Dream trip ends early

by Arthur Milnes
Northern News Services

FORT SIMPSON (Nov 28/97) - An American's dream of camping in the Canadian wilderness has ended up costing Canadian taxpayers thousands of dollars.

Long Island, New York's George Moscatello, 46, set off an emergency locator beacon early Saturday during the first night of a planned five-night solo camping trip in the bush near Wrigley.

Unfortunately for taxpayers, Moscatello's emergency unit was not meant for use in Canada. The signal told Canadian Armed Forces search and rescue staff that an aircraft was down in the bush.

In turn, a Hercules aircraft was dispatched -- at a cost of $3,000 per hour according to an Armed Force's spokesperson in Trenton, Ont., -- to the site.

Luckily, the plane was turned back while over Saskatchewan after Fort Simpson RCMP, who were well aware of Moscatello's visit, were contacted.

The Hercules had a total of about three and a half hours of flying time, meaning the government is on the hook for at least $10,000.

Wrigley residents went to the American's campsite returned him to Fort Simpson Saturday, shaken and but unharmed.

The dream of winter camping that brought him North was the main casualty.

Police concerned

Like many visitors to the North, Moscatello, a 46-year-old Westbury musician and army veteran, arrived here chasing that dream. While there is nothing unusual in that, it's the nature of the American's dream that had everyone talking.

And even the Mounties, concerned for his safety, sat him down for a talk when they heard why he had arrived here Nov. 16.

"I'm a New Yorker who's always had a curiosity about this part of North America," he said when asked what possessed him to hit the Arctic for a camping trip in late November.

"It seemed like a mystical part of the continent.... As a New Yorker, being here makes me feel like I'm on a calvary post in the 1880s."

After taking Amtrak to Toronto, Moscatello boarded a plane for the four-and-a-half-hour flight to Edmonton, changed planes for another two hours in the air north to Yellowknife and then hopped aboard a commuter plane for another hour to Fort Simpson Nov. 16.

On Thursday, he left Fort Simpson for the flight to Wrigley -- population 167 -- from where he planned to walk to a camping site about 10 kilometres from town.

All told, he'll have plopped down about $4,000 to camp in the sub-zero weather by the time the trip finishes.

Temperatures can easily drop to dangerous levels this time of year and this fact is what had the RCMP worried. Officers at the Fort Simpson detachment said they did their best to ensure he knew what he was getting into.

"Our detachment is fully aware of his plans and we're concerned," said Cpl. Tonia Enger before Moscatello left for Wrigley.

"He's come up to the Northwest Territories and will be dealing with elements he is not aware of. I wouldn't want to go down to the Bronx without people telling me about the elements I should be aware of and then have people let me walk into them blind."

Seeing his equipment and sensing his inexperience at camping on top of the world, some area outfitters are said to have even tried to discourage him from flying even deeper into the bush.

With 3.3 million square kilometres of land to cover and a population in the NWT of only 53,000, you can see why they were concerned about Moscatello.

Lessons to be learned

Besides a tent, blanket, bottle of 100-proof Bourbon and two sets of long underwear, Moscatello brought along a bag full of sandwiches -- made and frozen in New York -- to feed him while he's under the stars.

He also packed a shortwave radio, hoping to pick up broadcasts from Russia, and brought along a rifle in case the wolves get too close.

But when he thought he was in danger of wolves attacking, he chose instead to activate the beacon.

"I felt I had no choice," he said. "I had no idea how much it would cost but I didn't want to encounter a wolf in my tent."

Moscatello said he had heard the sound of animals moving round his tent and that something poked the side of the tent.

Though searchers did not find any wolf tracks, Moscatello has steadfastly insisted that animals were close by.

RCMP said no charges will be laid -- despite the fact that Moscatello ignored warnings from both police and other residents about the dangers of camping in the isolated North.

However, Enger said there are lessons to be learned from the incident.

"There is a difference between adventurers and tourists," she said. "Tourists are always welcome here. Adventurers should listen to what the locals and police say. If they're not prepared to do that, that is when problems arise."

Despite all the commotion, Moscatello said that he has enjoyed the experience of seeing the North and that he hopes to one day return.