(Albert Ostman)
PART 2
Albert and his guide arrived at the head of the inlet about 4:00 pm. They pitched camp at the mouth of a creek and proceeded to have supper (as they called it back then). Albert told the old Indian to meet up with him in three weeks. He would be back in this spot after his prospecting trip.
Early the next morning, Albert grabbed his rifle, secured the rest of his gear and food at the camp and went out to scout for a deer trail leading up into the mountains. While making his way up the inlet, he came across a pass in the mountain that intrigued and beckoned him to take a peek and see what was on the other side.
He spent most of the afternoon searching for a trail but there was none to be found, just a hogback descending in the direction of the beach. From there, he staked out a trail and headed back to the camp, eventually returning about 3:00 pm that afternoon. Albert packed up his gear for an early trip. From what I remember, his gear consisted of and I quote, “one 30- 30 Winchester rifle, I had a special home-made prospecting pick, axe on one end, pick on the other. I had a leather case for this pick which fastened to my belt, also my sheath knife.
The storekeeper at Lund was co-operative. He gave me some cans for my sugar, salt and matches to keep them dry. My grub consisted mostly of canned stuff, except for a side of bacon, a bag of beans, four pounds of prunes and six packets of macaroni, cheese, three pounds of pancake flour and six packets of Rye King hard tack, three rolls of snuff, one quart sealer of butter and two one-pound cans of milk. I had two boxes of shells for my rifle.
The storekeeper gave me a biscuit tin. I put a few things in that and cached it under a windfall, so I would have it when I came back here waiting for a boat to bring me out. My sleeping bag I rolled up and tied on top of my pack sack, together with my ground sheet, small frying pan, and one aluminum pot that held about a gallon. As my canned food was used, I would get plenty of empty cans to cook with” as per his recorded words.
Very early in the morning of the second day of his vacation, Albert had breakfast and packed up the rest of his gear for his trip up the hogback trail. With an eighty pound back pack, apart from his rifle, he frequently had to stop for a rest. Resting and climbing until about 2:00 pm that evening. He came upon a flat place just below a rock bluff, where there was a cluster of willow. He fabricated a wooden spade and proceeded to dig for water. After sticking water about a foot into his excavation, he made the decision to make camp for the night at this location and scout around the next day to determine the best direction forward.
At this point, Albert was close to a thousand feet up the mountain. This site was overlooking a glorious view of the islands and the strait. He could even see all the boats moving in all directions. He spent all of the following day prospecting around but found no sign of minerals. He did find a deer trail eventually, leading to the pass he had seen earlier on his way up the inlet. Early the following morning, he once again headed out while still cool. After three hours of treacherous climbing with his heavy back pack, he stopped to rest. On the opposite side of the ravine where he was resting, his eyes caught a yellow spot below a small cluster of trees, so he made his way over to that area and started digging for water.
Luckily he found a small spring and collected some water in a cedar bark, had lunch and rested till evening. He eventually made it over the pass that night. From here it was all downhill and easy going. Hungry and tired, he made camp at the first cluster of trees he came upon. At this time, Albert surveyed the terrain with his eyes for the most effective and convenient direction to proceed in. Heading West, led to low land and another inlet, so he decided to take the Northern trail, which would be easier and take him downhill all day. After a ten mile hike, he came upon a small spring and a big black hemlock tree. Albert thought to himself, this was the perfect campsite. He spent two days here resting and prospecting. He also shot a small deer the first night.
END PART 2
