Truck stuck in Yellowknife finally returned to owner in Fort Good Hope 1 year later

Some people might have a hard time coping without their vehicle, but for Charlie Kochon, a year without his 2015 Chevy Silverado was just peachy.

Kochon is a 69-year-old who lives a "very traditional" life. Right now, while he's not staying at his home in Fort Good Hope,he's living in a tent near Colville Lake, N.W.T.

He doesn't have electricity in his home eitherhe'll use a generator if he decides to watch a movie or charge his cellphone.

Last March, he drove his truck to Yellowknife because something was wrong with the pump.

The part he needed had to be ordered in and it didn't arrive before the winter roads closed. So he went back home sans Silverado.

He got his truck back on Wednesday, thanks to his friend Roger Plouffe.

A token of gratitude, and an excuse to get out

Plouffe, the lay minister for Fort Good Hope, flew down to Yellowknife and drove the truck back along the winter roads.

Plouffe says Kochon regularly lets him use his Silverado, so the delivery was "kind of a thank you."

More than that, it was a chance for Plouffe to get out of the community and clear his mind.

"As a lay minister in the church you get to hear a lot of stories and be there for people in a way that normally you don't get to. It can be taxing sometimes," he said.

The 15-hour trip has become familiar to Plouffe over the years he says the character of the road changes as the season changes.

"This time of year is great driving because the graders have gone through," he said. "It's very smooth."

Kochon could have gotten his truck back this summer, if he would have put it on the Mackenzie River barge. But he said that would cost about $3,000, so he figured he would just wait it out.

He says he didn't miss his truck much anyway. The only reason he bought it in the first place was because "I want to be like other people driving around."

Kochon said over the past year he's used his snowmobile to haul wood back to his home, and in the summer he used his four-wheeler.But if he didn't have those options, he said, "I'd be walking."

In fact, he reminisced about the days when he would walk from Fort Good Hope to ColvilleLake on regular basis.

"People fly nowadays," he said.

Now, Kochon is back to puttering around Fort Good Hope in his Silverado.

"I'm getting spoiled," he laughed about the whole ordeal, adding he was planning to treat himself to a chocolate after his interview with the CBC.