I had/have a love, then hate relationship regarding the Stanton Bay entry.

---begin personal rant, yes it's mostly humor with some truth mixed in---
It used to be that the park strongly encouraged people to use the new Stanton Bay entry. Then, in a few years, they created the wonderful boardwalk... suddenly it was for Canadians only! They may have even paved the road since then... put in curbs, sidewalks, gutters, street lights and a few slots by now, perhaps even a tavern (or whatever they call it) at the new huge blacktopped and painted parking lot. I'm not sure, but judging from the grand walkway they created, I wouldn't be surprised.

The excuse for closing the entry to suddenly unwanted Americans (me) was some gullible visitors didn't understand what a true unpaved road was and sometimes damaged their vehicles by not exercising due caution, or even better, cars where constantly being broken into by bears. (ya, right) I'm not sure what a bear does with, for example electronics and media..., but that is way beside the point, and thankfully they have since removed the in/out dates from their required vehicle window tags.

Since I rarely, if ever, saw a permit in truck windows parked there, my take is that:
#1 - Locals couldn't find a good place to park in the tiny packed lot and therefore had to walk a little farther when they slipped in for a free Stanton Bay Walleye dinner!

#2 - They just used the traffic generated by the phony high demand to justify unusual improvements. Staff pleaded: "Are you sure you don't want to avoid paddling the dangerous part of Pickerel? Try it. It doesn't matter if your permit says French Lake. It's a lot shorter... better... You'll like it! Here, let me give you a map. They just graded the road - no problem..."

#3 - Due to their evil, self serving plot they now have the elaborate improvements all to themselves.

How convenient!

I don't blame Canadian outfitters for wanting an "ante up or else" entry point. I don't deny them a penny they might charge for an un-outfitted shuttle. It is a long trip. Nor do I find fault with hungry locals who, at times muse: "Why do we call it tourist season if we can't shoot 'em?"

My real problem is I feel used. The joke is that there are a growing number of paved (with stairs even!) portages all over the park. You just need the special "Canadian resident only" map to find them. (Written in french of course, eh?)

---end personal rant, remember it was intended to be humorous---

Seriously, the overall effort to encourage actual Canadians themselves to visit Quetico (read: fees, quotas...) is in my mind, laughable, and simply a waste. If wilderness is essentially just a few feet from your, or your friend's back door, why would you travel and then offer to pay any fee to abide by restrictions (no motors, no beer) to see more of the usual stuff?

I'm just a little PO'ed that my dime helped create something so grand that now schmucks like me are not allowed to use it at anytime. Especially considering that in years gone by the park staff went out of their way begging us on several occasions to use it, even after we said we(I) didn't want to.

The good news is while the non-citizen slots are usually filled for other entries, the unfilled resident quotas make the extra paddle worthwhile. While I feel better at the moment, I may have a relapse if the wind kicks up next time I'm looking over an empty seat down that awesome expanse of Pickerel when she's in a bad mood... Heck, I'm just glad they still allow me in at all.

Posted by db on January 13, 2001 at 16:59