For nearly six and a half months, Monty McKenzie, owner of Manitoba-based McKenzie Outfitters, and I discussed the hunting opportunities that his operation offered to helplessly addicted bear hunting junkies like me. After speaking with several of his references and seeing photo after photo of the trophy-sized bears that his clients were consistently tagging, I quickly made arrangements to hunt during the first two weeks of his 2008 spring bear season.
As the winter months passed, Monty and I kept in close contact with each other nearly every week, whether it was by telephone or via E mail. However, it was during one of our numerous telephone conversations that I sensed something wasn’t quite right. Monty seemed uneasy about something and I could hear it in his voice.
“Steve, I’m a little worried about the weather. Spring is coming in very late this year. In fact, most of the lakes are still covered in ice, including the lakes that harbor both of my bear camps,” he said.
“Well, do you think the ice will be gone by the time that we get there,” I questioned.
“I’m not certain. Normally, the ice has melted off by the middle of April, and now it’s nearly May. I’ve never had to deal with this before; it’s really starting to concern me.”
“Me too,” I added.
With those questions and concerns looming in our minds, we hung up the phone and spent the next few weeks closely watching the weather report for east-central Manitoba. As the weeks passed, the weather report did not look promising. It was predicting below-normal temperatures for the majority of our hunt. |
