B.C. man reunited with beloved flute, 5 years after it floated away down a Yukon river
Jun
asserted
it → reunite → river
Takahashi had wondered if some bear in Alaska was now playing it
Jun
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bear → wonder → it
Takahashi was stunned when he saw the post on social media.
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he → stun → media
Like, I couldn't believe it," he said, from his home on Salt Spring Island, B.C.
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he → believe → Island
The post on a Yukon paddling group page was by someone who had recently found a blue, waterproof canoe barrel full of camping gear, near the confluence of a couple of remote Yukon rivers.
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who → find → rivers
The poster, Colin Abbott, asked if anybody had dumped in Yukon's Kathleen River "in the last couple of years" and might be missing their gear.
uncertain
anybody → ask → gear
Colin Abbott posted this photo on social media after he found the barrel full of gear last month.
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he → post → gear
Takahashi recognized it immediately.
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Takahashi → recognize → it
The flute meant a lot to him — he'd bought in Japan years ago and had carried it with him on his many travels.
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he → mean → travels
It was the perfect thing to travel with, especially on a remote canoe trip in the Yukon.
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It → travel → Yukon
It could be easily stuffed inside one of those waterproof barrels for your gear.
uncertain
It → stuff → gear
Takahashi also loved to play it in wild, open spaces.
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Takahashi → love → spaces
"Like, I don't disturb anybody," he said.
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he → disturb → anybody
Takahashi likes to play his flute in remote places where he won't disturb anyone.
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he → like → anyone
Before last week, he'd assumed he would never see the instrument again.
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he → assume → instrument
He lost it in June 2021, when he and a friend were on a canoe trip down the Kathleen River and accidentally flipped their boat.
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he → lose → boat
It was a scramble to escape the frigid water with their lives, so the canoe and their gear had to be left to be swept down the fast-moving river.
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canoe → escape → river
In the following days, the two took to social media asking any paddlers to keep an eye out for their gear and even offered a cash reward.
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two → follow → reward
Takahashi thought the lost barrel might be adrift somewhere on the Bering Sea by now.
uncertain
barrel → think → Sea
Or, he imagined an "Alaskan bear wearing my down jacket or like, playing my flute or something."
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he → imagine → flute
'Someone would know this story'
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Someone → know → story
It turns out the barrel, and all of its contents, had not travelled that far.
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barrel → turn → contents
Abbott says he found it last month near the confluence of the Kathleen and Dezadeash Rivers.
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he → say → Rivers
He was tracking a moose in the bush when he spotted a "patch of blue" near an opening.
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he → track → opening
Abbott has paddled the Kathleen River himself and seen wrecked boats and other remnants of river mishaps.
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Abbott → paddle → mishaps
Colin Abbott says when he found the gear and the flute, he 'figured that someone would know this story.'
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someone → say → story
He cracked the blue barrel open a bit to ensure it wasn't full of rotten food.
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it → crack → food
Then he took it home to fully unpack as "a surprise for myself and my partner and my roommates.
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he → take → myself
"I figured that someone would know this story, but I wasn't sure," Abbott recalled.
That's when he posted the photo online — and soon heard from Takahashi.
Now, a Yukon friend of Takahashi will bring the flute and the other gear with him next time he travels to B.C.
Takahashi is delighted to be getting his beloved, well-travelled instrument back.
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Takahashi → figure → instrument
"I like playing flute in the nature.
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I → play → nature
That's a good practice," he said.
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he → say → ?
The Aporia
