Boundary Waters Adventures, part 4

Circa 1993’

“CUTE LITTLE GROUND SQUIRREL”

By Anymouse

“You look like a commercial for Orvis or L.L. Bean.”  But then, I guess that’s what all the fashionable lawyers were wearing in the north woods that year.  In truth, without our lawyer, (now a judge) the trip would never have been planned and taken.  I should be more charitable towards him, as he was the prime mover (until we hit the portage trail).  And his jacket was a thing of beauty!  You know the type, forty pockets and just what one must be wearing at the morning camp fire (when the boot boy brings you your first cup of coffee).

It had been over twenty-eight (28) years since some of us had been in the woods. And while our lawyer friend could pretty much convince anybody to do anything; it surely wasn’t much of a stretch to get the group to “reacquaint and recapture our youth that had been a trip after high school”.  Two of the crew had never been, one had one trip in and I had perhaps half a dozen trips in.  Not a seasoned group by anyone’s standards.  But, now-a-days the woods weren’t quite so wild.  So, by the second day in, my comments to the group weren’t taken in the spirit they were given.  (Just because I had a few more trips in I was being a pompous, bossy, pain in the rear.)  “Please stop feeding those darn ground squirrels and otherwise encouraging them to join us at our campsite.  You’re gonna get us in trouble if you don’t knock it off.”   “Chip & Dale couldn’t hurt us!  And after all, what type of trouble could come from these cute little critters?”  So the second night in we had a permanent base camp, piled our jackets under a tarp and went to bed.  Our attorney friend who had befriended “Chip & Dale” left a few empty candy bar wrappers in his pockets.

Next morning was a little on the chilly side, so we all donned our jackets.  One by one we all noticed the new stylish Swiss cheese look of the counselor’s jacket.  Laughed till we cried.  And for the rest of the trip, every once in a while, one of us would double over in laughter remembering the look of the jacket and the look on his face.  I just happened to take that opportunity to ask, “are you going to continue to feed the critters now…?”  It served my purpose to let him believe that it was the ground squirrels that did the damage.  When in fact, every field mouse for perhaps an eighth of a mile had taken a crack at his jacket.  There was also a law that said, “a critter may never exit through the same hole he has chewed through to enter, all comings and goings must always be done through a brand new freshly chewed hole”.  It was fitting that such a law was applied to our lawyer friend. 

All sightings of “Chip & Dale” were now greeted with sticks and stones.  But to no avail, the damage was done.  Seemed like every time we went to the food pack to lower it; we were greeted by which ever squirrel was currently helping himself to his own meal.  They’d stick their little heads up out of the pack and scold us without end.  This was their campsite and they were just collecting their due.  Probably for the rest of that season anyone using that site was pestered.  At least it was a higher class of squirrel that was hitting us.  One of the loaves of bread had been eaten straight down the center; a loaf of nothing but crust.  After all, the crusts are for the peasants and there was plenty of food to choose from.

So did our friend the attorney cause the problem? Or, was it already there when we arrived?  Probably already there, but I’ll always blame him in our conversations and the jacket incident made the whole trip worth the price of admission.  Still chuckle every time I think of it! 

“Excerpts from SIX (6) FROM SIXTY (60)”

Copy right TXu 2-234-819 January 2021