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Dive into a true story of adventure and survival. Follow the tracks of one man going deep into the the wild to build his simple cabin in the forested mountains of Cape Breton. Bears, moose, isolation and a harsh unforgiving wilderness frame the struggles and the joys of building a dream far from the conveniences of the modern world.
Get a glimpse into this exciting world in the excerpts below.
Chapter 1
“What then? This question kept haunting me and nothing made any sense, no job or occupation made any sense. I envisioned how my day looked into the future and one by one eliminated one field after another. What then?
In my mind, I tacked back and forth like a sailboat trying to round cape horn. Gradually and organically I began to see more clearly the path and stream bed forward for my life. Stick by stick the dam was finally bursting and the muddy dirty waters flowed free and were becoming clearer. I must seek freedom. Freedom from the landlords and petty bills, free from the dirtiness and noise of city life, freedom from all that was not of me yet society had put in me. Free to explore what it means to be human. It seemed as if the tides were starting to change and a new course around the cape might be possible.
The light from the sun deepened with gold as it drew closer to the magnificent young mountains across the straight. A soft warm breeze caressed my skin gently I began to see that I needed to find a piece of land. I needed a place of peace, beauty and truth where one had the liberty to engage with the deepest parts of oneself. Still unsure of what it meant or what new questions would arrive but at least now for the first time, I felt like I had a direction to head in and a deep calm centered my spirit. The sun shone on my closed eyelids and a deep red from the light sinking into them filled my mind with peace. I slowly opened my eyes and the sun brinkled off the water in the distance. A boat sailed silently out on the salt sea harnessing the same sweet wind that soothed my skin. The gold light deepened the shadows on the faces of the majestic mountains shaped by the myriad of creeks longing for the sea. Forever the sun seeks the horizon and as the fresh waters search the salt. I now had my own quest. I knew my quest was for land and for the liberty to learn from the unknown that lay before me.
Chapter 3
” I spent the next three days packing in all my tools and gear to base camp. I laboured under the heavyweight and the straps cut into my shoulders and my hips ached. The trees above had yet to unfurl the leaves upon their branches that reached up to the life-giving sun.
My first priority after hauling all my gear and setting up base camp was not to start my cabin but to fall the trees that would keep me warm in the coming winter. They had to be cut now so it would be dry enough to burn in the coming winter. This served a dual purpose for I needed wood to survive the winter but also I believe if one is to live well in the forest and are to maintain one’s sanity you must have access to the clear life-giving sun, sky and stars and not live under the damp shade of the big trees. I sharpened my felling axe.
The sharp edge of the axe glinted in the sunlight and I took a moment to think of my own death. If I slipped out here and wounded myself or a tree fell the wrong way there was no one checking up on me. It was game over. Falling trees is dangerous business littered with terms like widow-maker and fool killers. I found the technique of visualizing one could die if one was not careful actually made me much more cautious. I used this mental exercises many times also when alone on the slippery deck of the Westport where one tiny slip and plunge into the icy current would be the end for there was nobody around for miles. In the woods, like being on the ocean, a cocky or rushing man is a man in danger. I did not dwell on these thoughts morbidly but solemnly reminded myself of the dangers present when doing dangerous things in remote locations where there is no one coming to save you.”
Chapter 7
“I passed the big powerful flashlight to my left hand with the spear and kneeling down keeping my eyes locked on Bobo, quietly picked up a heavy log of golden birch with my empty hand. Bobo went back to snuffling and licking and knocked over some pots and pans. Despite a common myth, bears have amazing eyesight and their night vision is way superior to ours. He had seen me at close distance and did not care. This surprised me. He was bold.
I brought my golden missile to my lips and kissed it and said a prayer. Like a fencer, I stood naked but for my underwear with my spear and dark flashlight forward in my left hand and my whole right side of my body cocked back with the golden log behind my head in my right hand. All my innumerable hours as a boy chucking rocks from cliffs, bridges, cutting the devil’s throat, apple fights and rock fights had prepared me for this one moment in this remote valley before a hungry bear under the stars. It was time.
I pressed the big rubber button on the flashlight. A powerful beam of light shot from my hand. Bobo froze except for his dirt covered quivering snout then he turned his heavy neck and squared his head to me. His eyes reflected yellow. I pulled the trigger. Every ounce of energy I had was funnelled from my body into my golden log and with a snap. My golden missile flashed from my hand in quick rotation. The destiny for me and my wilderness mission hung in that microsecond before impact. If it was a good impact Bobo would associate searing pain with a few crumbs and it would not be worth his while. If it was a bad impact things could go wrong in many different ways.”
Chapter 9
” Autumn was the conductor of this delicate and beautiful orchestra. This magnificent visual symphony filled me with wonder. Flames of red began in the valley bottoms while the blaze of yellows and orange ignited the tops of the mountains. A fire without heat the conductor commanded play on. The fiery red maples were the string section the golden birch, the brass and the regal sugar maples the woodwinds. Together this symphony erupted across the broad-backed hills and the fertile valleys in such magnificence that it could be seen from space. Play on!! And the conductor waved his baton and the harmony reached the heavens and the trees tried to outdo each other. The red maples dominated the crescendos of red. The maples, the soaring oranges and the birch the ascension of regal yellow and gold. Together they melted in in a autumns grand overture and the clarion call of the season echoed off the hills. And on those days of speeding sun filled clouds, the flashing of shadow and sun across this magic landscape made my brain and heart gleam with flashes of beauty. The extravagance of nature leads us to a ovation. The leaves first turn colour then they fall as if exhausted from their efforts. The wild tumult of leaves began and the north wind sheared the pride of summer from the noble mountains.
The windows of my cabin took their rightful place and it made me glad. I would often find myself looking through the windows transfixed by the framed flaming hills reaching up to the blue sky. To get a broader view of the majesty on the evening I left the cabin for Delphi. My trail wound up from the valley bottom to the peak beneath the flaming trees. The evening was still and the yellow-orange and red leaves crunched loudly beneath my feet.”
