Friday, June 22, 2007

Civilization?....



We had a lovely extended weekend north of the border at my friend Bryan's camp. Its a tidy and efficient camp in an exquisitely beautiful location, with a view of Isle Royale and some spectacular examples of the Canadian Shield geology. It has everything you need except for electricity, running water, flush toilets, or cellular coverage. In other words its absolutely perfect! I have several friends who would find this intolerable but many more who feel as the VOR and I do. We both grew up spending time at deer camps with wood stoves and kerosene lights. The newer more modern camps usually feature propane Humphrey lights, propane stoves, and even composting toilets but still retain that uncivilized ambiance. At our camp in northern Wisconsin we don't even drive the cars into the cabin area and electronics are banned except for music. We do have a 6" black and white battery operated TV which is only allowed to be turned on for Packer games and the World Series. I recall that the emotions displayed in the picture below are disgust and not exhilaration at our Packers.


The weather was very flexible. It was sunny and rainy, clear and foggy as hell, calm and windy, and warm and cold; all on Monday! We paddled to the famous Hole in the Wall on Pigeon Point and then up the Pigeon River which forms the boundary between the US and Canada. The VOR was a bit uneasy since she was using a Greenland stick for the first extended paddle (she may be coming over to the dark side!) and the waves at Pigeon Point were impressive to say the least.

We also stopped at Grand Marais on both the way up and the way back. Did I mention that a friend was making a SOF boat?? More on that later. It was a fine weekend and I find there is nothing that clears the brain better than being away from what we commonly refer to as 'civilization'.