Guide Shack (concluder)
I think this piece reads best as one the way it was written. I’ve put it back together here for you Enjoy. Seen above (left-right) Myself, Billy Labonte, Kevin Peterson, Darren Wright, Cameron Scarth. Photo Credit: Kent Davenport (Official historical documentor since 1991)
Guide shacks the world over are places which intrigue all who enter. They are generally not near as fancy as guest accommodations and they may lack some of the comforts. One thing is for certain tho, they are bound to be have some interesting decor, other things of note to look at, and will always entertain those who enter.
The Guide shack at Babine Norlakes is a place such as this. The fire is nearly always raging, the counter littered with empty beer cans, marabou floats freely, and there's usually flash or dubbing in or on most things you eat or place down. Everyone has a favourite place to sit and we usually don’t stray from these too much. Most often seating arrangements coincide with the proximity to each others room and bed. Its close quarters but we are a close group and it works.
Morning routine- First to rise varies somewhat. Lots of times it’s iPhone alarms of different tones bellowing and being tapped into snooze mode. Sometimes the silence breaks with a slow, low “AAARRRNNNN” coming from one of the other rooms. Some days it's the metallic clunk of my bead chain light switch pull cord that lets everyone know it’s soon time. When the days shorten the Darkness is sometimes broken with the entry of “Groundskeeper Billy” as the light from the porch illuminates the character saturated space. First up usually stirs the coals of the fire, adds a few sticks, and opens the draft to warm things up for our morning huddle. We all try to be considerate of the others and often choose to conduct our first few moves in the dark, not wanting to burn someone's eyeballs out by hitting the lights. Things need to move slowly at this time of day when you live in close quarters. We then arise, go for coffees and breakfast and rendezvous back in the shack, everyone falling into our non-verbalized seating arrangements and starting about our day.
Topics of discussions vary greatly at this morning meeting. There are no boundaries as to what can be discussed, but often times its Past, present, and future of on-river topics. The bite, water level, what rain did, what rain will do, we need rain, rocks to watch out for, where a fish came from the day before or maybe a place to check today.
The afternoon is one of the most exciting parts of the Day at the shack. Early season usually has us on the porch as it seems a waste to be inside while theres still light, As the season progresses and the temperatures drop, first back usually lights the fire. Then we get to the recalling of each others day. The tales of big steelhead, crazy things that happening, fantastic fish fights, or where we found one of Kevin’s gloves flow. The most popular stories told usually comes from the guide who had the beat which is fishing the best. Lots of laughs are had, information exchanged and sometimes photos are shown. Visitors pop by from time to time for a variety of reasons always being respectful of our space and privacy, never wearing out their welcome. Clothing and equipment are hung to dry above the raging fire, everyone taking their place in their “spots”.
Guide meeting starts when the dinner bell rings and lasts for 30minutes. Oftentimes, the topics have already been discussed upon arrival back, but we try to save some for the meeting. In reality, guide meeting takes much more time than the 30 minutes that we put aside but its structure helps us move through it efficiently and accurately so that all are on the same page about what happened on the river that day. To an outsider, we may seem to speak a different language that only we understand. Lots of river rights and lefts, below the 2nd pyramid rock, or “2-rod lengths below the spikey tree with his body”. On the days when there isn’t as much to say (poor fishing) we discuss boating lines for navigating the river, overanalyze our small successes and rationalize failures. We talk of places we can check tomor, or adjust the beats for the next day to give everyone a fair slice.
After dinner, we retreat back to the comfort and familiarity of the shack and once again take our position in our places. The evening usually has a few visitors popping by, some flies being tied, movies or music, more chats, and without question more laughs. Usually sometime around 10 someone fades and signals the migration deeper into the corners of the shack. The fire is stuffed and we’ll head off to bed. The Banter and conversation does not end there tho. Like 10yr olds having a sleepover the chatter continues till the snoring takes over.
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