Heading North "THE BLOG"

Post by **Tomcat** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 3:05 pm

McQ wrote: Sure would love to know why the air all of a sudden. There are no leaks and the 3 linked overhead barrels are 1/2 full about 50 gallons.

Just a crazy question. How did you ascertain that the three linked overhead barrels had water in them and not just ice?

Post by **McQ** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 4:10 pm

The three 30 gal barrels are in a frame in the bathroom and can be raised slightly, when I lift them I can test the weight and hear the water movement.

Post by ns » Sun Feb 22, 2009 4:54 pm

I did receive them thanks a lot. I have never seen anything like them before and am looking forward to trying them out in the spring. Is the return address on the packaging good to get you a package? If all goes well this summer I am going to try for a return trip.

Post by **McQ** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:16 pm

Mike, the address is good for a return. I plan to be here through the whole month of August, it would be great to see you and your wife again.

Post by **Joisey Joe** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:37 pm

Q, there is nothing I would like to do more, what's Quebec City like in august? WE've been thinking about goin for a few years now maybe this year. Do you have any info on your area? Joe.

Post by **McQ** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 10:26 am

Day 11 - Artic winds from the North, -20 with a wind chill of -35. Was up early and after shoveling the paths, bringing in another load of wood and starting the generator I'm sitting at the puter thawing out. Boomer' having a nap after his two hours of trail busting, put the run on old Red again this morning - no contest - I swear that wily fox turned and smiled at him a couple of times.

Joe, go to the Quebec Tourism website http://bonjourquebec.com select the English menu and do a bit of surfing - anything and everything about travelling to and through the Province and regions is covered. From personal experience August is a great time to visit Quebec City - the old walled city is a great walking tour and the restaurants & cafes offer up some of the best cuisine in the world. Do try to get up here for a few days of fishing, I promise the extra effort will be rewarded.

You can get a taste of the Gouin here - http://www.nemio.com

See y'all tomorrow

Post by **wolfe** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:39 am

McQ wrote:Boomer' having a nap after his two hours of trail busting, put the run on old Red again this morning - no contest - I swear that wily fox turned and smiled at him a couple of times.

Ol' Renard is toying with poor Boomer. I imagine like most dogs, though, he remains an eternal optimist and believes, "YES, I CAN CATCH HIM!"

You will both come out of this trip well conditioned.

Lake effect snow & wind here today. When I grumble about it, I'll try to remember the kind of extremes you've got in your corner of the world waaay up there.

Take care, McQ.

W.

Post by ns » Mon Feb 23, 2009 1:10 pm

You must have a lot of snow and ice up there now. Down here we get lots of snow but then we get a day of rain. It is not unusaul to have a 20/25 degree temp. change in a 8 hour period. I bet I have close to 1 foot of ice builup at the end of my driveway.

Post by **cprince** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 7:38 pm

Gotta say McQ... I am green with envy. No two ways about it. I would trade it all in for that life. I have no regrets... I have three little girls and a lovely wife... but I would love to do that seclusion thing. I go camping and fishing on my own a lot in the late fall... not only for about 5 or 6 days.

You have put me in mind of that guy I have seen a bunch of times on PBS... that guy who is one of the few people on earth I would call a "real man"; Dick Proenneke. For those of you who may not know who he is; here is the blurb about him on the web site that sells his story on DVD;

"Dick Proenneke retired at age 50 in 1967 and decided to build his own cabin on the shore of Twin Lakes. The first summer he scouted for the best cabin site, and cut and peeled the logs he would need for his cabin. Dick Proenneke returned the next summer to finish the cabin where he lived for over 30 years. Dick filmed his adventures, and Bob Swerer later turned the film into a video so we can all watch this amazing man build his cabin by hand." ( http://www.dickproenneke.com/ )

By far, one of my favorite films of all time.

You are living the adventure McQ. The real McCoy. My hat is off to you!!

With respect and awe,

Craig

Post by **Joisey Joe** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 8:37 pm

Thanks Q I'll check it out, good chance for the wife and daughter to brush up on their french! Me, I'll just nod and smile! LOL

Post by **Mossman** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:51 pm

Re: Dick Proenneke

There's 9 min clip on youtube for anyone that wants a taste:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYJKd0rkKss

Post by **HereMyGo** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 9:07 am

I must also say I am a bit envious.

I am very curious about the logistics of an operation like this so maybe you could throw some numbers my way.

For instance.

1) From your notes it seems the cabin is way off the grid and uses a generator. Am curious how often the generator runs, how big it would be, what you have plugged into it and how you handle the fuel for it?

2) Every day you go and stockpile the wood, how much wood would you consume in a day?

3) What is the waste system like, would it even be a septic tank?

Again, I am completely envious of people that actually do this. I probably could handle it, but I've become so involved with my computer's and equipment that I just don't know how long i'd be able to last!

Post by **Dan Smyth** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 10:07 am

By some of the comments I've seen here Bill, some think you are living in a cave burning tallow candles and cooking on a stick.

They need to visit the place to understand just how good a set-up Ron and Rosie have up there.

I know from experience that some of Ron's "home made systems"can be troublesome to say the least but overall it is a little piece of heaven.

I highly recommend to anyone with the opportunity to visit this camp to do so as it is pristine country a virtually untapped fishery and really warm and hospitable hosts.

And Rosie makes a really wonderful blueberry pie!!!

Post by **McQ** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 10:20 am

Day 12 - Near disaster overnight, fierce continuous winds and a close near miss with the fire. I'm burning wood from the edge of the shed so it's a bit wet still, requiring an accelerated draft to burn well. My internal alarm clock failed me and the fire was almost out when i woke at 4:00AM, took a couple of hours of nursing a meager flame to get the coal bed built up to a point where it would burn the wood easily. Life in the bush LOL!!!

Morning temp was -30 on the thermometer and I guestimate the wind chill made it more like - 45. The difference as compared to yesterday where Boomer I managed to work and play a bit for 2 hours was dramatic, after 20 minutes I was done - got the load of wood in and it took near an hour to get my body temp back to normal. Started the generator after that and even it was a bit balky to start, I'm sure that even though I bring it inside every night that the fire issue lowered the temps where it rests.

HereMyGo - Nemio is an outfitter with a complex of cabins and service buildings. Ronnie & Rosie the operators live here year round, I come up a couple of times through the winter so they can get a break or attend shows. They are tremendously resouceful and have built this deal up over the last 5 years, of course with help but they are the true heroes of this blog.

With regards to your questions, I'm burning on average 30 pieces of birch a day (about 100 lbs). Birch is the only near hardwood that grows up here, not the best for heat but does the job.

The generator is a 1700 watt inverter made by Suzuki, fuel consumption runs about 8 liters a day. Normally there is sufficient fuel remaining from summer operations to look after the winter needs too but ran low so a 45 gal drum was sledded in from the Rez, about 25 KM. Normal daily operating time is 12 - 13 hours and maintains sufficient energy to run a fridge, satellite requirements for TV and internet access including VOIP phone service, two battery chargers and a couple of lamps. There is also a 5000 watt for backup, it burns twice as much fuel so only is used in emergency situations. The summer season is handled with 2 - 15,000 diesel monsters.

Waste is handled with a septic system (provincial law).

Drinking water also comes in by sled 40 gallons a trip, my consumption including 2 cats and Boomer runs about 1 1/2 gallons a day.

Grey water for wash up & shower comes from the lake - which I can't replenish (no sled), so I have a barrel that I top up with melted snow.

All in all a neat little operation and I thoughoughly enjoy my winter time up here.

Joe - I've been nodding and smiling for 30 years.

Thanks to all of you for your participation, it's nice to know people care and are interested in something out of the norm.

Post by **Scum Frog** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:40 am

McQ - keep up with the posts...I look forward to reading them!