Happy New Years from all of us here at Halley’s Camps!

Tis’ the month of sport shows…with the border closed we are still putting on miles-not in a truck like usual at this time of year but on a snowmobile! We have been busy with opening up our winter trails, cutting firewood at outposts and One Man Lake Lodge, and planning renovations and upgrades that we could do if the border opens soon and quickly.

We still are on a month by month basis if the border is going to be open. We really hope it does and it’s great to hear that so many people in the states and in Canada that have received the vaccine. We hope everyone stays healthy and keep looking forward to their trips at Halley’s Camps. Fingers crossed that we hear some good news in February.

On Christmas Eve, I was told that there was a dog that walked into the yard at One Man Lake Lodge the previous Monday. Chris and I talked about it and we posted a note on the bulletin board at White Dog Reserve online. I received messages about a gentleman that was missing his dogs from east of One Man by 45 miles. He had gone out hunting and his dogs went out after him later and they went the wrong way. Only one dog made it out of the two. I told the owner that it was the one with the blue collar and he told me the dog’s name was Blade. The owner mentioned that his kids were jumping for joy hearing one of the dogs is still alive. To complete this miracle that the dog made it that far, Chris and his daughter Reagan offered to meet up with him and bring him to One Man to get his dog on Christmas Day. We borrowed him a snowmobile and sleigh and he was reunited, able to bring Blade home for his family. That is one lucky pooch!

This December isn’t a contender with the cold like other years. We still have warm weather and hardly any snow. You can look at the lakes around here and see half the lakes spotted with snow and bare ice! We are usually across the English River making our way to One Man the first week of December but there wasn’t enough ice this year. It was a couple of weeks behind.

It was great to hear all the people calling to get Christmas presents in the shape of either gift certificates for trips to Halley’s Camps or the full Monty-the entire fishing trip paid. It was also great to have people phoning to wish us all a Merry Christmas and check in. We have our fingers crossed for this summer!

Still to date, the Canada and the US border is still closed. Once a month the border situation reviewed whether there is going to be another monthly extension. We are very optimistic as you have all heard that the vaccine is getting ready to be rolled out across the states. This is very good news to us as we are hoping that the more people are vaccinated in the states, the earlier the border will open.

We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Family, friends, health and happiness are something to capture at this time of year. And after the year we just had, try taking some extra time to treasure everyone in your life and what better than on a fishing vacation spending the quality time together and making memories that last you a lifetime.

We do have available dates on our www.halleyscamps.com. If you are interested in any dates or know someone who might be looking for a fishing vacation, please contact us.

Wow—what a fall this has been. October was very cool and we even had quite a bit of snow. And the beginning of November came with warmer temps. All of our lodging contracts at Caribou ended on November 5 and then it was us. For a few days, we closed the cabins, drained the water and moved back to our winter house.

All of us within Halley’s Camps spoke about everything that has occurred through the spring, summer and fall. When the US Thanksgiving came around we reflected on everything to be thankful for this past year. We were able to toast to our health, the health and good spirits of our guests, family life, business, fishing, hunting, and a great environment. Cheers to all of our guests for making Halley’s Camps over the years what it is today. We miss you all!

It’s huntin’ month around here! Our moose hunts this fall were amazing. We had groups in from all over Canada tracking or calling moose in. All of our hunts this year were unguided. We had many groups that were successful being able to take a moose and will have nice lean meat to fill their freezer. Whether its roasts, steaks, sausage or jerky-moose meat has such a nice mellow flavor.

The cold weather hit in October-we had one night that was -13°C which is about 8°F—it was very cold and windy. With the cold weather, our summer camp at Caribou Falls Landing had to winterize many buildings as we were hosting contractors that were living in the cabins and eating in the lodge dining room daily.  There was snow and ice all around making it look like a day in December. We served them up a large turkey dinner for our Canadian Thanksgiving on October 12^th. To commence Halloween some of the guys staying had brought their pirate hats and their “ar” to the dining room and gave us all a chuckle.

Chris was able to go out moose hunting with his oldest son, Louis, and was able to get a moose almost immediately-wow what a great tasting moose it was-it was a young bull. Partridge, geese and ducks were also some of the other hunting items that were on the successful lists.