Outpost Week 37 ~ What a Season It's Been!

Where to begin? How about at the start. It was 280 days ago that Mike and I flew into the Outpost for our 2^nd season as caretakers. Our eyes were open as to what to expect living in this remote isolated location, after all we are seasoned. How naive.

What I learned this year, and simply put....shit happens.

Who could have foretold that the furnace was going to break down only a week after the summer crew left, leaving us without heat or hot water. Who could have foreseen that the weather would play havoc with the barge's ability to make the voyage to the OP until March 5^th , a mere 5 months late. Can anyone predict how cold a winter will be? Who knew that it would plummet to -16C and turn our water tanks into a gigantic ice cube. Not having hot water is one thing but now no water at all! Did I mention that the washing machine bit the dust?

We persevered because that is a caretaker's nature. If you can't go with the flow than your in the wrong occupation. Looking on the bright side we spent numerous hours outdoors in the fantastic fall weather chopping wood for our nightly fire, and it was a blessing in disguise that the furnace did stop working for it saved us 100's of litres of diesel. As December approached and our Christmas plane was being scheduled, Ken, our boss, the manager of the OP and our 'go to' guy made sure that not only was the new part for the furnace going to be on that plane but a whole new motor just in case the fates had something else in store for us. With the furnace back in working order we kept our fingers crossed that the barge would make it down in December and filled the tank, cranked up the heat, had an extraordinary long HOT shower and had a very merry warm Christmas.

I can't say we were all that surprised to learn that the barge would not be making the December trip and don't hold your breath for one in January or February either. Hey it's totally understandable, I wouldn't want to be in a vessel coming down the west side of the island in the middle of winter either. No problem we reported back, if we conserve what diesel we have left we'll be fine, besides Ken sent the best Christmas present of all .....3 electric heaters.

With the new year came our new challenge. Somewhat ironic since now that the furnace was working we no longer could afford the fuel to run it. Life can be like that.

Heating up water on the stove – again – became second nature and bucket showers again....well I just can't find an upside to bucket showers. Our wood supply is long gone and everything is now so wet we just stick to our heaters and by stick I mean we each carry one around wherever we go in the lodge. We see the humorous side of the situation as we sit bundled up in comforters with our heaters strategically placed to get the maximum amount of heat blowing on you.

Just to mix things up a cold snap froze everything solid.....except for the runoff which amazingly continued to flow. Crawling under the crew shack and chipping away the ice so I could fill containers are some of my fondest memories from this past year. The bright side – it only lasted for 8 days and I did get some unusual pictures.

March 5^th is circled in red on my calendar. The barge arrives! In 4 short hours our 4 5000 L tanks were filled and life became a whole lot sweeter. Before the guys had even coiled up their hoses we had the furnace tank full and the furnace fired up. Time again for a long hot shower. I have since retired the bucket for other menial jobs.

The rest of the season flew by with several visits from Silver Dawn and her crew and a fresh produce run by Roger and Beau from the Clubhouse up in Langara in April.

It's been a year that will definitely linger in my mind and one that will make for great story telling. I can picture years from now Mike and I lounging somewhere tropical and you can be sure one of us will say, “Remember that season at the Outpost.....

This will not be the end of the story though for come mid August Mike and I will be taking that helicopter ride back in for another season.

See you in August,

Heather & Mike

The lure of the water beckons and it was only hours after their arrival that Ken and Jordan took to the sea to try their luck.

First catch of the season.

Happy 22^nd Birthday Andrew!

It's 'Northarm' barge with all the summer supplies, goodies, new equipment and toys.

The crew is fresh and ready for the day which will test their strength, endurance and ability to look on the bright side.

Team Work

Three hours and counting

Five hours and time to break for lunch.

 

Once again the weather throws a wrench into some well made plans. The plane that was suppose to arrive around 8am with 5 extra bodies to help with the unloading seems to be stuck in Prince Rupert due to fog. It's this plane that Mike and I will be flying out on so we are also scanning the skies and tuning our ears for the sound of engines. As so often happens we had just begun lunch we our ride arrived. We grab our coats, say a quick good-bye, give hugs and we're on our way.

There's no room on the heli pad for the plane to tie up so we go out in a boat to board.

Close quarters in the cockpit

Masset and our first view of civilization in 9 months.

Our last week at the Outpost provided some amazing evenings which I just wanted to share with you one last time.

Good night from the Outpost.

Outpost Week 36 ~ Six Days and Counting

Our last week (seems strange saying this) has finally arrived. Only 6 days now till Ken along with the summer crew fly in and make the “Outpost” their home for the next 3 months. The last couple of weeks I have leisurely cleaned out freezers, packed away some cookbooks and magazines, sorted through clothes...should they stay or should they go, made up beds for the incoming staff and just a general tidy up of basement and genny shed. Now that we're in the home stretch, I'll have to be kicking my pace into high gear. It's always a case of you don't want to do the cleaning to early cause you'll just have to redo and you don't want to pack all your 'stuff' away because you might need it but now it's time. I've got a list and have thoughtfully made one for Mike, of our game plan for the next 6 days.

But before I pack away my baking pans and become too busy I've been making a few of Mike's favourite sweets so once again here are those Chelsea buns. He never gets tired of having these for breakfast, afternoon tea or maybe even for dessert.

Although I am a big time cookie lover it's bread that I've been craving since we cut back on eating carbs for the last couple of months.

This past week was the one where we were going to go out fishing and hiking, maybe even get one of the kayaks into the water because the weatherman promised clear sunny skies and warm temperatures. He was wrong, imagine that. For the most part overcast skies and cool temperatures prevailed along with a steady wind of 25km mixed with bouts of rain.

I did say 'for the most part' and Monday was my day. It was still blowing like stink but one of the greatest things here is the sheltered back deck. We ventured out for coffee around 11am and for the rest of the day I followed the path of the sun as it kept moving across the deck. I know, I know....I am so pale!

Every bud has opened up to display their delicate beauty, short lived as it may be.

The winds which are still blowing, 3 days now, have the clouds scudding along to reveal some blue sky.

Till next week,
Heather & Mike

Outpost Week 35 ~ Sweet Signs of Spring

Clack clack clack!!! This is a sound I've heard repeatedly but it's always been associated with winter time weather. Can this sound I hear really be those frozen pellets raining down and striking the metal exhaust fan outside? This sound I hear has me looking outside to confirm with my eyes what my ears have heard. Hail! It's May 9^th , spring according to my calendar. Why is it hailing?

Within minutes the landscape is transformed, a scant layer of white sits atop new grass and budding leaves. I shake my head in disbelieve. I know it won't last, at least I hope it won't.... and it doesn't yet for the rest of the day squalls of hail past through at least once every hour.

Our chairs wait outside on the back deck in anticipation of the days to come when we can sit in the sun and enjoy our morning coffee.

If I had taken this picture in February it wouldn't have seemed out of place but being the second week of May, I just do not want to see fresh snow on the distance hills.

The weather may not be showing signs of spring but there is evidence that the season is changing. Tender buds are showing up on trees, the one and only flowering shrub has begun to display pods that will flower if the deer stop eating them and Sam is proudly sporting a bit of new growth himself, as his antlers have began to sprout.

Another sign of spring, for me, is the sorting and inventory of what is left food wise, and the cleaning of the freezers in preparation of the incoming summer crew. When it comes to the ordering of food for the 9 months that Mike and I are here it can be somewhat daunting but it looks like I have gotten it spot on this year. With only weeks, 2 to be exact left before we fly out the cupboard is bare and that's as it should be.

 

The curious cat.

Super moon Saturday came under cloudy skies so this year I didn't get up at 4 am to sit out on the front deck to capture a picture or two but Sunday morning did provide a super low tide.

 

One more sign of spring that only Mike and I would ever notice is that “Fat Cat” gets out and about more often. Throughout the cold months of winter she never ventures further than one pillow to the next but once she gets a whiff that spring is in the air we'll find her lounging on the back deck in the sun (when it does come out), waddling down the boardwalk or sitting in her most favourite spot beside the shovel.

No spectacular sunsets this week.

Till next week,
Heather & Mike

Outpost Week 34 - Memory Lane

In the 34 weeks we have been here this has been by far the most uneventful and for me the most unproductive. Last Tuesday when I foolishly picked something up the wrong way I figured a day or two and I'd be back on my daily 4 mile walk, that's 36 times around the boardwalk....I was wrong. While my tolerance for standing, although hunched over and walking, although slowly, was a bit longer and further each day the majority of my week was spent on the couch.

Thinking back to what I did accomplish (always feel I have to do something each day) were the tasks that always get put aside and now is the perfect opportunity to tackle them and it's something I can do from the comfort of the couch. What would that be....a clean up of all the stuff on my computer. A list of 'favourites' that no longer interest me, blogs that have fallen by the wayside and recipe sites that I realize only ever leave me feeling more confused that inspired, disappear. Sorting through email contacts had me writing a few letters to people I have lost touch with, while erasering others. Games I no longer play are eliminated right off the hard drive along with programs I will never use.

Movies and TV shows stored on external hard drives are either given a “thumbs up” or get expunged. The most time consuming and hardest job was to go through the hundreds of pictures I seem to have accumulated since Mike and I have become caretakers . A bag containing half a dozen memory sticks with photos going back to our previous position in Rivers Inlet, along with all this years pictures on my computer had me going down memory lane for several hours for several days. After viewing hundreds of images showing trees, mountains, water, deers, cats, squirrels, birds, rain, snow and yes even the odd days of sun it got easier to push that delete key. The first round was easy – delete delete delete, the second round is a little tougher and the third time has me looking at each picture more than just a few seconds trying to decide if it is worthy of taking up space. My organization fever has left me with one memory stick and 100GB of free space. For a week of doing nothing I feel quite good of all that I did accomplish.

Since I didn't get a single photo all week, I'll have to leave you with some of my favourites that I came across this week.

Till next week,
Heather & Mike