Kippy's Korner - Feature

KipTrip 2001 - The Trip North
by Mike

Yes, it has reared its ugly head again. No, not Kippy - it's the overblown, overdone account of the trip north. As we've alluded to before, this annual pilgrimage to Kipawa is not just about fishing. Yes, we love to fish and Kipawa affords us the privilege of testing our angling skills against species we don't have much of here in southeastern PA. But, we seem to have fun with all aspects of the adventure, including all the events preceding the first line wetting. For those of you who missed the trip, and for our friends who travel to Kipawa from other lands, here is rest of the story...

SUNDAY, JUNE 17th: THE PRE-TRIP KIPIGNIC

Theory holds that we are supposed to do some pre-trip planning at this annual get-together. As I recall, we tried to do some planning the first time we held this event but the allure of sizzling meat and cold suds minimized the planning efforts. All the better. Over the years we have learned to use this as an excuse to stretch out our Kipawa trip into something covering a couple weeks, not just one. This year was no exception. In between propane-blackened BBQ chicken and numerous bottles of Hooch, we found time to stir up some dust with our RC trucks. Kids we are not, but we know how to act like them. By the way, if you haven't tried Emeril's marinades, run out and get some. It smells wild, but once brushed over grilled chicken it does magical things - including act as a fire shield!

MONDAY JUNE 18th: THE CALL

I'm pretty sure it was Monday when Dad called from Kipawa and told us our beloved Cabin 8 would be available a day early. Yowza! An extra day on the lake! We can fish all day Saturday whereas normally we are frantically driving, unpacking, and rigging everything from roads to boats! As usual, all common sense gets brushed aside as we bounce emails and instant messages back and forth all day Tuesday to see how early we can get there on Friday. Early plans are to simply drive thru the night Thursday night. However, as Wednesday wears on, Mark realizes that driving thru the night may not be the smartest thing. I can't argue, since I will be the one with the most sleep the day before. New plans include departing at 0200 hours Friday morning, which gets us to Kipawa in plenty of time to take our time getting settled in and still enjoy a full evening of fishin'.

THURSDAY JUNE 21st: THE PRE-TRIP GATHERING

While the rest of the crew enjoyed at least partial days at work, I took the day off to pack. You fellow boat owners out there know that there is a ton of work added to the "To Do" list when a boat is involved in a fishing trip. Taking the whole day off Thursday is the best way I know of to stay mostly sane while packing and still make it to our Point of Departure in Oley, PA on time. Packing started around 7:00 AM and didn't stop until 1:00 PM. By 2:00 PM, my favorite son Spencer (he has since caught on to the fact that he is also our only son) and I left Downingtown and headed to Oley, less than an hour away - by far the easiest leg of the journey.

4:15 PM -	After innumerable stops, Spence and I arrive at Dave's humble kamode in beautiful suburban Oley. Typical of suburban developments in Oley, his house occupies land we use to hunt as younger adults, but that is another story. Mike's old "truck" and even-older boat waiting patiently
5:15 PM -	George, aka "Jungle", "Geo", etc. arrives - thank gawd. He travels from "Lawng Oiland, Noo Yawik" which is 3+ hours away and is taking a new route, so his arrival means we don't have to send search planes out looking for him.
7:00 PM -	After we down some burgers and pasta salad (burp), Crud arrives to wish us farewell. Crud is our term of endearment for Roger, who hasn't yet figured out that he should be going to Kipawa every year and bag this every-other-year crap. Crud is also the one responsible for the naming of "The Crud Lure", a #5 silver/black floating Rapala which he uses to catch any finned creature. Anyway, Crud and George end up using the table on Dave's Deck to play a back-and-forth game of "Get The Wind-Up Toy Car Close To The Edge" - sorta like the paper football games of old. George manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as Roger eeks out a come-from-behind win. Yes, we are that simple.
10:00 PM -	Time for some shut-eye. George sets his alarm for 1:30 AM, swearing he'll wake up to the faint "meep meep meep" of his digital Timex. Hmmm.

FRIDAY, JUNE22nd: WAGONS HO!

1:25 AM -	George's watch alarm goes off. At least in theory - none of us can prove it.
1:40 AM -	In my dreams I hear the rumble of a 5.0L-powered, Borla-muffled '97 Explorer making its way down the quiet back roads of Oley. Geez, that sounds just like Mark's... wait, it is Mark's! Why are we still sleeping? WAKE UP!
2:04 AM -	The "wagons" - George's '96 Tahoe, my '97 Expedition mit boat, and Mark's traveling alarm clock mit canoe depart Oley.
2:46 AM -	We hit the Lehigh Tunnel and, right on schedule, good ole' Jungle rolls his window down and belts out a "*Zabbazoo!*" that would rattle the rivets off a Lund. Cheese and rice, we heard him plain as day thru our closed windows! Now there's some lungs.
3:14 AM -	It's getting foggy - real foggy - as we ascend the mountains of the northeast extension of the PA Turnpike (uh - heh heh - uh... did someone say "pike"?). We dive into the Hickory Service Plaza to regroup. I can barely see my bug deflector, and I'm fairly certain my boat is still attached but I can't visually prove it. Fortunately, my 22 oz. coffee is hot, George's Mountain Dew is cold, and the donuts are donuts, so we set out once again.
3:26 AM -	Someone answers our prayers by collecting all the fog and turning it into rain, making visibility a reality and not a concept. However, the rain never lets up for the remainder of the journey. Do we care? Nah!
7:52 AM -	316 miles into our journey, we arrive at the US/Canada border at 1000 Islands and pass through unscathed.
8:20 AM -	We've arrived at Brockville, Ontario. We have a dilemma on our hands... go north on Route 29 or continue on Route 401 to try the relatively newly complete Route 416. Fellow Kipawa friend Jay advised us that 416 is quicker and after doing the math he is likely right. Well, we've always gone up 29 so for the sake of tradition we do it again, vowing to try the new route on the way back. Route 29 provides an interesting insight into Ontario, as you travel through the quaint towns of Smiths Falls and Carleton Place and crossing the Rideau Canal and Ontario's Mississippi River while doing so. It's not a fast route, but it is a welcome break form the Mega-Lane Mayhem. Added bonuses along the way include Franktown - "The Lilac Capital of Ontario", Mississippi Mills - "The Birthplace of James Naismith", and Lanark County - "The Maple Syrup Capital of Ontario".
11:32 AM -	We're in Deep River, Ontario, 90 miles up the Trans-Canada since we got on at Arnprior and 503 miles from Oley, PA. Our fat little bellies say it's time to eat so we dive into our usual haunt - the Burger King. Lunch is uneventful, and possibly so uneventful that George's internal compass stops working. "How can you tell," you ask? Well, leaving the BK, George decides to leave first, which is fine - only thing is, he turns right. No biggee? Wrong. A right turn finds George heading back the way we came. Now, us being the kind and caring friends that we are, we allow George to complete his errant right turn as we turn left, laughing ad nauseum with each southbound rotation of George's tires.
12:57 PM -	We've arrived in Mattawa, Ontario, and it seems really odd to be driving past our usual haunt - the Valois Motel - where we normally would spend Friday night. A typical trip would find us in Mattawa right about supper time, and after dinner at the Valois' restaurant, we would walk to downtown Mattawa via the little side road along the Ottawa River. Once downtown, we would snag an ice cream cone, then walk back and settle into a cold beer or two. So, as grateful as we were to have our cabin an extra day, we all knew we'd be missing a nice pit stop in Mattawa.
2:48 PM -	Once again, we've made it to Lake Kipawa. We pull up to the office at Taggart Bay Camps and, yes, it is still raining, though not quite so much anymore. Ah, it's great to be back! Let the fishing begin... and hopefully the catching will follow!