The Delta Rambler

Dennis Allen is an award-winning fi lmmaker, forlorn songwriter and hopeless storyteller. He’s the only guy he knows who’s never seen the Stones.

DOG GONE LONG TIME

How walking six days through the bush helps you make sense of life

Iwas living in Yellowknife, in the spring of 1998, when I got a call from fellow fi lmmaker Terry Wolfe who was asking for help on a fi lm shoot the following week. The people in the Sahtu Region were planning to recreate a traditional walk, between the two communities of Colville Lake and Fort Good Hope, and wanted it documented on fi lm. Before air service in 1964, people would walk, with pack dogs, from Colville Lake to Fort Good Hope, to buy supplies— an eighty-mile trek through the bush. The few remaining elders who remembered the route wanted to show the younger generation the way, in more ways than one.

Before we left Yellowknife, they assured us that all we needed to bring was our camera gear, a mosquito net and a sleeping bag. They confi rmed, several times, that they had all the food and there was no need to bring any. But when we got there, someone forgot to send the memo because no one had any extra food for us. One thing about the North, people expect you to hold your own and think on your feet. So we went over to the Co-op store and stocked up on the lightest, mostnutritious food we could fi nd—dry noodles, instant porridge and raisins. There was no freeze-dried tofu, that’s for sure. So we made do.

That was just the start of our problems. On the day of, the walking party was gathered at the band offi ce, each with a pack dog. A pack dog is a large husky that carries a canvas bag stuffed with camping essentials like food, sleeping gear and survival equipment. Again, no one got the memo that we might need one, too, with an extra hundred pounds of camera equipment and sound gear. In the North, if you can’t laugh at yourself, they’ll do it for you. Cause they broke out laughing, suggesting that we go around and look for a dog to steal. Someone had pity on us and we went looking for a pack dog. There was a mangy husky mutt tied to a post just down the road. The owner was out of town and we fi gured he wouldn’t miss it if we borrowed it. So he instructed me to undo his chain from the post and go fi t him for a dog pack.

I don’t think that dog had been let loose since last winter, cause he dragged me halfway back to the band offi ce. It’s a good thing I had experience with sled dogs from growing up with my brother Gerry’s dog team. You gotta show them who’s boss, so I grabbed a handful of his neck and bent down low and growled a few choice words, which cooled him off. Northern dogs are not pets; they are beasts of burden for all you Cheechakos.

We fi nally got all our camera gear split up between ourselves and “Chocolate,” our faithful pack dog. As much as we tried to pair down our camera and camping gear, all three of us (Terry, myself and Chocolate) had a wobbly start from the weight on our backs. Nonetheless, off we went.

The fi rst leg of the trip was a six-mile hike through a cutline from the community of Colville Lake, to Belot Lake. To save time, they boated us across the vast expanse of Belot Lake. We’d budgeted six days so that we would arrive in Fort Good Hope on June 21, National Aboriginal Day as it was called then.

When we got the call to do the job, I went and paid over a hundred bucks for a pair of top-ofthe-line hiking boots. The kid who sold them to me assured me that they were MADE for hiking on the tundra. I noticed that all the Dene were using wraparound moccasins, and I felt sorry for them because they didn’t have hundred-dollar hiking boots, like me. Well, by the time we hit Belot Lake, I could have choked that kid because the boots were cutting into my ankles and I was having trouble keeping up. Too embarrassed to complain about my boots, I swiped some lard from the cook and cut up an

extra pair of underwear I had and wrapped my ankles with them. It worked for a bit, till the lard dried up, then I had to repeat it later. We got across Belot Lake and decided to camp for the night. It was June fi fteenth and the mosquitoes were out in full force. Everyone scrambled for the best camping spot— a clearing with either trees or willows, on either end, to tie the mosquito nets to. Once those were set, we placed our sleeping mats and sleeping PHOTO: DENNIS ALLEN bags underneath, then had a supElder Marie Kochon per of dry-fi sh and bannock. After breaking off a piece supper, I unwrapped my bloody ankles and tried to fi gure out of caribou dry-meat what to do about them. I decided for Dennis to eat to pick some fresh spruce sap and slather it on my ankles. I used an extra pair of socks to wrap my ankles, and it felt very soothing. Someone eventually loaned me some sneakers. The next morning, we had a quick breakfast, broke camp and trudged on. I was amazed at

PHOTO: DENNIS ALLEN Sleeping arrangements along the trail

PHOTO: TERRY WOLFE Enjoying a lunch along the trail

cont’d on page 18 ...

Clayton’s CAR CARE Tips

BRAKE FLUID

Regular brake fl uid changes ensure that a car’s braking system operates safely and effectively.

Modern braking systems use brake fl uid to transfer the application of the brake pedal down to the front and rear brakes, to bring the vehicle to a stop. The fl uid is usually silicone based, which does not compress, giving a solid pedal feel and an increased temperature rating. The downside to using this style of fl uid is that it absorbs moisture from the air. Constant braking causes massive amounts of heat to be generated by the braking components, which is then transferred into the fl uid. If there is moisture in the fl uid, this will decrease the temperature rating of the fl uid, and can result in a soft brake pedal and increased stopping distance. Most manufacturers recommend brake fl uid changes every 2 years, regardless of kilometres travelled, but it may need to be changed more frequently if the vehicle is operated under abnormal conditions.

INUVIALUIT

National Indigenous Peoples Day

Yukon First Nations have played an important role in the territory’s development for generations, and will continue to shape our future.

On National Indigenous Peoples Day, we take time to recognize, celebrate, and learn about First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultures.