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As I was sitting and resting after a hard day of fishing, I was trying to rest my aching arms from literally hauling in dozens of huge fish in the 40” and above category. It seemed like a dream being this far from day to day life and responsibility.
My wife had gone off to hit the hay as it was approaching midnight. We needed to be up, dressed and back at it early in the morning for another full day of fishing.
Yet, the night was beautiful, the lake was calm and my world seemed at peace. I wanted to hang on to every image, smell and bit of calm this place could muster.
The sun never goes down at the high point of summer when you are this far north. It becomes dusk-like for an hour or so as the sun dips toward the horizon, then the sun rises up into the sky again.
Sometimes, if I am patient enough, a wolf will meander nearby. The magnificent animals are various shades of grey, black and brown, but occasionally we have seen a majestic Arctic white female. Normally wolves are just curious and would rather run away than be too neighborly. They can be a lot like dogs, unless they are hungry, in which case they can be quite dangerous.
Wolves are just one reason to avoid roaming around alone at this time of night. There are moose and bear as well
I recalled that a few years ago following dinner my wife decided to take a stroll. Being an independent soul, she enjoys walking alone. This time she met a cow moose and her calf.
Put this into perspective. My wife weighs 92 pounds soaking wet and stands 5 foot tall if she stretches. A cow moose weighs 1,200 to 1,500 pounds and stands 7 ½ foot tall at the shoulder. Its neck and head range well above its shoulders.
Although Moose are active throughout the day, they are especially active at dusk and dawn. They can swim quite well and can run 35 miles per hour. That means you cannot out swim or out run them.
Moose are usually low-key unless they are being harassed, it is mating season or they are protecting their young. Then, Katy bar the door.
So there’s my petite wife and a towering cow moose. My wife glances to her other side, and there’s a calf. My wife had wandered directly between them. The cow moose has her hair standing up on her rump and her ears laid back, both bad signs.
My wife did not know that when it comes to a close-up encounter with a moose, it’s usually a good idea to run because they are not known to chase you very far. So, my wife, being not one to be deterred from her goal, continues to walk in the same way she had been proceeding, past the cow moose and her calf. And the moose? She relaxed, gathered her calf, and trotted off into the tundra.
These things do not always end so well.
This particular camp has a caretaker who lives in the camp year-round… by himself with his dog. I guess some people just cannot get enough of being alone. Granted, there are days when my wife would be delighted to sign me up for the job. Anyway this hunter, trapper, fisherman, loner relishes in the solitude and self-assurance that this life brings to him.
Some winters ago he headed out to check the thickness of the ice on the lake. He made a mistake and did not take his rifle with him. He was not far from his camp when he was attacked by a large black bear. The bear tore deep gashes into his arm, back, neck and head. In the midst of the attack, the caretaker’s dog came out of the bush and threw itself on the bear’s back. It bit the bear repeatedly until the bear was so distracted that it got off of the caretaker long enough for the caretaker to stumble his way back to his camp to get his rifle.
The caretaker shot once at the bear who took off into the bush.
The caretaker found his dog that was itself bitten and clawed with wide gashes of flesh.
The caretaker dressed his own wounds and those of his dog the best that he could, called on his satellite phone for a helicopter to airlift him and his dog to a hospital for treatment. The next day the helicopter arrived.
Several days later he and his dog were back in camp. The first thing he did was to go looking for the bear. He found it nearby in the bush. His single shot had killed the 350 pound bear.
As I sat contemplating the wilderness, I thought what a wondrous place this is. Of course, it’s not for everyone. But then jockeying a desk 11 months a year isn’t for everyone either.
That night it was quiet. I made my way to my bed for a few hours sleep, I could hear loons in the distance. I was certain that life was going on all around me that I just couldn’t hear or see. But, it was everywhere, and I could surely feel it.
Bill Gindlesperger is a central Pennsylvanian, Dickinson College graduate, Pennsylvania System Of Higher Education (PASSHE) Governor, former Shippensburg University Trustee, awarded numerous patents, as well as Founder and Chairman of eLynxx Solutions. eLynxx provides cloud-software for automated sourcing and managing of mail marketing, swag, packaging, and all things print. He is a board member, campaign advisor, successful entrepreneur, published author and commentator. He can be reached at [email protected].
