
On my way back out I stopped at each camp and slid a business card in the door. As I drove in earlier that morning there were other tracks in the mud so I wasn’t surprised when I pulled into one camp and found people. They were probably more surprised to see my 4-wheeler loaded with gear and me in my retro yellow helmet. I met Tony, Ralph and Ralph’s son Zach. After introducing myself and chatting about my film they were interested in being a part of it and ready to do the interview right then. However the sun was high in the cloudless sky, casting bad shadows and not the best time to film a person outdoors. So we arranged to do the interview at 9:00 am the next morning.
I was hoping for a little bit of cloud cover Sunday morning but no such luck and whatever those small obnoxious flies are that like to swarm your face hatched on the river that morning. I should have done the interview inside their camp but really wanted an outdoor one. So after turning them around and around to find the best angle for filming (they were good sports) and after Ralph ate one bug (blooper reel!) we had a great conversation about their camp, its history, why they enjoy it so much and the advantages of leaving it there for future generations and others to enjoy. It was a challenge to operate a camera and interview 3 people at the same time. A few shots didn’t turn out as well; I didn’t notice the sun glaring into the corner of the camera at first but that is where good editing comes into play. After a tour of their camp named “Hecter’s Shack aka WWWL” (which stands for four winners and a loser) Zach did a little fishing with no luck. Like the last interview, I could have stayed all day to chat. I’ve met some great people so far, some of which the local area will most likely never see again after they have to remove their camp. It is what brings them here.