For me it was in 1968, a trip to the BWCA, as a reward for working at a YMCA camp in Wisconsin for the whole summer.  A few trips here to the BW over the years. Until I moved to northern MN in 2000.  Then I began tripping to the BW 4-5 times each summer.
I began to feel crowded with all the people so, in 2005, I did a solo trip to the Q.  Wow, what a difference, saw only two or three groups in 5 days.  I thought that was great.  Also, a trip to Atikokan is the same distance as Ely for me, so I have a choice.
I began reading about WCPP in about 2009, and did my first trip there in 2010.  I have found I love it up there.  Why?  Probably the solitude, fishing and the remoteness, all strike me as what I'm looking for.  Last year,I didn't get to go, but have two trips in the works for this year.  I will be going solo for one of the trips, and may take a friend to introduce him to the area.  Though I now prefer solo trips.
All the areas have something to offer, but right now, WCPP is my favorite.  I get the true feeling of wilderness up there, and sometimes its difficult to find the portages.  I think its the feeling of being totally alone that intrigues me.

For me, it started with a trip in Northern Wisconsin, with the Scouts, in the 1980s.  Then the desire went dormant for a decade, until I completed my Bachelor's.  That following summer I went to work for Northern Tier, and had one of the happiest summers of my life. In subsequent summers, I took trips in the Atikaki Wilderness Park in Manitoba.  I lok forward to each season when I can return to Manitoba for one more trip.

My Pop had a rough patch in his career during the early years he might have taken me.  He could never get it done, but my brother, who'd been shown the way took me when I was 15.  We did a trip out of Mudro lake in the BWCA, and he kept saying, it's wilder on the other side.  It's better.  etc.. But, we were on a budget and this side was definitely cheaper, if only by a little, so I did that for a few years.  When I was in my 20s I finally went to Quetico, and that has remained my destination of choice ever since.

My initiation into the canoe tripping fraternity began in 1959.  I was 8 years-old and at sleep-away camp for the first time.  When the Section Head came to our cabin asking who wanted to go on a canoe trip, I was the only one with his hand in the air.  We went to Algonquin Park.  The trip was a disaster.  On the first day out we tried to run rapids, capsized, trapped the canoe between the current and a giant boulder and spent a long, miserable night, cold and hungry.  I couldn’t wait for the next trip.

Only 4 hours north of Toronto, Algonquin was my main tripping destination throughout my teens.  It is a huge, gorgeous park devoted exclusively to canoeing – there are no fishing lodges – and I paddled it into my early 20’s.  Occasionally I tried some other Ontario spots – Killarney, Temagami – but I always came back to Algonquin.  Still, I kept hearing about this other park, spoken of almost reverentially as a “real wilderness park,” and the true test of skill and stamina – Quetico.  But in those days it was just a fantasy – “Maybe one of these days …”

By my early 20’s I had hit the road travelling in the States, mostly living in Arizona and California.  Canoeing wasn’t on the agenda – too many other diversions to catch a young man’s fancy.  By the time I returned to Toronto I was 36 with hips so badly damaged by arthritis that I could barely get my socks on by myself much less take a canoe into the bush.  Around that time I met the woman who soon became my wife.  Interestingly she had a history in her youth of canoeing as well.  But given my arthritic condition canoeing was not something we shared together and never spoke much about it.

In 2005 I had the second of two hip replacement surgeries.  Three months after the surgery my wife and I rented a cabin, which just happened to be 20 minutes from the East Gate of Algonquin Park.  We decided to do a day trip.  We rented a canoe and paddled Lake Opeongo.  We loved it.  The next day we did another day trip and the next and the next.  It was like waking from a deep sleep and remembering something wonderful that had been long forgotten.  And the best part was, my wife and I were doing it together.

For four summers after that we rented a ranger cabin in the interior of Algonquin.  This was a primitive and very basic cabin left over from the 1920’s and the days when the park rangers would patrol the interior for months at a time and use these cabins as layovers.  For four summers we recovered our old paddling and woodcraft skills until we felt ready for the full monty – a 3 week trip into mythic Quetico.

Our Quetico trip was spectacular and an absolute success.   It began with a stop in Thunder Bay where we picked up our shiny new Bell Northstar.   We put in at Nym and did a loop through Jesse, Jean, Sturgeon, Russell, the B chain, Pickerel and out at French.   It is a beautiful park, very much like Algonquin with its mix of conifer and deciduous forest and pristine lakes teeming with Smally, Pike, Walleye and Laker.  But, even though Quetico has far less canoe traffic than Algonquin, we were still looking for something even more secluded. 

The next year we decided to do our 3-week trip in Wabakimi.  One of the great things about Wabakimi is that it is accessible by train.  We discovered the sheer pleasure of taking a berth and riding the Canadian for 24 hours each way, to and from the park.  After riding the train my wife and I were certain that we would never drive to a canoeing destination again (although, admittedly, “never” is a long time.)  Wabakimi is very different from parks to the south like Quetico and Algonquin.  It is part of the Boreal forest ecology and therefore exclusively coniferous (except for some Birch.)  It is also a region that is susceptible to forest fires, which can leave vast stretches of the park denuded of trees and very barren and bleak.  Still, it has a stark beauty all its own that we found strangely alluring.  What we didn’t like was paddling for days and working our way into the park’s interior only to find motorboats from the fishing lodges that are fixtures of the park.  The fishing lodges, and there are a great many scattered all about the park, were there for decades before the park existed and are, therefore, considered a part of the landscape.  That may be, but for us it was the one major turn off in an otherwise outstanding trip. 

I had heard about Woodland Caribou from folks like Wayne (Denton Doc) on this site and was intrigued.  It sounded like it had all the wonder and seclusion of Wabakimi with far less boat and lodge traffic.  According to Harlan (Schwartz) who owns and operates Red Lake Outfitters, there aren’t any lodges to speak of south of the Bloodvein.  So last year we did 22 days in WCPP.  It was the best trip of our lives.  The campsites were wonderful, the lakes small and friendly (I’m getting too old for paddling great windswept expanses) and the fishing out of this world.  We’re heading back for a second 3-week trip this summer that we expect will be even better than the last.

That’s my story.  And to think … I owe it all to my orthopedic surgeon!

After 41years I'm thinking more of finding an isolated spot and base camping for a change.  My wife and I have been coming up here since we got married.  Anybody know much about Blackstone Lake?  It looks like an interesting destination.  Open to other ideas too.

SD,

I think youthful exuberance and the idea that "what could happen" that we all have when young is why you got hooked as well as myself/others while still young.

I look back at some of the things I learned the hard way and the K-Mart gear and think that at a later point in my life I probably wouldn't have been willing to take the plunge

My family has been taking vacations to northern MN almost ever since I can remember.  We started with fishing trips to a little mosquito-infested lake near Cass Lake, renting a small motorboat.  Then we discovered canoeing and vacationed at the end of the Gunflint, paddling and fishing big Sag.

When I was 11, my college-aged brother, Old_Salt, inspired by his Sunday School trip from years ago, decided to organize his own trip into the BWCA.  He convinced 2 other cousins that were around his age to join him and somehow or another he was able to convince my parents that he should be allowed to take me as the 4th member of the party.  I suspect that he just couldn't find anyone else of his age to go, but he claims that it was his intention to take me all along.  Regardless, my parents relented upon a promise of pain of death for my brother if he failed to bring me back relatively unscathed.

Old_Salt was not a fan of portaging so he eagerly eyed a Meander Lake entry.  Meander Creek flowed out of it with nary a marked portage along it, eventually leading to the Nina Moose and saving us 5 portages.  Brilliant!

After a fruitless day of bushwhacking in an attempt to follow the creek (which of course had no portages marked as it was not even navigable) we slept in the van and entered the park the more traditional way along the Moose River and made it to our destination, Iron Lake.

We really had no idea what we were doing and I was by far the most clueless of the bunch.  Our equipment was the finest that K-Mart had to offer, the food was unappetizing to say the least, and our mistakes were both legendary and plentiful. But we caught fish and the scenery was incredible!

Far from being scarred for life by the ordeal, I was entranced by the possibilities.  I mean, if we could ever hit a week where it didn't rain, the K-Mart equipment would work just fine, right?  More trips followed, we learned mostly by trial-and-error, and we slowly amassed a cache of equipment that could withstand the elements.

Bottom line, I will never forgive forget my introduction to the BWCA/Quetico and I've been hooked ever since. 

Interesting thread! Especially as softwater season approaches and cabin fever is downright oppressive.
Don't know where or when my love for the outdoors started, but my first canoe trip was tagging along with a YMCA group in Algonquin in the mid 70s. Did 3 or 4 trips there with my brother, then young sons, before life got hectic with career and family. Made my share of mistakes & stupid human tricks, but survived and learned. Read an article about BW & Quetico in the local newspaper and talked an old canoeing friend into trying it out. That was in '92. We did a loop from PP up Agnes to Kawnipi and back thru Kahshapiwi. I was hooked, deep and mortal. Since then I've done 9 or 10 other trips with friends and sons with great success, creating treasured memories.  Now at age 60 my sons are laden with family and their availability is always uncertain. They love it too, and they can't wait till their toddlers are a bit older, but for now they're off the list.
Have never considered BW. Just seems like it would be a bit of a letdown. Been subscribing to BW Journal since early 90s and have grown to rely on the photography to get me through the winter, while less impressed with the writing and downright tired of Stu's preaching. Discovered QJ by accident about 10 yrs ago and I read it faithfully while contributing very infrequently. Lots of good info on here, and a few characters I'd like to meet someday.
I am retiring in June after 37 yrs in the classroom, and ironically now that I have time I have also run out of partners. So it looks like this summer will be a solo, probably late July or into August. Easy livin' season. 
Don't have a yearning for Wabakimi, WCCP, etc. I have a lot of Q yet to explore, and that's good enough for this ol' man. I've done a couple solo trips. Enjoyable, but in general I prefer a trusted partner or small group of 4. Good for sharing laughs. I figure I have at least 10 more yrs of paddling, 20 if I'm lucky, and I can't afford to waste a single summer.
I paddle either a solo Bell Magic or a tandem burgundy Wenonah Spirit. Hope to see you somewhere in Quetico...
WiF

Grew up on the shores Lake Erie, back when swimming in the lake was highly discouraged and catching a walleye was a noteworthy event. I still remember seeing the Cuyahoga River on fire on the news. Vacations every other year were fishing trips into Canada. French River (first trip), Pickerel River (first 40+" NP), Rapid 7 on the Ottawa River in Quebec (first sturgeon caught), Lake Ramsey (first view of the Northern Lights) and Biscotasing (where I saw my first group canoeing the Spanish River watershed). I was certainly hooked on vacations in Canada for the beauty and fishing. My then new wife went along to Rapid 7 but Niagra Falls has been the closest she has, or ever will, come to another outdoors vacation in Canada (not her thing but very understanding of my need/desire to reconnect every other year).

My brother in law loves to fish and camp and we had talked about doing a fly-in (still on the bucket list) for a chance at some good fishing and solitude. We happened on Jim Clark (CCO) at the sports show in Columbus in January '07 and spent an hour talking to him about a place called Quetico. We had never heard about it or spent anytime in a canoe but decided it sounded exactly like an adventure we were looking for.

There were three of us on our first trip. Late May Stanton loop. Airport lost some of our luggage (don't fly into Int'l Falls) so our trip was shortened a couple of days. I was in a solo (first time in a canoe) and we had a tandem as well. Pickerel was howling but we were too dumb to know better. Lucky we didn't dump in very cold water. Took us almost 7 hours to cross Pickerel into the B chain. Never made it past Fern but we all knew we would be back. Second trip in '09 was Beaverhouse to Nym in September and it was spectacular. Another Stanton loop in September '11 through the Deaux into Sturgeon, Russell, Shelly, Keats, Orianna... Still trying to figure out what '13 will look like.

Love reading about all of your travels to other parks, and maybe someday that will be where we go but there is still so much of the Q that is yet to explore. Getting better at what we are doing but a long way to go. Still take way to much fishing gear but that's a big part of why we go. Honestly, I could paddle a couple of hours from an entry point and enjoy myself fishing, good company, beautiful scenery...

Something about a trip to the Q, and I'm sure the other parks as well, that puts life back into the proper perspective. I have a map of the park hanging on my office wall and can instantly turn a bad day around looking for the next route...

J

I am somewhat late coming to this post because my wife and I have just been in an area where there is no Internet - namely, Quetico. We just spent three days "yurting" and snowshoeing at French Lake and reminding ourselves of why we've been coming up here (most years) since 1981 to find peace and solitude.

In 1973, the year after we got married, on the advice of a good friend, we decided to travel west to Winnipeg from Ottawa around the north shore of Lake Superior. En route, we happened to stop at the car camping campground at French Lake, mainly because I had vaguely heard of this park called Quetico. While there, my wife got the idea that maybe someday we might want to try a wilderness canoe trip. She had done some canoeing at her girls' camp when she was much younger. I had never been in a canoe in my life so I said "sure"!!

Well, 8 years passed and finally in 1981 (after a couple of  short "try-out" canoe outings around Ottawa) we decided to go for it and planned a 13-night canoe trip in Quetico. (I had no idea what I was doing). We drove our car literally to the end of the logging road southwest of Northern Light Lake, parked the car at the end of the road and bushwhacked for what seemd like forever to the nearest water (a channel leading from Northern Light Lake to Red Sucker Bay of Saganaga Lake). From there we did a circuit into Saganaga, Knife, the other border lakes, Basswood, Louisa, Glacier, the Falls Chain, Saganagons and back out to Northern Light Lake and our car (which was still there all by itself and still in one piece!)

Although exhausting for two novices like us, the trip was exhilarating and beyond anything we had ever experienced. And we knew this was not to be the last time we'd see Quetico. In fact, a Quetico trip has turned out to be a defining characteristic of our marriage.

We have been to all corners of the park (except the famous portages into and out of Cache Lake) and we hope to continue to do so until our joints, our stamina and our will gives out.

I appreciate this opportunity to talk about a place we both love so much and which means so much to us.