Self-Sufficient Man

“Get me some of those fishing hooks,” Carl said to the cashier, “and some of that jerky for my dog.” The cashier complied and soon, Carl was ready to begin his expedition into the woods.

Carl loved the outdoors and often went there to get away. At the ripe age of eighty three, he still ventured out to go camping in desolate areas. His favorite way to travel was in his large canoe that he could easily carry all by himself. He stored everything he needed in it, which truly wasn’t very much for he loved to live off the land. His only traveling companion was his dog, Ortfreed von Bittenburg II.

Ortfreed, a three year old German Shepherd, can only be described as vicious, unless you happened to be Carl. Ortfreed was trained to attack first and ask questions later. One time he even bit Carl when he jumped into the car too quickly during a rainstorm.

Carl was an unusual looking man. Small wisps of white hair on Carl's head clung to the memory that he, in his younger years, had a full head of hair to match his beard. He was also very muscular due to the fact that he had to carry all of his items wherever he went. If someone were to ever spot Carl in the wilderness and somehow manage not to see his blinding white beard, identifying him would still be easy due to his bright orange hat filled to the brim with pins. He always tried to collect a pin from every place he visits, and by taking one glance at his hat, anyone could see that that is quite a lot.

Outside the general store, Carl finished loading up his canoe and then went over to his car to make sure it was locked. He had parked it on the launching dock. The cashier in the general store said it was ok to do so because almost no one ever came down here. Once Carl was done, he stood at the edge of the dock looking down the river. The adrenaline was pumping through his veins. He knew this was going to be a long trip, probably more than a couple weeks. He needed time to relax and the wilderness was where he felt most at home.

For the next two days, Carl and Ortfreed traveled up the river in Carl’s canoe. To pass the time while paddling, Carl would sing old songs that he had heard as a child. He loved to reminisce about his early years whenever he was traveling. Canoeing always brought back memories of his first camping trips with his father. This was where he first found his love of nature and cherished the memories of them.

The first night on the river, they camped just above the river bank. Carl did not want to try and explore the area they had landed on because he did not want to lose sight of his supplies or canoe. This was unfamiliar territory and he had only an inkling as to what was lurking in the woods. Ortfreed stood on guard the whole night. His instinct told him to protect his master, so that was exactly what he was going to do.

The next morning, Carl caught two fish. He was a very skilled fisherman. It was as though Carl only had to put his hand near the water and the fish would jump out to greet him. He ate what he could and then gave the scrapes to Ortfreed. While taking a long drink from the river, Carl remembered why he loved rivers so much. They always provided a steady supply of pure, sweet tasting water which oceans could not do. Previous to this trip, Carl had spent some time in Mexico. He had had to carry around his own water everywhere he went and after awhile, it began to become rather of a nuisance. Carl was very glad to be back to traveling on rivers.

When he got back on the river, he began to not only sing again, but he also began to try and find the ideal location for his campsite. It did not seem like he could find the perfect spot. They had gone about thirty miles when Carl saw a small island in the middle of the river. He found the perfect spot to camp and pulled the canoe ashore.

By the time night had fallen, Carl had already set up his entire camp. All that he had was his small tent, some cooking utensils, his favorite ax, and a fishing pole. To most this would seem like nothing, but to him, it was almost more than enough He even had time to catch a few fish before it became too dark to see.

The next morning, Carl set to work to try and gather some fire wood so he could have a steady supply of it. He took out his razor-sharp ax and began cutting away at the dead trees that were laying about the island. During this time, Ortfreed was sitting a good amount away from his master with his ears perked up. One of the things he had been trained to do was to always be alert in case an intruder approached. In this case, the trespasser could range from a person to an unfortunate bird.

As soon as he was done, Carl decided to take Ortfreed and explore their tiny island. When they reached the other side, they were surprised to find a nest of turtle eggs that looked as if they were almost hatched. Carl had to restrain Ortfreed from eating the eggs right away. Carl wanted to save them for a special occasion.

On the way back, they saw many wild raspberry bushes that were just beginning to ripen. They were still rather sour when Carl tried them, but within a week or two, they would be quite sweet. The berries were one of the reasons Carl loved venturing out into the wilderness. There was no place else you could get such sweet and good tasting berries. They were almost an entirely different fruit from the ones sold in the supermarket.

After awhile on this little island, Carl fell into a sort of daily routine. He woke up before the sun rose and paddle out onto the peaceful river. Then, he patiently waited until the fish took the bait and tried to eat the struggling worm attached to the fishing hook. Next, he cooked his breakfast over the embers of the campfire from the night before. It seemed to him that it would be a waste of valuable firewood to start another fire. Carl’s breakfast always consisted of fish, unless Ortfreed caught some meat during the night. Not that Carl minded in the slightest; fish was his favorite food, aside from wild berries.

Carl relaxed and enjoyed the beauty of nature for most of the morning. Around midday, he began to search the island to see if any varmints had stumbled into any of his traps. He had created traps to catch his unsuspecting prey soon after he had arrived. Although he did love fish, it was nice to have a bit of a variety of foods to eat.

No day would be complete without Carl chopping up some more fire wood. Strangely, this was one of the times he felt the greatest sense of peace. The hard work motivated him and gave him such a strong outlook on life. He would take off his shirt, hack away at the logs, and when he saw his completed pile of wood, a great sense of pride spread through him.

Following this, he prepared dinner for both himself and Ortfreed that consisted of any of the day’s findings. Sometimes if Carl thought he had done exceptionally well with some task, they had a small feast of some of the eggs they had found on the other side of the island.

Before the sun set, Carl liked to try and find a new place in which he could watch the great ball of flame be extinguished. He felt that this was the greatest gift that could have ever been given by Mother Nature. Whenever he saw it, he thought of how it represents the circle of life. “All things great must come to an end just like the day must become night,” was one of his favorite sayings. He made sure he said it to Ortfreed every single sunset that they watched together.

They then fell asleep either in the small tent, or if there was nice weather, under the stars. Carl sometimes stayed up just reflecting on life and the world around. He loved the solitude he had when he camped by himself, but most of all, he loved the feeling of freedom.

After a month had past, the cashier from the general store was beginning to get worried. The old man's car was still where he had left it, and he had yet to return. He also remembered the small amount of supplies he had purchased. The man had said he might be gone for a week or two, but this was much too long for someone alone to survive. There was no doubt in his mind that the old man could not possibly be alive. He must have fallen or maybe that horrible dog had turned on him and fatally bit him. Whatever the case, the cashier knew he needed to call in a search team to try and locate the body.

The search team searched high and low to try and find the remains of this man. About thirty miles up river, they came upon a most unusual sight. Before them was a man chopping wood at his campsite who seemed to be in excellent health. This wasn’t just any man; it was the man they were looking for. Never in all their years had they searched for someone and then found them, not only alive, but also in a most hale and hearty condition. When they greeted him to make sure this was the correct man, Carl had even asked them if they wanted some fresh fish he just caught, but they turned him down after taking one look at Ortfreed.

They soon let this strange, yet extraordinarily self-sufficient man to himself and traveled back upriver. When they arrived back at the general store, the cashier asked if they had any luck. One replied, “We found him alright. He was right at home.”