Troubled Waters

Memories of a fishing trip that did not go as planned!

- Donald Kreewin

In 1953, my father returned home after serving a tour of duty in South Korea with the Lord Strathcona Horse Regiment, under the command of the United Nations. Needless to say, he was a bit edgy and restless from participating in the Korean War and he experienced many nights with horrendous nightmares.

One day, Dad decided that what he needed was a relaxing, quiet holiday away from all the stress and cares of everyday living. He thought a combined fishing and camping trip would be the best solution to help calm his, at times, rattled nerves.

Plans were made to arrange for a fishing trip with six of his closest friends at Horseshoe Lake near Whiteshell Provincial Park in Manitoba, where one of Dad’s good friends, Guy, had a cabin at the very end of the lake. I was pleasantly surprised when he invited me, a 13-year-old teenager at the time, to join the men on the trip.

It was a two-and-a-half- hour drive from Winnipeg to the parking lot of Whiteshell Park. Then it was another two-hour trek through the bushes and swamps, and over steep rocks, to the edge of Horseshoe Lake. On our way through the bushes, we came across some bear scat but thankfully we never encountered a live bear!

Guy had hidden his boat and motor in a bush to keep them from being stolen.