I
had two extraordinary experiences this last week on the annual De
Soto High School FFA Jag Lake trip. No one would probably
believe either one, except that I have a witness who took photos and
video of the battle and I don’t care whether anyone believes me or
not about the other - it was an eerie first for me, but let me begin
at the beginning.
We
headed north from De Soto High School on Monday morning. We
were De Soto FFA Supervisor and Agriculture teacher Ron Von Glahn,
and 12 FFA students and me. I had seven - count ‘em - seven
high school girls in my Suburban. One of the mothers wished me
good luck at the send off. I think she said something like, “I
am afraid for you.” Von had five boys with him. Anyway,
it was a fine trip north with easy traffic and nice weather.
Last year, my four young women chose the name “K Team” (for
Koelker) and dubbed me OMG, short for Old Man Greg. My 2015
load of ladies were pleasant and didn’t whine much at all about
having to listen to “my music” most of the time. We only
had to make one unscheduled bathroom stop. I’m going with the
title “The Magnificent Seven.”
After
a late lunch at the MacDonald’s in Minocqua, my vehicle lead the
way north to Day Lake Road and the FFA Camp. As always, I am
amazed to see the lake and tall pine trees framing the dock and the
island in the middle of the lake. It always takes my breath
away and makes me smile. I have been coming up to Jag on this
trip since 1997. Once we dismounted and looked around a bit,
the kids all pitched in and unloaded kayaks and coolers and gear.
It didn’t take much time at all to make the old bunkhouse home or
for kids to hit the water. Von and I, the responsible adults on
guard, set up our Jag Lake chairs and relaxed while our charges
played with kayaks and row boats. Later, Curt Christensen
called us from the public dock and Von and I drove over to help him
launch his boat. We use “Mr. C’s” boat to pull the kids
on a tube. Our charges did free range pizza for supper this
night. We had a great bonfire later; tired from saddle time,
Von and I hit the sack early. The kids were kind to us, coming
into the cabin quietly. I guess they were just respectful or
maybe took pity on us or most likely were just worried the two old
guys in the front bunks with Cpap masks on their faces might expire
if they disturbed them. Regardless, thanks kids.
As
always, Von was the first one up on Tuesday morning. I was
lured out of my warm sack by the aroma of coffee brewing when I awoke
around 5:15. I joined Von on the dock, pouring him a refill cup
of hot coffee from my travel mug. I hooked on a night crawler
chunk and set about drowning it and watching the sunrise.
Neither disappointed. My slip bobber disappeared a number of
times and I think it was bluegills stealing four of my crawlers
before I gave up and just enjoyed the show. Old Sol did not
disappoint, creating a subtly colored impressionist sunrise seen
through the fog. I snapped a shot of the fog draped sun with a
loon in front at one point.
Around
8:30 Von and I start making our first healthy Jag Lake breakfast:
bacon, scrambled eggs, taters, toast, and juice. Relax that
scowl, Mom; it’s only once a year. We make sure these almost
always hungry teenagers will have plenty of energy for a full day of
water sports. We got some dairy products into them later when
we all went into Boulder Junction for ice cream and shopping that
morning too. After a lunch of tacos and more water sports, the
day ended with fire and s’mores as usual.
Von
and I always rave to the kids about the sunrises on Jag, but rarely
do any of them partake, so on Wednesday morning, I was surprised to
see someone on the bench with Von. It was a chilly 45 degrees.
The brave soul was FFA President Trisha Nickelotti. I joined
them and put out a hook and bait and handed the pole to Trisha.
I hoped she’d catch a bass. She looked at me sideways and
told us she is bad luck for fishing. Anyway, after a short
while with no action and little color on the horizon, she gave up and
went back in to get warm and more shut eye.
I
don’t think she was even in the door at the cabin when my bobber
went down - hard. I set the hook and things really got fun. The
fish jumped out of the lake when I first set the hook and Von’s
comment was, “That’s a pig!” Von grabbed a net from his
boat. I had to keep adjusting my drag and working what was
proving to be a dandy smallmouth. Von took some pictures and
video, so I have a witness and visual evidence. The fish took
line and when it wasn’t stripping line, one could hear the 6 lb.
line whining as it was stretched tight. I managed to get the
bass close to the dock after ten minutes of fighting it. It
must have seen safety under the dock as it made a run for it.
As Von tried to get the net in front of it, my line broke. We
both saw it in the clear water though. It was big, like 20 plus
inches big maybe. So that was the big one who got away story I
can back up. After the fish story, three otters came bobbing up
and down as they slipped by our dock. There was a family of
loons called all morning, a flock of mallards flapped by, and the
resident bald eagle glided over.
At
breakfast time, we fried eggs and sausage and baked biscuits; Von
made sausage gravy to top it all off for Tuesday breakfast. I
got to bang on a pan lid to announce it.
Thursday
morning, around 3 a.m. I awoke to my usual old guy urge and took my
light and headed down the camp road to water the plants. In the
distance I heard what sounded like coyotes at first. Then
nearby - like a hundred yards maybe - an almost guttural and then
mournful howl started up. Talk about getting one’s business
done quickly. I stood on the deck for a bit while the wolf
continued its slow mournful howl. No one else heard it, but it
happened. (I confirmed what I heard with a Youtube video.)
Anyway,
this year’s trip was as good as any and better than most. We
took 12 kids and brought 12 kids back. They, the weather, the
food, and the experiences make for more Jag Lake memories, the best
part sometimes.
Until
next time, get out - I’d like to put in a plug for a sweet De Soto
FFA fundraiser taking place on August 18. The Culvers on the
south side of La Crosse will donate 10% of the take that day to the
De Soto FFA Club. There will be FFA members there helping with
serving and such from 5 to 8 p.m. Speaking of treats, Ellen’s
exploding garden is covering our table with green beans, sweet corn
and tomatoes. Ellen topped it off with another homemade peach
pie. It don’t git no better. Enjoy.
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