I took a road trip “Upta Camp” this weekend to do some chores and relaxation. That’s why I was late on Sunday’s Moose Dropping’s blog. Good friend Jim and I took the four plus hour drive up to the North Country and the deep woods. We knew that there was a lot of work that had been neglected this year, so it was time to catch up.
After the long ride we finally reached the logging road that brings us into camp. It is six and a half miles long. They did some logging in the woods last year, and the first six miles of the road was still in good shape. When we got to the last half mile of the main road that brings us into camp, we had a problem. The culvert, that allows the runoff of water from the hill to travel under the dirt road, had washed out. There was no way we could continue the drive until we had fixed it. The camp is truly one of the last of a few camps in the deep woods.
Was this a sign of what to expect? A few years earlier, there was a micro burst that went through that same stretch of road and it took us hours to cut the timber and clear the road. The thought now was of downed trees that may have to be cleared out after the culvert repair. It was now weighing heavy on our minds as we finished up and started the drive in to camp. As it turned out, there were no tree’s that had fallen and the last half mile of the ride was slow and easy.
When we pulled up to the camp, the place looked it like it had been abandoned a long time ago. There was a lot of tall grass that needed to be cut. This was the first trip we had made up North all year and knew that there would be some work involved. As the door was unlocked, we held our breath. The inside of the camp was in very good shape. The new metal roof that we put on last year had done the job. No birds of the woods had flown through the windows. No creatures had found a new home. What a relief, check off one detail that required no further attention.
Later, a friend and fellow camper who also has a camp a few miles away came by to offer some help. Ramie is always there, to spin a yarn and sip a cold one. He told us about a pool of native brook trout that he had found in the woods that morning that had never seen a fisherman before. Ramie and his wife April had just fished it with great success. He also told us that there was a black bear just down the path that he watched eating wild raspberries. Yes the adventures and tales from camp.
When we were cutting the grass and weeds from the back side of camp, that’s when we found a problem. There has been a porcupine that has been eating away at the back wall. It did not go all the way through into the camp, but it did cause some significant damage. Major future repairs are in order. We will have to put some tin metal over the wood from the ground up to prevent any more porcupine problems.
When we finished all of the work that could be done on this trip is was time to relax and tell some tales. There were also a couple of cold ones that were iced down and ready for this time of the day. We stayed up till about midnight and then Raymie headed back to his camp. Jim had gone to bed a little earlier so I just sat there on the porch for a little while to enjoy the sounds from the owls that were calling each other in the darkness. About thirty minutes later I headed for the bunk and a good night’s sleep.
By one o’clock, I was just starting to fall asleep when the noise brought me to full attention. There was a porcupine outside eating on the camp wall again. I woke Jim up and told him what was going on. He listened and when he heard the teeth gnawing on our wall, he said we should go ask that porcupine to stop eating the camp wall and go away for good. We grabbed a flashlight and went out back and there he was. After some discussion, he did in fact leave for good.
After the long ride we finally reached the logging road that brings us into camp. It is six and a half miles long. They did some logging in the woods last year, and the first six miles of the road was still in good shape. When we got to the last half mile of the main road that brings us into camp, we had a problem. The culvert, that allows the runoff of water from the hill to travel under the dirt road, had washed out. There was no way we could continue the drive until we had fixed it. The camp is truly one of the last of a few camps in the deep woods.
Was this a sign of what to expect? A few years earlier, there was a micro burst that went through that same stretch of road and it took us hours to cut the timber and clear the road. The thought now was of downed trees that may have to be cleared out after the culvert repair. It was now weighing heavy on our minds as we finished up and started the drive in to camp. As it turned out, there were no tree’s that had fallen and the last half mile of the ride was slow and easy.
When we pulled up to the camp, the place looked it like it had been abandoned a long time ago. There was a lot of tall grass that needed to be cut. This was the first trip we had made up North all year and knew that there would be some work involved. As the door was unlocked, we held our breath. The inside of the camp was in very good shape. The new metal roof that we put on last year had done the job. No birds of the woods had flown through the windows. No creatures had found a new home. What a relief, check off one detail that required no further attention.
Later, a friend and fellow camper who also has a camp a few miles away came by to offer some help. Ramie is always there, to spin a yarn and sip a cold one. He told us about a pool of native brook trout that he had found in the woods that morning that had never seen a fisherman before. Ramie and his wife April had just fished it with great success. He also told us that there was a black bear just down the path that he watched eating wild raspberries. Yes the adventures and tales from camp.
When we were cutting the grass and weeds from the back side of camp, that’s when we found a problem. There has been a porcupine that has been eating away at the back wall. It did not go all the way through into the camp, but it did cause some significant damage. Major future repairs are in order. We will have to put some tin metal over the wood from the ground up to prevent any more porcupine problems.
When we finished all of the work that could be done on this trip is was time to relax and tell some tales. There were also a couple of cold ones that were iced down and ready for this time of the day. We stayed up till about midnight and then Raymie headed back to his camp. Jim had gone to bed a little earlier so I just sat there on the porch for a little while to enjoy the sounds from the owls that were calling each other in the darkness. About thirty minutes later I headed for the bunk and a good night’s sleep.
By one o’clock, I was just starting to fall asleep when the noise brought me to full attention. There was a porcupine outside eating on the camp wall again. I woke Jim up and told him what was going on. He listened and when he heard the teeth gnawing on our wall, he said we should go ask that porcupine to stop eating the camp wall and go away for good. We grabbed a flashlight and went out back and there he was. After some discussion, he did in fact leave for good.
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