Manfred Zepf - Arctic Adventure

Arctic Adventure

Around the World Publishing LLC

4914 Cooper Road Suite 144

Cincinnati, Ohio 45242-9998

This book recounts the true experience of the Manfredo Zepf,

as translated and edited by Ron Mueller.

Personal names of participants are fictitious.

An Arctic Adventure by Manfred Zepf: Copyright March 2019

All rights reserved,

including the right of reproduction,

in whole or in part in any form.

ISBN 13:978-1-68223-168-5

Distributed by Ingram

Cover Picture by:Natures Moment SUK - Shutterstock

Cover Design by: Ron Mueller

Dedication:

I dedicate this book to,

Ana Rita, my wife that I love the most.

Helga, daughter that I love the most.

Flvio, son that I love the most.

I love each the most and only have one of each!

My posthumous tribute to:

A great friend,

A great hunter,

A great adventurer

Above all,

A great Man of character and family.

God Bless you, Bill,

wherever you are.

Rest in peace!

Table of Content

Diary Day 1

Diary Day 27: Honey, Chocolate and Caramel

This is a work based on true facts, extracted from my diary, which was meant to record my feelings at the time and not the emotions of a dream, or an adventure, it was recorded without pretense of great achievements or the future. It was my attempt w ithout any pretension other than to be able to remember the wonderful moments that I experienced.

Today I would not undertake such an adventure . And I would not recommend it to people, in general. To venture in this way, it is necessary to; develop your knowledge and techniques of hunting; to study about bears; to have the ability to instinctively handle a rifle as if it were the extension of your hand, your arm. After constant practice it becomes instinctive and automatic. I do not need to think, I do not need to look to lock or unlock or to load and eject a round from my Weatherby 30-06 Vanguard rifle.

It is especially necessary to study and know about bear habits and habitats. You will never know exactly what is going on in the bears' head and what will be their reactions. In fact, it is of no use other than to have a general understanding of their instincts and actions. There is nothing mathematical or linear about the actions of the Ursus Horribilis, the bear. It is a beast for which we do not have a scientific book that gives us full knowledge of its habits.

I studied a lot before making the decision to make this trip. I went when I was single. I would not have gone if I had been married. I would not have gone for the love I have for my wife Ana Rita, and my children Helga and Flvio.

Today I know that I could leave a widow and orphans, because you will see in the telling of the story that the danger was incessant, and that luck was my companion.

For reasons of rights, I have excluded the original names of people who were part of this adventure, except for my dear brother Conrado, a gift that God placed beside me in preparation for this journey . T his brother who did not participate in this adventure with his presence but was constantly present in my thoughts and situations of this adventure.

My friend and fanatic, hallucinating, inveterate hunter Lairto n also was not part of this adventure. He was a born hunter, who would fit into any age of history on this planet, where the horse was still the best way to get around. He himself says that these " jockey clubs" that are under the hoods of this modern world no longer match and do not make the grade.

To all those who became an integral part of this adventure, my tender thanks, and an eternal remembrance of each one of you!

Encourage those who fit wisely and knowingly into any type of adventure.

Do, because if no one else ventures, the electrifying passages and life experiences will end. It would be a sad end to miss the real adventures and live only in the virtual and the unreal ones.

Manfredo Zepf

Diary Day 1:

December is a hellish heat here in Brazil and it is snowing on the top side of the world. So, my contact with Bill on the telephone, with the marked climatic contrast was a source of envy for both of us. He wanted to be here under the scorching tropical sun, and I wanted the cold at the border of the Arctic where the outdoor temperature was a minus eight degrees centigrade,

It was the first phone call with Bill to set the date for my future trip to act on my dream to build a hunting lodge on the Arctic border.

I met Bill years ago when Conrado , Lairton, Rui, and I went for a hunt in the same Canadian province. Horst a guide, who would take us to this hunt, met Bill, his friend and seaplane pilot, by chance at our boarding gate where we all stayed together. Horst told us that if we wanted to schedule future adventures, he recommended Bill. He introduced Bill as a professional and an excellent guide.

Bill wasted no time in distributing his card to us and did a speedy advertisement of his services. He showed his expertise using a book with enlarged photos of places where he took groups to camp on the edge of fishing lakes and where there was abundant hunting.

To get ready for my dream adventure, I made countless contacts with Bill to make sure that all the necessary arrangements for this adventure were made.

Meanwhile I took care of the other preparations and arrangements to be made in Brazil.

This would be a unique trip that I would do on my own. N othing could be forgotten. Some items, if forgotten, could prove to be fatal.

F our preparation months passed, until finally April came. It came along with the anxiety of packing for a challenging adventure trip. I was excited . It was hard for me to sleep.

As the traditional suitcases would not withstand the challenging conditions of the air transport that the luggage would face, I had two bags made with reinforced truck canvas and had two heavy duty boxes made to carry tools and groceries.

Then, I started packing.

I picked up my checklist for hunting trips. I had it ready so that nothing would be forgotten. The list was developed from having suffered when I forgot some critical item. In hunting trips when you forget something you can be sure you will suffer.

The rather long detailed checklist list is in the appendix. It is long and is divided into two columns with space to tick off when the item is in the suitcase. I used this list on previous trips to Africa, Canada and to the Arctic.

Despite being in Canada, this trip was very different from the other Canadian trips . I would be alone in the middle of nowhere close to the Arctic Circle and the polar cap. This would be in a place where it would be fatal to forget certain items.

It would be hundreds of miles from the nearest tiny bit of civilization.

Many of the items on the list are not known by newer, younger generations.

Despite a not-so-distant experience some curious items are on the list.

Some twenty, thirty, or forty years of technical progress has transformed all previous electronics into artifacts and museum pieces. Newer versions of them are on the list, also the clothes have improved. Some examples are mitten heaters, under the foot liners that release friction induced heat when walking, ski glasses, waterproof matches, use of a wooden clasp to attach a flashlight to the barrel of the rifle, use of graphite grease for camcorders, thermal protector for camcorders, ammunition, and batteries.