My bad if I have committed a breach of etiquette. I suspect my "dang the torpedos, full speed ahead" style may rub some the wrong way. Hopefully I can add something interesting and over time win those over.

Despite a life long love affair with wild places I have developed a certain healthy respect for bears and sharks. The shark nervousness came after I seen a 15ft hammerhead do "S" curves on the surface looking for the head of a 60 lb amberjack it had just taken from us. Pure power. The bear respect came after reading Stephen Herreaus book "Bear attacks, causes and and avoidance". Up to that point I had never really worried about them. Ignorance is bliss comes to mind. I have had 2 close encounters in the past 10 years including a very troubling night in Algonquin this past spring where we had one snuffling about the tent for quite some time. It was surreal. A hand axe in one hand and bear spray in the other and fits of nervousness that came out as laughter. Fortunately I am informed and there was no reason for our guest to intrude. The tracks told the story as well as a few dry bags batted about. I am aware that the Quetico does not have the troubling history that Algonquin does ( about every 10 years there is a fatality).