Another Walk, Another Story

    As has been our habit lately, in the afternoon we drove out to take a walk with the dog.  We decided on quiet and lonely Jervis Road again.  We had just gotten out of our truck and started strolling down the road, when we spotted a vehicle rounding the curve and coming up behind us.  I didn’t really expect to see any one driving down Jervis Road.  When it passed us, I saw that is was (I will call them “G.” and “I.”)  “G.” traps and they live way out in the middle of nowhere on Holmes River Forest Road.  We know them fairly well, so it didn’t surprise me when they pulled over and stopped.

    There are many unique and unusual characters that gravitate to isolated areas like the Robson Valley  (I live here right!), but “G.” is among the most unique and unusual.  He is a walking hurricane.  Whenever I run into him, I feel like I have to brace myself.  He is very friendly, constantly patting you on the shoulder, but he speaks very loudly and not alway coherently, and I often find it difficult to understand what he is talking about.  This is what I understood from our conversation yesterday.

    As I said they live in a small cabin way out in the bush, along a logging road that is not plowed during the winter.  It is of course off the grid and heated by wood.  In the winter the only way they can get in and out is by snowmobile.  Yesterday morning the snowmobile driven by the son, took off to haul “I.” into the cabin, leaving “G.” waiting at the start of the road for it to come back to pick him up to haul him in.  He waited and waited.  After more than an hour, “G.” began to worry that something happened.  

    Eventually “I.” (I think) returned (via snowshoes?), anyway the snowmobile had had  a serious breakdown, and they were then left without transportation into their cabin and not knowing what to do about it.  They really depend on the snowmobile.  They have a few small farm animals, and they can’t really leave the cabin unattended for a few days.  “G.” and “I.” were driving into McBride seeking a solution to their problem.  I assume the only way they can solve it is to find someone who will loan them a snowmobile for a while.

    We wished them good luck, they got back into the car and drove away.  With all the excitement over, we resumed our walk down the quiet lonely country road.

You can view my paintings at:  www.davidmarchant.ca