I awoke to the aggravating sounds of raindrops hitting the top of the tent.  I couldn’t believe that it was raining again, given the beautiful day that we had enjoyed a mere 24 hours earlier.  Hopefully the rain would stop long enough for us to get everything ready for our return home.

With the warm temperatures holding steady overnight, there was no need to build or rely on a fire to keep warm.  As a result, I was able to get a sufficient amount of sleep for the first time in two weeks.  Since we would be repacking all of our gear this morning and tearing down camp, the short-lived R&R was greatly appreciated. 

After a quick breakfast, we dressed in our rain suits and proceeded to disassemble the cook tent.  We then removed the boats from the lake.  Once the cook tent was down and the boats secured on dry land, we moved on to the sleeping quarters and began dismantling them.  We were moving swiftly and making good progress.  Our pilot was scheduled to return around noon, leaving us only two more hours to finish the job before the Otter would land to transport all of us and our gear back to the float plane base in Bissett.     

Around 11:30 a.m. we heard the distant whirr of the float plane nearing our location.  Due to the weather conditions, the pilot circled the area a few times to test the wind before landing.  The rain was coming in short bursts, just enough to cause a nuisance, but not bad enough to drench our gear or our spirits.  After landing, Jonathan, the pilot, began loading the Otter with our gear while we finished tidying up the area. 

The past two weeks suddenly became a blur.  It felt like the plane had just dropped us off, not the other way around.  I wasn’t ready to go home just yet, but there was no choice in the matter.  Earlier in the week, Monty and I discussed the possibility of the two of us staying a few extra days so that I could continue hunting, but with both of us having commitments and responsibilities back home we just couldn’t fit it into our schedules.  We were bummed out to say the least, but we took consolation in knowing that August was only a few months away and that we would be back for more bear hunting fun in less than 90 days. 

Basically, you are on your own to survive.  The weather will test you.  The isolation will test you.  The lack of outside connection will test you.  However, these are not to be considered bad things by any means.  You definitely learn more about yourself as a person and what you’re made of in that type of setting. 

With no outside-world influence to fog my senses, it was refreshing to escape the mindless entrapments of modern-day society and the latest installment of reality-based television for a moment.  After all, we were acting out our own version of Survivor, minus the backstabbing, the outlandish reward challenges and tribal counsels.  No one was going to be voted off of our “island.”  We had to work together in order to subsist on the food that we flew in with us and the fish that we caught.  It was an enlightening experience, one that I would highly recommend to those who thrive on the challenges of living in a pure, unspoiled environment and witnessing nature at its best. 

The sights and sounds of the Canadian wilderness have to be seen and heard firsthand.  Words alone cannot describe the sensation of listening to loons wail at night or the spine-tingling jolt of a big pike slamming your lure while fishing on a secluded, crystal-clear lake in the middle of nowhere, and it doesn’t end there.

Ruffed grouse drum all-day love songs to their feathered sweethearts; wolves howl at the moon in the middle of the night, and the echoed shrieks of bald eagles fill the air as they dive-bomb the water for another perch dinner.  It’s simply amazing.  For me, shooting a bear on this trip would have been a wonderful, icing-like addition to my experience, but I was already busily enjoying the cake.  The memories I acquired on this trip are certain to last a lifetime. 

Summary:

A special thank you goes out to Monty McKenzie and his crew, Nolan and Candis Blian, Tim Haveman and Kara Thompson.  Monty is an extremely conscientious outfitter with an equally reliable crew who tend to your every need while in camp, whether that need is big or small.  Furthermore, Monty respects and admires the animals that he and his clients pursue.  We were all shown an example of his dedication and commitment as a devoted outfitter by his “never quit” attitude in trying to recover Jim’s bear.  He works extremely hard and goes the extra mile to see that his bait sites are full of bait and active. 

Under normal weather conditions, there is no doubt in my mind that all of us would have seen quality bears.  However, this time around, the weather played a huge and insurmountable role in the outcome of our hunt.  The temperatures simply hadn’t warmed enough for the bears to be out of their dens for any length of time.  In fact, I honestly believe that most of the bears were still holed up waiting for spring to return to the area.  The scenario was just too difficult to overcome in the timeframe we had at our disposal.  No matter how hard Monty or any of us tried, it just wasn’t meant to be, and we all knew it. 

Now it’s just a matter of counting down the days until I can make a return visit this August to try my luck at bowhunting backcountry bruins in Manitoba with McKenzie Outfitters once again.