. We’re both in long pants with bug nets over our heads. Chris also has a long sleeve hooded shirt on. It is 74 degrees.

Maybe we’ll be able to see some stars tonight.

Monday, August 10

5 PM

Chris is going to be pretty unhappy when he has to return the truck tomorrow. He is out buzzing up and down the runway again right now.

There are more dark clouds to the southwest. They’re coming this way and look like rain.

I just did the breakfast dishes; the coffee pot, two frying pans and two spatulas. Even standing in the smoke from the fire the bugs are relentless. They swarm as I try to clean the pans. I finished up as quickly as I could and jumped right back into the tent.

Monday, August 10

7:30 PM

We started to make dinner, but rain clouds arrived and we climbed into the tent for about an hour and played UNO. Small patches of blue sky were visible after the rain, so we got back to work making dinner.

We got out the oven and made a couple of pizzas. What a treat. I had two beers left and had one before dinner and another with my pizza. Chris drank his last 7UP.

After dinner with the oven still hot, Chris made a lemon swirl cake. It came out nice.

I have cleaned up and have everything ready to load into the truck for the night. It’s not hot, but it is so humid that everything is wet. Our wool blankets are getting pretty heavy.

We haven’t decided on what we’ll do tomorrow. We know that after breakfast we may try to climb Ross Mountain. If the weather cooperates and we can get up there, we’ll use the signal out of Canada and call home.

If we get some early sun tomorrow and the ground dries out, we’ll try to camp somewhere between here and Millinocket. If it stays wet we may pull into a sporting camp for a night. Maybe we’ll go into Millinocket. It’s getting uncomfortable with wet clothes, blankets, sleeping bags, pillows – just everything. We need a sunny dry day to get back on track. Laundry is mounting up so if we have to hit Millinocket a day early we can make use of the time and wash our clothes.

Chris is really getting comfortable and confident in the woods. Five years ago he wouldn’t leave my side. I just saw him run into the woods on the far side of the runway. It’s dusk, the time of day for moose and bears around here. He has really learned to understand better the nature of the woods and wildlife. Staying smart, thinking and keeping a clean camp gives the animals no reason to bother us.

Monday, August 10

8:30 PM

With the cloud cover it is very dark tonight. Our fire is down to embers and we’ll let it go out for the night. Everything is soaked, if not from all the rain, then from the heavy humidity. The temperature is in the low 70’s and it could get cold tonight. If it does in this dampness it will be really uncomfortable. We’ll go to bed early and hope for sunshine and drier weather in the morning.

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