Beyond The Burning Shore: Searching For Survival

by Ron Foster

  “That’s why I gave those young ones some hooks and line when they said they wanted to buy some from me. I just upped and said here take it. What are we going to do with money? Nothing, especially when you know your days might be numbered. I wanted to give them a chance for them to live a bit longer I guess and I wanted to feel good about myself about doing it. I could tell that they didn’t know much about fishing except maybe there daddies taking them out a time or two when they were growing up. I could have taught them something and maybe they could of helped me and Marylyn some. But you see that is not how they think these days. They have maybe looked at something on the internet like fishing and figured it was an easy task with no experience to do, but we both know the fallacy in that, Hogan. You see, the art of training dogs or young ones is lost if the adults were raised wrong, we been raising generations of wrong for years and you can’t just give people or animals what they want when they want it.” Dixon said.

  “People need a straight path to stay on that has consequences if you veer off of it to keep you guided, you might say. I have watched the two of you all by the way, that’s what old people do we are nosy and watch people. You look out for each other’s safety when you are launching your boats or fishing from the bank because you are used to standing next to each other and working together to get something done. Young people these days just like we did, think they are smarter than a different generation. I think it is different now though for this one because the access to answers from the internet makes it difficult for them to judge others any different. They don’t go ask old or more experienced people for answers and they don’t interact much with others except through social media. They stay in their own sphere and if they are not too crazy about whom it is delivering the message or their own introverted ideals of who can give such information, they don’t listen.” Marylyn said voicing her opinion.

  “Well, not to cut you short Dixon and Marylyn but we were just wandering by for a short visit However, you sparked an idea in me that I absolutely have got to get out and get your advice on. Times being what they are we are kind of pressed for time, if you know what I mean. I want to give you something for one thing and by doing it I hope you know I consider it bestowing a treasure upon a treasure. Annie, would you mind grabbing the extra trot line and GULP bait I showed you the other day and bringing it back here?” Hogan asked.

  “I will come with you honey to get it.” Marylyn said used to such spontaneous outbursts that tended to indicate the men folk wanted to talk in their redneck way as the womenfolk used their intuition to guess what it was and do some of their own.

  “I am going to give you that trotline and a few things, Dixon.” Hogan said.

  “What am I going to do with a trot line Hogan, when I can’t get it far enough out in the river to take advantage of its length?” Dixon said bewildered.

  “You don’t have to rig that trot line a particular way and I am sure when you think about it you will come up with some unique solutions of your own. What if you could leave a legacy? I don’t know the specifics of your ailments but you need help right now and some additional help sooner than later. I think I might just have a way to help you out, so listen up, please. As far as we know at the moment, we will call you the top dog fisherman around here. That gigantic weight lifter that is your neighbor and his friends need food and they have already said that they are willing to pay for it so what you do is take that set of puppet strings I am about to give you and you and your wife play them boys like a cello to help yourselves out.”

  “Just what is it you’re talking about old, son? Now I would be danged grateful for that preprocessed GULP fish bait and the floating trot line but I do not understand the rest of that talk you are doing. Well maybe I do, is what you are saying Hogan is for me to get these young folks around here involved in fishing and maybe they could help me some for providing the tackle and the knowledge to get it done?” Dixon said studying him.

  “Yea they can help catch bait for that trotline rig, feed themselves and if you get can get them to do a little security work to keep you from molesting old ladies or whatever, so much the better. You should organize with them a community fishing effort maybe, there are 120 hooks on that trot line. You won’t have that kind of luck but you should be able to pull a few stringers full of fish off pretty regular. Maybe you all can possibly figure out how to use that fancy grill of theirs to smoke some fish if it works out.” Hogan advised.

  “Molest this, Hogan!” Dixon said flipping Hogan the bird before carrying on.

  “Could be, I wish one of them had a boat though. Guess somebody is going to end up going swimming to get that fish getter set up right. They are all young and athletic, that shouldn’t be a problem. You know, Hogan, when I was a boy me and a bunch of friends went down the river from Chattahoochee Florida to Apalachicola. It took us an entire week but we had a great time, remind me to show you some pictures of that trip sometime. I know this river in bits and pieces, I bet you never traveled its entire length have you, Hogan?” Dixon said.

  Photo credit Kevin Dougherty.

  “No, but I have considered trying to do it. Tell me if you would, can you put in before the town of Chattahoochee, can you get a clear shot all the way down river?” Hogan asked.

  “Oh yea, I guess the easiest place to put in at would be Lake Seminole on the other side of the dam lock. Hey, Marylyn, you got a fish on!” Dixon said pointing at her bobber going under.

  “Guess she wins the bet on whoever catches the first fish today. That means me as the loser will have to clean all the catch for the day. I want a retry, Marylyn. It wasn’t a fair contest! Why, If I wasn’t sitting here talking to our company Hogan and Annie, I might have even won the catching the biggest fish bet.” Dixon said playfully bragging.

  “No, I won the bet as is and fair and square, nobody told you to stop fishing! You forfeited is what you did!” Marylyn said with a grin having Dixon dead to rights on that technicality.

  “I guess you got me there. She snuck one in on me, Hogan.” Dixon said with a smile as he finally got around to baiting his hook and flinging it into the water.

  “Yea, women can be down right tricky sometimes.” Hogan said smiling back before then asking Annie to come with him to go back to the apartment and work on a project.

  As they walked back to the apartment they could hear the old couple happily bantering back and forth about whether or not a rematch was in order and chuckled...

  6

  One Foot In The Water

  “Morning Annie, are you ready for some coffee?” Hogan said cutting on his propane stove burner.

  “Sure, are you going to be bringing that big stove with you when we go out on the river?” Annie asked looking at the big unit

  “No, I am going to be leaving it here; I got plenty of stuff to keep up with already.” Hogan said but in the back of his mind it said take it with them also.

  “I was just thinking that since we are basically setting up a base camp for ourselves that it might be a good item for us to have around in case it rained or something. I was also wondering if you were thinking about leaving it here in the house or packing it in the van. Which do you think would be safer?” Annie asked wondering about the safety and security of all the gear they had left loaded in their vehicles that were staying behind.

  “I guess the apartment might be more secure if you have anything in particular that you’re leaving behind that needs guarding better. Most of my gear is coming with me so I haven’t given it much thought until now.” Hogan said looking over the apartment at what little bit of gear remained.

  “I still have some room in my boat if you need it.” Annie offered.

  “Having our boats easily accessible during this catastrophic event is sure a positive game changer. I certainly got a bunch of stuff! We can pretty much carry everything that we got with us because of those inflatable boats huge load capacities, though. Now I am not one for carrying the kitchen sink with us even if we can.
Lots of this stuff I am leaving in the apartment because we don’t really need even if we are staying out in the woods for a long time. If I bring all this of this prep stuff it would mean I got to load the extra gear on and off the boat also which is a pain, as you know. Besides, I would rather have the appearance of a smaller less equipped prepper footprint for others to see if we meet someone camping, if you know what I mean.” Hogan said.

  “Do you think we will see many people, Hogan?” Annie asked.

  “I am hoping that we won’t be seen at all hiding up on the rocks but I can’t guarantee that. The absence of river banks in that area for travelers to beach at make finding a place to stop at for the night increasingly difficult so chances are we won’t.” Hogan said and then voiced his worry that any paddlers or motor boaters would be scrutinizing the banks and most likely looking skyward at times for smoke.

  Hogan could build a pretty smokeless campfire when he considered concealment but he needed to work on that boat bush door thing of his better to hide that little run off notch he was going to use to access his boat cave camp.

  He had not explored the cliff face that formed the left wall of that entrance much. You could get up to the top of its craggy edifice easy enough but doing so took you a good distance away from the river.

  He didn’t want to be far from his boat so that meant he was sort of limited in his camping areas. That was unless he deflated the boats of course and they drug them back in the woods which wasn’t one of the items on his to do list. No, they were just going to stay where they pulled in at and conceal the boats as best they could with a camouflage net he had. He had jokingly said that netting doubled as his duck blind when he showed it to Annie and he might yet try that idea out for real one day. He wasn’t too worried about doing that though; he saw ducks out on the water all the time and didn’t need to hide from them if he wanted a duck dinner.

  One thing that Hogan worried about that rocky bluff that concerned him was that if anyone got up on it they could see right down into his camp. The trail going up the side of it was not something that he would want to try to attempt at night, either. This caution was because it could be treacherous if you weren’t watching. Hogan had considered making his camp up on top of it when he had first found the rocky clearing but had dismissed the idea.

  He hadn’t wanted to carry his gear that far up from the river then, now his reason was more than the labor of the chore that made him hesitate. He remembered a wild brush fire he had seen in the news once of one sweeping a ridge similar to the one he had chosen to live next to. Getting cornered on a ledge by anything including fire wasn’t going to happen to him, he decided.

  Hogan said that the best place for him and Annie to be camping would be only a stones throw away from his boat. The lower elevation for now was safer especially if they found they suddenly had to leave at night.

  “Ok, Annie I think it is time for us to get this show on the road.” Hogan said rising and heading for his front door with a few backward glances.

  They got in their cars and headed for the apartments little river bank and were rewarded with seeing that the bank was clear of people. Hogan opened his vans hatch and pulled out his boat while Annie unlocked her trunk and got out her Kayak. They spread out and unrolled their boats a distance apart because this took up quite a little bit of room in the parking lot. Then they busied themselves getting ready to launch with all that gear and grub.

  “Want to use my electric pump, Annie?” Hogan offered.

  “No, I will probably have mine inflated and launched with my manual pump by the time you get that pretty Cadillac boat of yours put together!.” Annie joked.

  “Hey, perfection takes time! But I bet it won’t take me more than about 15 minutes or so before I will be ready to put it in the water. Now, loading the boat after I launch it is going to be another story.” Hogan said with a smile and he went back to his van to retrieve his aluminum seats and Bimini top canopy.

  Annie had seen Hogan get ready to deploy his boat before and knew the best thing for her to do at the moment was stay out of the way. Hogan hooked the air pump to the first of five recessed one way valves he needed to attend to, hit the switch and then went back to the van to secure his Watersnake Venom 34 lb. thrust electric trolling motor.

  He easily one handed its 15 lb weight and set it down on the pavement and then set the 12 volt battery down next to it.

  “That always freaks me out that you can just wander away from that pump and it shuts off on its own.” Annie said mentally picturing Hogan blowing up his boat but knowing it wouldn’t explode because the pump would shut down at the right air pressure.

  “I love how that auto inflate works to fill my boat to whatever air pressure I set the pump at. You see how quick this pump is? That is one thing I am always amazed about! I could have easily filled your kayak and my boat with air several times with just the juice in that little battery in the carrying case.” Hogan said already aware Annie knew he could also run the pump off alligator clips and his car or trolling motor battery. Just for fun, he had also showed her how he could use an inverter off either battery or use the charger that came with the pump kit and use a wall socket to recharge its pump motor battery.

  “Yea, that electrical pump is pretty awesome but I know that you have two manual backup pumps that came with the boat also around here somewhere.” Annie said smiling.

  A41 Large Bellows Pump

  Dual Action Auto Two Stage SUP Pump w/ Pressure Gauge

  “You know me; I have backups to my backups for some things. I bought me another patch kit also to have in my preps.” Hogan said not wanting to leave anything to chance.

  Repair kit for 1000 Denier PVC boats. Includes hull repair material, tube of glue & Halkey-Roberts valve replacement tool.

  “Well, I certainly see the wisdom in that. Hey, here comes Dixon and Marylyn. “Annie said waving to them.

  “Dang, I was hoping that they were staying in today.” Hogan whispered and then smiled and waved at the old couple making their way towards them. Hogan didn’t mind them seeing the boats but loading them to the gills with so much equipment for just going on an alleged camping trip would cause some questions and he was short on suitable explanations.

  “Hey, good morning to you two! You all are kind of getting yourselves late starts on fishing today, aren’t you?” Dixon said as he shook Hogan’s hand and Marylyn gave Annie a hug.

  “Well, we are not just going fishing, we are going camping also. I figured it was a good time for me to maybe hunt a deer before everyone started shooting up the woods.” Hogan said busying himself while the boat was inflating by attaching the oar locks and paddles by thumb screwing them to the special hull mounts.

  “I guess if you are thinking about going hunting, now is the time to do it. But I bet you ain’t the only ones thinking of doing it.” Marylyn said cautioning them to be careful.

  “Oh I bet there is going to be folks out doing both fishing and hunting already, just not as many now trying their luck as later. Hopefully, they will have a clue what they are doing with firearms and practice some good gun safety.” Hogan said thinking even a .22 caliber bullet could kill at a mile if someone missed their target.

  “You might think about wearing some orange.” Dixon said looking at Hogan’s camo pants and OD vest. Annie had similar going to the woods garb on and was supposed to share the advice Dixon was giving indicated by his looking over at her.

  “That’s a thought, but I bet since everyone isn’t worried about a game warden at the moment no one will. All the Rambo types won’t be wearing any orange and probably are all putting on their camo face paint and thinkingabout breaking out a Ghillie suit or something.” Hogan said now doing the last chore of fully inflating his boats drop stitch floor which only took a minute. When this highly engineered special floor was inflated it became rigid enough to stand on and to hold cargo. He really liked that feature and its nonslip texture. He had looked at some other manufacturer’s infla
table boats that had solid wood or plastic floors and decided on the Sea Eagle for its weight and non slip air flow deck. The great advantage of the type of runabout was its light weight in relation to size because of the inflatable floors. That increases stow-ability and reduces the overall hull weight by nearly 30%. It also reduces the storage foot print by 50% because you no longer have to deal with wooden or aluminum floorboards.

  “What is a Ghille suit?” Marylyn asked

  The name Ghillie comes from Scotland where the ghillies were gamekeepers. Basically, it’s a head to toe colored burlap suit that makes you look like a swamp monster or something. Military snipers use them a lot.” Hogan said explaining.

  “Wow that floor airs up solid, doesn’t it?” Dixon said pushing against the floor of the boatwith his hand.

  “That 4” floor is one of these boats best features. It is made up of thousands of tiny threads that connect both the top and bottom layers, creating a stronger link that can withstand much higher pressures. Higher pressures make for a more rigid floor, which can enhance paddling or motoring performance. The external rigid inflatable keel gets that solid also when you fill it with air and provides sharper and more precise turning.” Hogan said always happy to talk about his boat.

  “So is that floor part of the boat or something separate like a drop in mat, maybe?” Dixon asked.

  “The floor is a separate piece but you can leave it in and roll it up with the boat after you install it the first time. It secures to the transom but when you fill the boat up the sides hold it in place.” Hogan said now starting to assemble his canopy.

  “Now ain’t you fancy! Look at you, Hogan! Got you a nice comfy swivel seat to drive from and a sun awning to keep you cool! Now, Annie, that’s the way to go fishing! Check out that nose bag he has got on the floorboard, Marylyn! The color matches the boat real nice, looks pretty waterproof. I bet that big pouch comes in real handy to keep your anchor and such in.” Dixon said admiring Hogan’s favorite accessory.