From Voyageurs National Park on FB: Called “Catamaran” by locals, Bert Upton is among the strangest of historical characters on area waters. He lived in a hut built over a dug-out at Squirrel Narrows. Found frozen to death in the 1930s by Kettle Falls pioneer Oliver Knox; Upton was perched lifeless in the snow just a half-mile from his home. Shunning civilization, Upton defined the word hermit. First spotted rowing his crude log raft on Namakan, no one knows how he got there. Upton’s accent implied an English heritage but any personal inquiries brought a stony silence. Some suspected him a man fleeing the law; others saw a bizarre outcast; everyone knew he was peculiar. Just five feet tall and wildly unkempt, Catamaran wore hacked-off pants and walked barefoot with a stick. Winter demanded shoes but no socks, a cast-off Mackinaw, and a trailing cap made from the leg of old underwear. He was oddly religious, and suspicious of being poisoned. Surviving on snared rabbits and fish, he ofte...
It got a bonus to its sneak because you were distracted.
ReplyDeleteFuture raccoons are the worst. They're all like "Welcome to the world of tomorrow!" and when you're looking around in wonder they steal your loaf.
ReplyDeleteIsn't the point of camping to get away from all the trappings of modern life?
ReplyDeleteOnly if you have lots of people with you to drink with. One little girl? Need the Internet. Especially when she ran around playing with campground friends all night.
ReplyDeleteThat's a fair point.
ReplyDelete