Thursday: Jan. 24th. '08. The thermometer on my deck this morning indicated -18°C when I got up at 06:00. Oh Man!! Driving up the Trout Creek road it got colder and colder! Just before we came out of the canyon shadow, Mark's truck said it was -26°C! (-12°F). At Link Lake, at dawn it had warmed up a bit, to only -20°C. We fished til 12:30 and only saw 3 fish all morning. Didn't even get a bite. It was/is still -8 at Link when we left and when we got back down here. F-E-K-K! Cold.

Those are the coldest temps I've seen in the Okanagan, since we moved here 20 years ago.


http://www.theweathernetwork.com/index.php?product=weather&placecode=cabc0282

It’s a small world and a long time ago, Hello,

When people say it’s a small world they’re not kidding.  Let me explain.

A while back I was browsing the day’s news on the Internet and ran across a story on Yellowlnife.  This was particularly interesting to me because many years ago, during the summer of 1967, I traveled from Minneapolis, MN to YK with my uncle.  Our ultimate destination was Arctic Star Lodge where we planned to do a bit of fishing.   After grabbing some lunch and taking a few pictures in town we boarded a de Havilland Twin Otter for a short flight to the lodge.  I’ll never forget that flight because at the time I pretty much ate, breathed and slept airplanes and flying (I was 18 years old).  This was my first flight in a sea plane and the fact that it was Twin Otter made it even more exciting.  I remember sitting in the plane as people were coming aboard when I noticed a fellow who looked like he hadn’t shaven in a few days, wearing old blue jeans and a rather tattered shirt come on board.  Most of the people on the plane were obviously business types, in spite of the fact that they tried to dress like outdoorsmen, so this guy stood out.  He was the real deal.  He kept coming in to the plane and then going back out again.  This went on for quite a while and I thought maybe he was a mechanic, or a baggage handler.   In any case I was anxious for the adventure to begin and to get into the air.  The only thing that was missing was the pilot.  A few more minutes passed and the gentleman returned once again.  This time however, the door closed behind him as he continued up to the cockpit, took the left seat and began the start sequence on the two Pratt & Whitney’s!  He didn’t look like any commercial pilot I’d ever seen!  This was going to be fun!

We arrived at the camp without incident, got situated and then went to the main lodge where my uncle met and talked with the other guests.  My uncle (and my father who was seriously ill at the time) were both small investors in the lodge and had made several trips to the area in the past and knew several of the repeat guests.  I can’t remember any more, it’s been so long ago, but I think they became aware of the lodge and Bud Williams from a common friend who was a sports writer out of Minneapolis. 

I remember that first night there was some problem with the power generators and Bud came by to see if my uncle could give them a hand in fixing it.   My uncle, Sam H. along with my father Louis, owned an electronics business in Minneapolis.  I guess Bud thought that his electronics knowledge might be of value.  I don’t remember what the out come was, but I know we had power, so they must have gotten it fixed.

The next day we headed out on the lake with our guide with great expectations.  Unfortunately, the fish had other ideas.  We had some luck, enough for lunch, but not much else.  In any case it was great fun.  After we got back, uncle Sam and I did some hiking and looked around some old mining camps.

That afternoon, and here is where the world gets very small, my uncle decided that we might have better luck elsewhere.  Elsewhere turned out to be Thelon.  In your blog, for July 23, 2005 you wrote the following:

 “One summer, during one week of slow fishing around the lodge, I was lucky enough, to be guiding a couple of well healed guests. This wasn't always the case, we had a lot of guests who had blown their annual vacation budget on a basic trip to Arctic Star. Anyway, that week my guys became a bit bored by the slow local fishing and decided to try a fly out trip. Fly outs, cost extra and were expensive and we didn't get one often. I was excited by the idea, my guests chosen destination was the Thelon River. “

Well, I suspect that we were the two “well healed guest” you wrote about!  I’m not too sure about the “well healed” part, but we certainly were guests J  I remember that trip well.  For one thing I got to fly in another sea plane and the fact that it was a single engine made it even better!  I also remember that the pilot had trouble breaking the surface tension of the calm water and after several attempts at take off, decided there was some problem that needed correcting.  I seem to recall that Sam told me there was some issue with the quality of the fuel, even though, looking back, I doubt that was the cause.   Most likely if it was a fuel issue, it was that we were carrying too much, but in any case we ultimately got under way. 

I remember flying to Thelon thinking that if anything went wrong with the Beaver, we were in serious trouble.  All I could see looking out the window was rock and water and not much in the way of emergency landing sites.  When we landed and got out of the plane, I remember the white sand beach that separated the lake and the river.  I also remember the mosquitoes;  I don’t remember any fish, just the damn mosquitoes!  Tired of not catching anything except mosquito bites, I wondered along the beach by myself and was struck by the pristine beauty.  I also remember that lone caribou walking the beach and was amazed that he didn’t seem frightened.  Even though I recall being by myself, reading your story makes me wonder if you and I might have been together at the time.

I also remember that the pilot took off and left us there for a while.  If I recall correctly, he had gone off to photograph some abandoned Eskimo villages.  I kept thinking to myself, that if something happened to him and he didn’t return, we were in serious trouble!  Thelon was so remote that it made me both excited and at times apprehensive.  I remember feeling relieved I heard the sound of the returning aircraft in the distance.  I don’t remember too much about the return flight, but I do remember having the time of my life. 

That was 40 years ago and to this day I’ve never experienced a better vacation.  I often wondered what ever happened to the lodge (I guess it burned under somewhat suspicious circumstances)  and the people that I met there.  Finding your blog was like finding a time machine.  It’s really strange when you think of the millions of blogs on the Internet, that I would run across yours.  It truly is a small world!

 After he retired, Sam spent many of his vacations at Tropic Star and the area surrounding it.  He is now 94 years old and still lives in Minneapolis.  I am recently retired after working for 35 years in communications engineering and live in Chicago.  Oh, by the way, I did eventually get a pilots license including an endorsement for hot air balloons – I still love to fly!

Keep up the blog it’s great reading.

 

Take care,

 

Joel.

Morton Grove, IL