ovl a hunt camp emerges feature article oct issue v1 230909

8/7/2019 OVL a Hunt Camp Emerges Feature Article Oct Issue V1 230909

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S t o r y a n d P h o t o s b y G w e n M c C a u l e y

A Hu Cm Erg Bob Freeman is a quiet,riendly guy whose passion or the outdoors

has led him to create an incredible retirement project or himsel and his son,Je. For two years now they have been spending everyspare moment on a 100-acre parcel o wooded land near Cobden

building an old-ashioned square timber log cabin,ondly knownas The Hunt Camp.

Hunt camps are nothing new or Bob. He grew upin a small valley in Nova Scotia on his amily’s

400 acre arm. He ondly remembers hiking the5 miles back into a lakeront hunt camp,exploringthe orests and helping his Dad and older brothers

hunt deer to supplement the amily’s oodsupplies or the winter. A couple o years back,Bob nally decided that it was unrealistic to try

to develop his inherited 100-acre plot in Nova Scotia so he sold it to ariend and went in search o something comparable in The Valley.

In the time that he’s owned the land he is currently developing,Bobhas clearly gotten to know it well. He tromped me down several trails

that snake around its gentle hills, beaverponds,streams and rockoutcroppings,pointing out landmarks and history. At one point this

land was used by a group o warrior adventurers. ‘Ninja’s’Bob callsthem and he took me to see the residue o their training camp: ropeshanging rom trees;crumbling platorms they’d used to practice drops& rolls and other paraphernalia dotting one corner o his sprawling

spread. But I digress.

It seems odd to me to call this little wooden palace a h

When I think o those,I think o the kinds o places mybrothers used to go to each all:musty smelling,small,ull o clutter,old beer bottles, a beaten up stove and a

guy-stu hanging rom the raters. Bob’s hunt camp isnot one o those places and I dou

will ever become that.

First o all, the basic construction

white cedar logs that Bob careuhis land and then squared on a phe hired locally. Ater the logs ha

a year,Bob then began constructHe chose his site careully,locatina broad knoll between two beav

the camp has some elevation,excellent drainage,a greboth ponds and yet eels private,being surrounded by o maples,pine,spruce,ash and alder. Bob is very prou

squaring jig he ound at Lee Valley Tools to aid his buildThe jig attaches to the blade o his chainsaw and has a

get a perect 90o cut across the squared logs that he nesolid,square walls or his camp.

I mentioned that Bob’s a quiet guy. But he’s also a very riendly sort and in the time that it took him to nd histhem,square them and begin the building process he’

with his neighbour Pat Kennedy. Now Pat is a characte

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story o his own, but or today,let’s ocus on the typical Ottawa Valley

neighbourliness he has displayed. As the walls o B ob’s camp startedto go up,it became obvious that there would come a time when itwould be both very dicult and dangerous to lit them into place

manually. A solution was needed and Pat came to the rescue with hisold 1947 Ford tractor. He used it with a orklit arrangement to lit

those 8”square white cedar logs 8-10 eet into the air and positionthem detly on top o the rising walls. Pat and his old tractor were agodsend that meant the basic shape o the camp came together both

saely and quickly.

Bob has used modern technology prudently to improve on age-old log

cabin building techniques. Between each layer o squared timbers,Bob has inserted a silicon membrane which increases insulation valuesignicantly and improves water tightness. He plans to use his hunt

camp as a our-season get-away so is awaiting the arrival o a localcontractor to blow oam under the subfooring,insulating the foorand sealing out warmth seeking critters i n one application.

Part o Bob’s un in building his camp has been discovering the arrayo local suppliers and contractors available in the area. He’s very

proud o the act that he’s used all local service companies rom hiring

the portable sawmill,to putting in windows and doors, insulation,

steel roong,and buying spruce planks or his fooring. Bob hasbeen impressed by the quality,responsiveness and great rates localcontractors oer. He’s also ound it very helpul that these olks have

taken the time to educate him on the processes involved in theirspecialty,leaving him a much more educated consumer or uture

projects he takes on.

My rst visit to the hunt camp was on a warm,sunny Sunday just ater

the spruce fooring had been delivered. The windows and doors hadbeen installed just days beore and piles o tongue-and-groove spruceboards dotted the foor o the 23’x 23’ cabin. Bob already knows

where the wood stove will be positioned,the bunk beds will be builtand which corner the kitchen will live in. Even though the camp willhave no electricity or running water,Bob already has already been

thinking about where he’ll place water barrels to capture rain wateror use in washing dishes,etc. And he has the details o a dry well allworked out so that the grey water will be dealt with eciently and

eectively. Sure is dierent rom my early years at my amily cottagewhere you simply took the dishpan o water outside and fung it intothe bush!

...story continueson page8

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I went back a week or so later or a second visit and was amazed

at all that had happened in such a short time. It is clear that whenBob and his son Je get busy,lots happens ast! The spruce planktongue and groove fooring had been cut and laid down. They are

now awaiting the arrival o more in order to complete the fooring job. Bob was trying to decide what shade o stain he’d use. He’d alsobegun the process o insulating the roo,using rigid oam bafes

to allow airfow near the sots. And he was outside up a stepladder when I arrived,caulking gun in hand, lling the jointsand cracks or extra protection against weather and insects.

Bob chuckled about the number o splinters he’d already picked

up rom running his ngers along the rough seams o the cabinwalls. He let me with a great tip that I’ll share with you: when your

ngers get all mucked up with caulking, use a baby wipe to cleanyoursel up. It cuts through the gunk quickly and moisturizes your

skin at the same time!

Our talk nally turned to hunting and the pleasure that Bob gets

rom being out in the woods when the days are crisp and the air i slled with that smokey aroma only late all brings. While there isan old deer blind high up in a huge pine tree at the back o his land,

Bob can’t imagine himsel climbing the 30-40 eet to get there. Norcan he imagine how uncomortable it would be to hunker down inthat tiny space or hours on end,waiting or deer to show up at the

nearby beaver pond or a morning drink.

Bob has other spots in mind and plans or a new blind to be builtin time or November’s deer hunting season. He is also thinking o returning to hunting with bow and arrow,a style o hunting he tookup a number o years ago and which he enjoys because it demands

so much more mastery than traditional rife hunting. Deer hunting isdenitely Bob’s preerence. He has no interest in shooting partridge,

pheasant,duck or geese. It is the challenge provided by a highlyintelligent,ast and feet opponent that appeals to Bob. Plus it’sanother excuse to roam his land during this short period each all.

The naturalist in Bob certainly doesn’t need to wait or hunting

season. He’s already seen his share o squirrels,chipmunks,beaver,weasels and owls on his property. He knows there are bears aroundand he and Je spied a bobcat not long ago. Bob is looking orward

to more discoveries as he gets to know his land better and betterover time.

You have probably guessed by now that I am a huge an o the mixo tradition and modernity that is coming together as Bob’s huntcamp emerges in its wilderness splendour. I l ove it when people are

inventive enough to take advantage o what modern technology

has to oer and yet manage to create something that blends soharmoniously in with its surroundings. Kudos to Bob and Je or

hitting that sweet spot!

I personally am looking orward to being invited back to watch asthe camp comes to completion. And then to perhaps to having anopportunity to camp out in the quiet and solitude Bob has ound.

Only ‘by invitation’,o course. My hunting is restricted to cameraand binoculars,but I can easily i magine mysel wandering thetrails and meadows o this small corner o heaven,making all sorts

o discoveries or the book about the Ottawa Valley that I can eelbeginning to write itsel somewhere inside me.

For you true hunters and naturalists,I hope my buddy Bob has beenan inspiration or what is still possible with some creativity,a lot o

hard work and a willingness to make use o community resources.Here’s to hunt camps new and old!

Gwen McCauley – Life Transition Coach,author,artist and lover of life.Proud owner of a plot of bush and rocks near Pakenham,Gwen enjoys exploring The Valley via its back roads and byways.

www.ouicoach.com

B i vry ro e tmr q g e fou Le Vl Tl i budg rj.

e dg tr e cm flo a g ple.

ovl a hunt camp emerges feature article oct issue v1 230909

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