The Monster in the Trees (Chapter 1)
The Canadian wilderness is so vast that almost anything can hide in it and remain undetected.
I was getting ready for a week long fishing trip in northern Canada with my wife. All our luggage was packed and we were just about to leave for the lake which was a eight hour drive from our house. It was a cloudy August morning and the temperature was in the high teens which was normal for this time of year. My wife and I exited our property and began the long drive to our fishing destination. My wife's cellphone range just as we were leaving our driveway and the call ended my wife's vacation. There was extra work at the office that my wife had to take care of. We decided that I would go on the fishing trip alone and we would plan another trip together during Christmas vacation.
The drive up north to the lake was nothing special. Going from southern Canada to northern Canada is almost like going from one world to another. The southern part of my province is flat and covered with grain fields while the northern part is rocky and densely packed with spruce trees. For a first time traveler this could be quite the trip but for a regular it was just another trip. The towns along the road got more sparse the farther north you went. Eventually there would be hundreds of kilometers between small settlements that offered nothing more than gas and an overpriced grocery story.
When I reached the last town before my camping site I filled up on gas and some snacks to hold me over while I was fishing. The gas of course was twenty cents more a liter here than at the previous town that was seventy five kilometers south of my current point. The snacks were fair for the location and the store cashier was nice and wished me good luck. I left the town and drove the remaining hundred or so kilometers to my fishing camp site. The main lodge at the lake took my information and told me where my campsite was located. I also rented a boat from the lodge as I didn't have a boat and driving with a boat all this distance would of costed a small fortune.
My campsite consisted of a fifty by fifty foot area. There was a fire pit and a picnic table located at the site. I parked at the edge of my residence for the next week and unpacked my tent. It was a six person tent that had a porch for your shoes. It took ten minutes to set up. Seeing as my wife had left last minute I still had enough supplies for two people so if the weather got bad I would have enough blankets and supplies. After I had settled in for awhile I built a fire in the campsite fire place. I brought my camp chairs out of my vehicle and set them up even though I only needed one chair. The sun was going down fast so I decided to eat some hot dogs and roast some marshmallows before calling it a day.
The next morning I woke up bright and early the weather was sunny and there wasn't even a cloud in sight. I went to the dock and loaded my fishing gear into the boat I had rented. It was an old boat that consisted of nothing more than a bench and a hand controlled motor. This was fishing nothing between me and nature. The lake was fresh water and filled with walleye and northern pike waiting to be captured by me. Actually it was more a system of lakes connected by small waterways and littered with small rocky islands. I started up the old boat grabbed the steering bar and put the boat into gear. The lake water was pristine and almost crystal clear the boat disturbed the water with its movement. I drove around for fifteen minutes before stopping in the bay of a small island. I dropped my anchor and began to fish.
The first few casts netted a walleye and two pikes after this it was a long thirty minutes before another walleye took my hook. The weather was getting warmer and the fish wouldn't bite anymore so I pulled the anchor and drove to another island where I landed my boat on the beach and exited the craft. The island was probably four acres and heavily populated with trees. I felt a little uneasy exploring the island as I was alone. I stayed on the beach and made a little fire to fry one fish I had caught. I ate the fish and kept the left overs for bait. During my lunch I felt like I was being watched from the shore line of the mainland. I couldn't see anyone but I felt like there was someone hiding just behind the treeline.
Once I left the island I continued driving around the lake looking for more fishing spots. I found a nice little spot that was covered in the shade of the shore's trees. Again my first few casts netted some fish and I was happy with my catch for the day. I decided to explore the lake some more. I came across other fishermen quite often and we shared our fishing trophies and talked about the spots where we caught these fish. There was even a game warden driving around the lake checking limits and keeping the fishers in order. It was a beautiful day and I hadn't felt uneasy anymore and decided to explore some small islands.
I pulled up to a small island maybe one acre in size and explored it in full. The island was sparsely covered in trees and looked like it was well traveled. There was signs of previous fires and people everywhere. Old soda cans and chip bags littered the island and broken glass was everywhere. It was quite a shame that the beautiful island was tarnished by its previous explorers. After looking through the island I went back to my boat and in the distance seen someone standing on shore watching me almost hidden in the trees. They left once they noticed that I had seen them. I decided to call it a day and go back to my campsite.
The drive back to the dock was about an hour. The whole way back I thought about the guy watching me from shore was he watching me all day including when I was eating fish or just when I was leaving the second island. I was feeling paranoid somewhat as I was alone when my boat was parked and emptied I took my gear to my campsite. I went back to the fishing lodge and ate a steak with a beer. The lodge had a moose head in the middle of the wall with deer heads on either side of it. It was like an old lodge you would see in a movie or read about in a book. After I ate my steak I got some dessert and walked back to my tent.
The sun was about to set when I reached my campsite and I a built a fire and sat by it for awhile reading a novel I had bought the week before. My wife and I had both bough novels to read on our trip but I was alone so I had more time to reflect and read. The fire was warm and helps fend off the cool night air without realizing it I had read my book well into the night. I put my book down for the night and entered my tent. My air mattress had lost some air so I filled it up and opened up my sleeping bag and laid down for the night.
I was getting ready for a week long fishing trip in northern Canada with my wife. All our luggage was packed and we were just about to leave for the lake which was a eight hour drive from our house. It was a cloudy August morning and the temperature was in the high teens which was normal for this time of year. My wife and I exited our property and began the long drive to our fishing destination. My wife's cellphone range just as we were leaving our driveway and the call ended my wife's vacation. There was extra work at the office that my wife had to take care of. We decided that I would go on the fishing trip alone and we would plan another trip together during Christmas vacation.
The drive up north to the lake was nothing special. Going from southern Canada to northern Canada is almost like going from one world to another. The southern part of my province is flat and covered with grain fields while the northern part is rocky and densely packed with spruce trees. For a first time traveler this could be quite the trip but for a regular it was just another trip. The towns along the road got more sparse the farther north you went. Eventually there would be hundreds of kilometers between small settlements that offered nothing more than gas and an overpriced grocery story.
When I reached the last town before my camping site I filled up on gas and some snacks to hold me over while I was fishing. The gas of course was twenty cents more a liter here than at the previous town that was seventy five kilometers south of my current point. The snacks were fair for the location and the store cashier was nice and wished me good luck. I left the town and drove the remaining hundred or so kilometers to my fishing camp site. The main lodge at the lake took my information and told me where my campsite was located. I also rented a boat from the lodge as I didn't have a boat and driving with a boat all this distance would of costed a small fortune.
My campsite consisted of a fifty by fifty foot area. There was a fire pit and a picnic table located at the site. I parked at the edge of my residence for the next week and unpacked my tent. It was a six person tent that had a porch for your shoes. It took ten minutes to set up. Seeing as my wife had left last minute I still had enough supplies for two people so if the weather got bad I would have enough blankets and supplies. After I had settled in for awhile I built a fire in the campsite fire place. I brought my camp chairs out of my vehicle and set them up even though I only needed one chair. The sun was going down fast so I decided to eat some hot dogs and roast some marshmallows before calling it a day.
The next morning I woke up bright and early the weather was sunny and there wasn't even a cloud in sight. I went to the dock and loaded my fishing gear into the boat I had rented. It was an old boat that consisted of nothing more than a bench and a hand controlled motor. This was fishing nothing between me and nature. The lake was fresh water and filled with walleye and northern pike waiting to be captured by me. Actually it was more a system of lakes connected by small waterways and littered with small rocky islands. I started up the old boat grabbed the steering bar and put the boat into gear. The lake water was pristine and almost crystal clear the boat disturbed the water with its movement. I drove around for fifteen minutes before stopping in the bay of a small island. I dropped my anchor and began to fish.
The first few casts netted a walleye and two pikes after this it was a long thirty minutes before another walleye took my hook. The weather was getting warmer and the fish wouldn't bite anymore so I pulled the anchor and drove to another island where I landed my boat on the beach and exited the craft. The island was probably four acres and heavily populated with trees. I felt a little uneasy exploring the island as I was alone. I stayed on the beach and made a little fire to fry one fish I had caught. I ate the fish and kept the left overs for bait. During my lunch I felt like I was being watched from the shore line of the mainland. I couldn't see anyone but I felt like there was someone hiding just behind the treeline.
Once I left the island I continued driving around the lake looking for more fishing spots. I found a nice little spot that was covered in the shade of the shore's trees. Again my first few casts netted some fish and I was happy with my catch for the day. I decided to explore the lake some more. I came across other fishermen quite often and we shared our fishing trophies and talked about the spots where we caught these fish. There was even a game warden driving around the lake checking limits and keeping the fishers in order. It was a beautiful day and I hadn't felt uneasy anymore and decided to explore some small islands.
I pulled up to a small island maybe one acre in size and explored it in full. The island was sparsely covered in trees and looked like it was well traveled. There was signs of previous fires and people everywhere. Old soda cans and chip bags littered the island and broken glass was everywhere. It was quite a shame that the beautiful island was tarnished by its previous explorers. After looking through the island I went back to my boat and in the distance seen someone standing on shore watching me almost hidden in the trees. They left once they noticed that I had seen them. I decided to call it a day and go back to my campsite.
The drive back to the dock was about an hour. The whole way back I thought about the guy watching me from shore was he watching me all day including when I was eating fish or just when I was leaving the second island. I was feeling paranoid somewhat as I was alone when my boat was parked and emptied I took my gear to my campsite. I went back to the fishing lodge and ate a steak with a beer. The lodge had a moose head in the middle of the wall with deer heads on either side of it. It was like an old lodge you would see in a movie or read about in a book. After I ate my steak I got some dessert and walked back to my tent.
The sun was about to set when I reached my campsite and I a built a fire and sat by it for awhile reading a novel I had bought the week before. My wife and I had both bough novels to read on our trip but I was alone so I had more time to reflect and read. The fire was warm and helps fend off the cool night air without realizing it I had read my book well into the night. I put my book down for the night and entered my tent. My air mattress had lost some air so I filled it up and opened up my sleeping bag and laid down for the night.
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