The Ramblings Of A Camp Cook

So there we have the statistics on the bears. All four hunters sighted
bears and three tagged out under three hours on stand. However, everyone
went home with much much more. Memories and new friendships that will
surely last a lifetime. They have all booked hunts in 2009.

They were a wonderful crew of fellows that loved to act the fool and have
a good time. Every evening laughter echoed clear across the lake. Local
friends and fellow hunters darkened the camp doorway and were quickly
welcomed inside as stories were retold over and over again. Tony was the
keeper of fires and kept the campstove and outside roasting firepit lit
and well fueled. Bruce, also a taxidermist, was a fun loving “kid at
heart” and was instantly chosen by our children as a playmate. He gave
them thrilling rides around the camp yard on the game cart while squeals
of delight filled the air. I had heard rumors that the big boys had took
turns in the cart as well. If I could only find those pictures! Doyle,
Trappers long distance best friend of many years, was a teller of funny
stories and kept us entertained with recounts of his nightmarish combats
against a red squirrel trying to share his bunk when the lights went out
at night. He feared it was gathering nuts for the harsh Canadian winter
ahead. He slept with a boat paddle the remainder of his stay…just in
case. He claimed our black bears, as big and menacing as they are, had
nothing on our savage predatory nut gathering squirrels.

Sam, the quiet one and as strong as a bear himself, suffered good hearted
teasing over his requirement to eat 6 times a day. We joked when Trapper
cooked up a “bacon burn” at a site for him, that Sam would take his bear
single-handedly and without weapon if it were to come in and try to take
that crispy bacon, as it sure did smell mighty fine. There is little
doubt in my mind that he could most certainly do just that.

As camp cook and guide wanna-be, I felt lucky to be involved as much as
traveling accommodations and cooking duties permitted. I was blessed to
experience the thrill of the hunts through them and I must thank Trapper
and our friends for including me in their quests for a bear. I hope to
join the guiding profession myself one day soon. Being true gentlemen of
the woods and beyond, I was treated to a fine dinner out at a nice
restaurant on their last evening here. The customary ritual of the
“signing of the guide’s hat” took place as they talked and joked well
into the night. All have decided to do full body mounts of their coveted
bear hides. They will be beautiful mounts prepared for them by Bruce
himself. All three hides were lush carpets of thick soft blue black fur.

The next morning was the hardest day of the hunt…the dreaded good byes.
They posed for group pictures and bittersweet farewells. Friends parted
ways with the knowledge that in a few years, they would hunt together
again. Presenting Sam with the infamous bear claw to keep until that
time, I believe something got in Trapper’s eye. This claw had spent the
previous two years in Doyle’s possession, as testament he would return to
put a “magnum burn” on a bear with his name on it.. Upon the harvest of
his trophy bear, Doyle returned it to Trapper. The bear claw was, and
still is, a token of the solemn pledge between hunter and guide. It now
will find its way back to Tennessee in the hand of another great hunter
with the anticipation of it coming full circle again in 2009. It is our
wish it will come to rest in Trapper’s pocket as Sam makes the journey
back and takes his first bear.

With silent amusement, I caught a glimpse of something as they pulled
away to embark on their long drive home to their waiting families in
Tennessee. One of them had written in large letters through the dusty
dirt of the large back window…NOVA SCOTIA BEAR HUNT 2007! The heavy
laden vehicle they had arrived in strained even more under the treasured
burden of the carefully processed trophies it now carried home. And I do
believe… I might have seen a little red squirrel, with a hungry look in
his eye, clinging to the bumper of that Suburban. Just hitching a ride
south for warmer weather and better foraging.

In closing, Trapper and I are proud to think that we were chosen by these
men to host their bear hunts and we thank them for the opportunity. A
passion for the outdoors had brought us together as hunter and outfitter
team. After spending a week in Mother Nature, we parted paths as kindred
spirits of the great outdoors …..knowing we still share the very same
starlit sky, no matter the many miles in between. Doyle, Bruce, Tony and
Sam will hunt the trails and ridges of our Nova Scotian wilderness again
in pursuit of the magnificent and elusive black bear…and the wild call
of the loons will welcome our friends back.

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