Well, it’s been just under a year since I was here last, and today I’m back for another month at Camp Hidey Ho.
I’ve realized that coming to camp is a little like buying a lottery ticket. It’s not just about the time you spend here—it’s about the anticipation. I may only be here one month out of the year, but for the other eleven months I’m thinking about this place, dreaming up projects, planning improvements, and looking forward to getting back. That anticipation is half the fun.
This year’s two big projects are staining and chinking the cabin and building a walkway across the bog to make getting to camp easier and a lot drier. They’re both ambitious projects, and I doubt I’ll finish either one completely this year, but if I can make good progress, I’ll consider it a successful trip.
Before I arrived, I had the dirt guys come back to do a little work for me. Last year they excavated some bank gravel for the road, and this year they smoothed that area back out so it could eventually become a building site if we decide to put up a storage building. With a 400-square-foot cabin and a small shed, storage space is always at a premium. They also placed some fill at the end of the driveway where I’ll be starting the bog walkway. Although I think I need to work on being more clear when I ask them to do something. I thought I had asked for a couple loads of dirt to be placed at the end of the driveway. Maybe a couple cubic yards of dirt. What I got was probably 10 times that amount. Oh well, at least I won’t run out. That will hopefully make the project easier. They’re always great to work with.
Getting here was a four-day journey from Florida. I first drove to our house in North Carolina, where I spent an extra day organizing supplies and picking up a U-Haul trailer. From there I drove to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, then on to my niece and nephew’s home in Newmarket, New Hampshire. It’s always wonderful to spend time with them and my talented grand nieces. The final leg was the familiar four-and-a-half-hour drive north to camp.
Driving in this year was noticeably different from last year. If you remember, the logging operation had the town road torn to pieces with huge machines, leaving it soft, rutted, and rough. This year the road is in excellent condition—firm, smooth, and an easy drive.
The camp driveway has changed even more. Last year everything looked freshly cleared after construction. Now the vegetation has grown back everywhere, making the entrance look completely different. Very nice black-eyed Susan flowers are growing at the start of the driveway. The driveway itself—nearly a mile long—is in excellent shape, which was encouraging to see.
The biggest surprise was the bog.
Last year the lake level was low, and crossing the bog wasn’t too bad. This year the lake is much higher, and the bog is absolutely saturated. Walking across it was a completely different experience. It reinforced just how badly I need to build that walkway this year.
The cabin itself looked just as I had hoped. Everything made it through another Maine winter without any surprises.
Most of today’s work was simply hauling supplies from the truck and trailer across the bog to the cabin. I used my wagons, but with the bog so wet the wheels sank deep into the mud, making every trip a workout. Even so, I made good progress, getting three of the four batteries over to the cabin. Those things are incredibly heavy. The last one—the biggest at 136 pounds—will have to wait until tomorrow.
By late afternoon I was almost out of gas, both literally and figuratively, so I unhooked the trailer and drove down to Princeton for fuel and something to drink.
While I was there, I noticed something that made me laugh. A 32-ounce bottle of water was $3.29. A 32-ounce bottle of Arizona iced tea was $2.99. But a double can (25 ounces) of Natural Light beer was only $1.49.
Who knew the cheapest hydration available was beer? It was less than half the price of bottled water.
For the record, I bought both an iced tea and a beer.
All in all, it was a busy first day. It feels good to be back at Camp Hidey Ho, and tomorrow the real work begins.