MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Summer 2020

64 Lucky to get back and forth from the island for the first few years. “I’d just walk in the water and drag the boat with my kids and dogs in it. It’s only a two-minute boat ride, probably about a kilometre from shore.” The deed to the land says it’s 2-6 acres. The hyphen denotes the differing land mass depending on water levels. With the water so high this summer, the island may be more like 1.5 acres. When they bought the cottage there was no power. Everything was done by candlelight, but there was one too many hectic nights. “We’d come back after being out on the water at sunset and then have to cook for the family at 9:30 by candlelight. It was romantic, but really tough.” So they installed a couple solar panels and enough batteries to run the bare essentials: lights and some phone chargers. The septic is an Ecoflo system that was added ten years ago. Currently the family just uses buckets straight from the lake for washing hands and flushing the toilet. But they plan to install a 110-volt pump as soon as possible to bring in water from the lake. They bring their drinking water in. So how do you find a place like this for yourself? Like many things in life, it’s all about being in the right place at the right time. And this place isn’t going up for sale any time soon. “We absolutely love it,” the owner says. “We spend our island time outside adventuring, exploring nature and relaxing during sunset. We really feel like we’ve had it for generations. It is something very special to us and is not something that we would ever consider selling.” The cottage came as is, with more than 80 years of acquired gear: water skis, cast-iron pans, a wooden boat, Hudson Bay blankets, lanterns, tools and more.