THE LAND NORTH OF SUPERIOR

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Once in the bush and you find yourself short it’s a good man, or woman, who can up with the solution.  It takes a better one to make a permanent fix to the problem once home.  There are few service stations or repair shops in the once you get in the land north of Superior.<o:p></o:p>

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We had been coming to this lake for some years now.  The pickeral fishing was good, the spot was small and the dogs could run loose at most times.  There was a problem with this perfect place though.  A south or southeast wind meant that your boat sank on shore.  Or if you were like us that day�? you didn’t launch your boat.   One wave would fill it full of water.  Our boat sat on the trailer for 2 days.<o:p></o:p>

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Major and Missy loved it.   They would go tearing off into the lake and come racing back out as a wave chased them.  Chasing a stick the two dogs would at times disappear between waves, then once back on shore it was share water time.  It just didn’t pay to wear good clothes with one dog on each side shaking their coats of water.  I learned quickly to leave my cigarette package on the cook table under the tarp.  That first night it was too windy even to have a campfire.  My dear wife, who is the original campfire girl, understood.<o:p></o:p>

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The next morning still had the same wind blowing.  After coffee found us in the truck headed to a slash pile of tops left from a chipping operation a couple years before.  These tops were perfect for the campfire.  All the branches had been cleaned off and the thick end was just under four inches.  All we had to do was load a bunch of these tops into the truck.  This pile was within throwing distance of the road, as many were, and the truck quickly converted into a log hauler.  Back at camp I fired up my old power saw and cut them to fire log length.  There was little splitting required, only a few had to be chopped for kindling.  It sure saved a lot of work.<o:p></o:p>

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That night the winds died down just before dusk.  A campfire was quickly built and a cheery blaze soon had smokies cooking over open flames.  Hot dog buns, chopped onions, mustard and ketchup and the smokies were quickly devoured.  Of course Missy and Major somehow managed to get the heels of each bun.  With sixties rock playing quietly and a couple of mugs of arthritis medicine the time passed quickly.  After dumping three of our five gallon fire pails on the embers we were off to bed.<o:p></o:p>

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Just two cups of coffee were all I was allowed in the morning.  I was out backing the boat trailer into the water to launch the boat early.  We wanted to catch a few pickeral for supper that night.  Once the boat was afloat I jumped back into the truck and parked trailer and truck out of the way in case some day trippers wanted to put in.  As I came back to the boat I was informed that it was sinking!  I reached for my pocket but remembered I HAD put the drain plug in, not like a few trips back.  I waded out to the boat and sure enough a thin plume of water arched up from the back end.<o:p></o:p>

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We dragged the boat as high up as we could with the water already in the boat.  Upon closer inspection I saw where the leak was.  Two summers before we had had a rivet come out on one of the rear ribs.  I had used a sheet metal screw to fill the hole and since it had sealed so well I had forgotten to put a rivet back in.  The screw had fallen out.  A quick search of my odds n ends box showed no more of those sheet metal screws.  But I found a short 3/16�?cap screw and a nut in the same fine thread.  Further pawing about in the box produced two seal washer sheet metal screws.  Removing the sheet metal screw from the washer and rubber seal I found that the 3/16�?fine thread cap screw fit in the hole.  Quickly I got the other washer combination free.  Ten minutes later we were busy bailing the boat out.<o:p></o:p>

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We ate pickeral that night.  The seal had worked to perfection.  I wrote myself a note to replace that cap screw once I got home.  Here it is a year later and I still haven’t fixed the hole.  But I do have more of the pieces needed to temporarily do a repair.<o:p></o:p>

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Once you leave civilization and the pavement behind you �?you are on your own.  Either you have what it takes to repair, even well kept up equipment, or you end up driving a long way before you fish or hunt.  Once in the land north of Superior be ready for problems…even those you should have already fixed.<o:p></o:p>