Quetico 2003
Our canoe trip in Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park was memorable to say the least. The overall distance by canoe for this trip was approx. 120km, which we travelled in 7 days.
Day One
Our trip began on July 20th at 8:20am when we set out from Steinbach, watching our families disappear into the distance. We rented stoves and three 40 lb. canoes :) from a local outfitter known as Quetico Dave, but not before we turned down several wrong backroads on 0.1L of gasoline. When we finally arrived at his place, we realized that due to some over-the-phone misunderstanding, we were to stay in one of the rental cabins for the night rather than in our tents as we had planned. He advised us that since there was a problem bear foraging our route, we should take an alternate path. However, since this was not approved by the parental powers in Steinbach, we decided to stick to plan A. We ended up fishing, eating BBQ steak and watching movies (aka roughing it) our first night out.
Day Two
Up at 6:20, musili for breakfast, then out to Quetico Headquarters before they open. Another group beat us there, so there was a long wait as the attendant thoroughly, but slowly does theirs and then our orientation. Arrive at Nym Lake parking lot at 9:50, and in the water by 10:30 and the adventure begins. Nym Lake is a little decieving and we take a slightly less direct route to our first portage which is 860 metres. We didn't encounter any signs of a bear on the portage that was reputed as having a regular visitor. Oriental Sweet & Sour for supper (a dehydrated soy nastything, but not as bad as pefect pao - see Day 3). That night we camped near mosquito point.
Day Three
Up at 7:00, left campsite at 9:30. First portage 80m, second was 780m and a bit of a workout. The dog whined a lot in the canoe today. The answer to most navigational questions was "more or less". We met a couple from North Carolina that had been out for sixteen days. Camped at the beginning of Sturgeon Lake. PERFECT PAO for supper, a spicy curry dish that will linger in our nightmares much longer than it did in our digestive tracts. There's a neat echo at the campsite.
Day Four
Up at 6am, ate at 7am, wnat to get across Sturgeon Lake early incase the wind and waves pick up. Left site at 8am, canoeing in a peaceful, beutiful fog. Stopped at noon for lunch - bagels. Found a campsite a the end of Sturgeon Lake at 2pm. Canoed more than 20 kms, no portages taday. A warm and sunny day on the calm lake. The dog was much quieter today in the canoe. We've been talking about foods like chocolate cheesecake. We had enough time to build and sail a catamaran named the SCS Victoria that evening. We finally caught a fish (northern pike). Supper was spaghetti, potatoes, and wild saskatoons.
Day Five
Up at 7am, left campsite at 9:15. Spanish peanuts with Fruit to go for snack. Five portages today, but we pulled our canoes over three of the rapids instead. Took a wrong turn after the second portage and ended up dragging our canoes over a muddy swamp. Finally, the error was realized and the canoes were dragged back through the mud, then paddled backwards until we found a spot wide enough to turn around. Met a family from Tennessee. Fried fish for lunch at noon. A 400m portage had some muddy spots. The last hour of canoeing was very long as we searched for a suitable campsite along Jean Lake. Arrived at 4pm.
Day Six
Up at 7am to go fishing - no luck today. Left campsite at 10:20. Lunch at 2pm after some bushwacking to find some shade to eat under. An anonymous Venturer stuck a stick in a hole in a tree and a squirrel popped it's head out; quite startling and funny. Today we did a 680m portage that was uphill, narrow, very rocky and buggy, the most diffucult one. There was a major bottleneck of canoeists traveling the opposite direction from us. After our last portage, the dog jumped into the wrong canoe, which had no paddlers and he began to float away. Arrived at campsite on Jesse lake after 5pm. While filtering water, and enormous tortoise was attracted to our advisor's voice and popped his head out of the water to sniff the water filter. The lasagna supper was great, but the curry veggie ground was less than desirable - the photolab in Steinbach omitted it's image from our photos even though the negative was properly exposed. We used the rope used to tie up the food as a tarzan rope. Light rain after dark.
Day Seven
Up at 7am, left campsite at 9:30, after a breakfast of cream of wheat (see also bland mush). Forgot paddle at campsite, had to go back. Lunch at 12:30. One Venturer forgot his lifejacket at the end of a portage, went back. Our Advisor's wife forgot shoes and socks at the end of the the first portage, did not go back. Our advisor had a leach count of forty. Arrived at campsite at 3:30. Fishing through a short storm. Hung each other upside down with letters of "Quetico" taped onto our shirts.
Day Eight
Couscous, oatmeal and granola for breakfast. Left campsite at 10:20, arrived at parking lot at 1pm. Several young girls there to swim. Despite their claims that the water in Nym lake is safe to drink directly from the lake, we filter our water. Camped at the Atikokan campground, and an excellent supper of baked potatoes, fried onions and bacon, grilled ham and veggies. A 4L pail of chocolate ice cream for dessert. Mosquitos bad by 8pm. Warm showers a delight. We rumble wrestled till dark to burn off the ice cream.
Day Nine
Woke up at 7:45. We had pancakes for breakfast. Left the campsite at 10:11. Stopped at Quetico HQ, then hit the road at 10:27. Stopped at Kettles in Fort Francis for lunch. It was a long drive home, we got back to Steinbach at 6:15.
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