Quetico – 10 joyous days paddling a friendly wilderness

By Alex McNeily 

The loons called out. I couldn’t tell if they were laughing at me or welcoming me back after 45 years. I put together a team of paddlers for a return to the finest and most accessible wilderness canoeing destination in the world, Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario Canada. Our three tandem teams were comprised of myself, plus fellow club members Bob Bryant, Tom McCord and Ted Housen, plus two more non-club companions. On August 31, we made the 28-hour long drive from Portland to Quetico for 10 days, 9 nights of outstanding paddling, camping, and fishing – plus 4 days of camaraderie during the drives out and back. 

You all are probably more familiar with the Boundary Water Canoe Area (BWCA) which sits just under Quetico across the Canadian/US border in Minnesota. Quetico is similar in size to BWCA except it has more lakes and only sees about 10% of the traffic that traverses the BWCA. Quetico’s 1800 square miles include over 2000 unofficial, unimproved wilderness campsites spread throughout more than 600 lakes. If you look at a map, the area looks like a sponge with more water than land.  It is managed as a wilderness, meaning portages and campsite are neither marked nor maintained. But through the magic of the internet, GPS mapping and forum bulletin boards, all the portages and campsites are marked and easy to locate. Also, online there are descriptions of the portages, campsite ratings, and even some pictures.  So, it is wilderness, though a friendly one. The research is easy, but once you shove off, you are on your own. 

After the put-in our total paddling route was about 70 miles. This included about a dozen or so portages that varied from short to long, and from easy to quite hard - many with about 100 feet elevation gain and loss. In my memory they were much easier 45 years ago even when paddling and portaging Grumman canoes and where we covered twice the mileage.  Back then we carried the pack and the canoe in a single carry – today, I need two trips. Better portage research might have found a less strenuous route and enabled deeper penetration into the park, but no one lobbied for longer paddling days. Every lake was spectacularly beautiful, and every campsite was good to great. Many days we would pack up camp and move on. We did one local paddle and hike to a huge, beautiful falls then back to our camp. We also spent the final two nights at the A+ campsite we found on our first night out. 

The character of the land is low elevation Canadian shield granite with thick boreal forest cover. Other than portage trails, the woods are nearly impassible. The low land profile made for wide open lake vistas everywhere.  Many campsites had beautiful granite slopes running to the water with sweeping lake views. We caught most fish by trolling during the day travel. We hooked bass and pike. The lake trout and walleye proved elusive. Lake water was clear to moderately tannin in color and plenty warm enough for swimming most days. The weather was good, mostly sunny (50-75F) with only a couple showers and occasional wind spells thrown in. Clear air provided colorful sunsets and sunrises, plus fantastic moonrises, Over the 10 days we came across a dozen other parties but had no campsite competition – a welcome change from Oregon river trips. Bugs are legend in the Ontario back country – and fortunately we had none!  All in all, the circumstances were just perfect. 

Food prep was a big part of the trip prep. Take just enough and not too much and keep it light since you need to portage all 10 days’ worth right from the start.  That too worked out right – no one hungry, and no leftovers. Most meals were simple one-pot affairs cooked over a campfire with firewood plentiful even in heavily used campsites. Our LittlBug stick-style stove proved a winner, and the Omnia for baked goods did not disappoint. 

I had been getting burned out on attempting to get permits on crowded western whitewater rivers – and then the daily on-river push to secure a campsite. So, this proved a joyous alternative. Any paddler and camper of modest abilities would enjoy a Quetico trip. You can get far from civilization and enjoy total peace and quiet in a large space for yourself, cook over a wood fire, all within a very friendly and accessible wilderness.  

I imagine this trip will be as memorable as my first trip 45 years ago. Thank you, Canada!  We will be coming back. 

More pictures of our adventure are available online via the Google Groups. 

Cheers 

Alex McNeily