Rendezvous in the Bush
by Jim Carrier
We spied an island midway down the lake and hustled down there to check it out. We rejoiced at finding numerous suitable tent pads. Our first thought was to set up the BWJ shelter for the purpose of staging gear in a relatively dry spot and especially for fixing something warm to eat and drink— away from the downpour. We set it up and started to relax a little with hot chocolate in hand. Ben reminded me that "others" might be desperately hunting for shelter in these horrible conditions. We started to feel a little guilty about our good fortune. It was about then that we had our "great idea".
It is not everyday that a canoe camper carries a large Granite Gear pack crammed full with a dozen standard-sized, garden-variety, pink flamingos into Quetico Park. In a story too long and bizarre to fully relate here, Ben and I had done just that. A dozen of these classic lawn ornaments, hauled through the mud and the bush, dumped out of the bag onto this lonely island in the middle of Cairn Lake. I had taken a considerable "ribbing" on the Internet about being a "major collector" of lawn ornaments. How this silly fiction got started really does not matter. My intention had been to give them away as "mementos" from Bushwhackers Jamboree.
We now thought of a much better use for our pink flamingos. Thus, I directed Ben to, "Deploy the birds! Stick them both high and low at the front and back ends of the island!"
So it was that little pink "lighthouses" encircled our island, hopefully welcoming cold, wet, and maybe even desperate strangers to our campsite. The tactic worked like a charm! Within half an hour, Woods Walker and Quetico Passage arrived from the south, cutting clear across the lake upon sighting the strange pink phenomena. We introduced ourselves and welcomed them to "Flamingo Island".