Caretaker Report - Week 1 "The Off-Season Begins"

March 3, 2011









Nine months, two people and a remote lodge set on the edge of the wild Pacific West Coast of Haida Gwaii.







Mike and I arrived a week ago to be the new caretakers of the lodge known as the “Outpost”. It is one of 3 owned by the West Coast Fishing Club. We have lived this lifestyle for the past two years so we are not totally naive about the choice we have made.

The OP is impressive in size as are the trees which soar as high as 80 ft and surround the lodge. We are nestled in the corner of a bay within sight of the calm Pacific Ocean, calm at least for today.







Arriving by helicopter was a blast! Brandon, our pilot, gave us a fantastic tour so we could see from a bird's eye view our new home.








Our first night but the beginning of shut down for the crew who have lived here for the last 3 months. They work from sun up to sun down and at Lat. N 53.41.04 Long. W 132.58.68 that is a long day!

If you've spent any time at the OP than you have played “Krud”. You need to have your wits about you. It's fast paced, noisy (the players) and sometimes confusing, that's why you need your wits, but it is a lot of fun.









Can't go wrong when everyone is being SO helpful and pointing out which ball to hit.










The first of the crew gets ready to head back to jobs, school and travel.

The weather reflects the mood of this group, who 3 months ago where total strangers and now leave as a close knit family.









All the boats that were here for the summer season now have to make the trip back to Masset where there are housed for the winter. Pierre and Brent get under way early for the 2 hour trip. This is the last boat and the last of the crew.


We are alone. This will be our 3rd season of caretaking yet the feeling today is different. We feel much more isolated than our last lodge. There will be no boats going by or float planes overhead daily heading to the native village. No radio chatter on the VHF which could be very entertaining, certainly no boat runs to the general store to pick up mail and hear the latest gossip.


We stand at the end of the docks and survey our surroundings. Such wilderness.

We look at one another and smile as we head up to the lodge to settle in to our new home.

We are alone.










Till next week,

Heather & Mike

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JOHN BAKER
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