Tried to call Quetico Dave at Quetico Wilderness Outfitters today and got the message that the number is no longer working, and I tried two different numbers.  Even his website has disappeared.  

Anyone have any insight as to why?  Did he get out of the business?

 I talked to Dave this Spring. He called too see if I was making a trip this year. Regrettably I can't.

He didn't say anything about getting completely out of the business, but that bookings were slow for the park, and that he would probably do mostly outside fish camp trips.

He did say he had a full time job. He is/was the road grader driver responsible for maintaining the road from the highway to the LLC.

His website has always been a problem. The guy who set it up and ran it for him was less than reliable. I'm not surprised he would let it go, especially if it didn't bring him much business?

Times are tough up there, lot's of unemployment. Maybe at this stage of his life he had to make a choice?

Did you try his number in Atikokan?
I have summer/winter numbers, but I'm assuming you tried those?
I also have his mail address:  

 Dave Ribey
Atikokan Ontario
pot 1co

After posting the info I knew, I decided too do a Google Search of the Ontario phone book.

I couldn't find ANY mention of a Dave Ribey in Atikokan, which is strange in itself, but did find a Dave Ribey living in Kitchener Ontario.

On the chance that he relocated, I called and " Dave" answered :o
It wasn't Quetico Dave, but in a weird coincidence, he turned out too be a distant cousin!

Unfortunately he had no contact info, other than knowing he had a cousin in Atikokan with the same name.

So I guess Q-Dave is missing in action :-/

I called his winter/summer numbers again, and got nothing but a busy signal. Anyone who gets into Atikokan in the near future should ask around. He's a hometown guy, everyone knows him and I'm sure they could tell you what's going on with him?

Seems like those Flanders Road guys (QDave, Ed Ottertail) become hard to reach or go missing/AWOL for periods of time only to pop up again later on when personal circumstances & the economy permit.  I can only hope THAT is the case this time.  Quite possibly it won't be.

Seems to be the same deal up in Red Lake with Goldseekers (the main outfitter for WCP).  The principal, Albert (another very good guy), up there has a full-time job (with the Gold Mine?) other than outfitting... out of necessity, I'm sure.  If you are dogged about contacting him, he'll eventually get back to you on the phone & he will figure out a way to assist you.  He has missed my business, however, in two separate years for failure to get back to my inquiries.  Being pulled in too many directions, perhaps, to deal with my mere "truck-in" needs.  My parties seldom require much more than that.

I hate that QDave may have cashed in.  While he was ultra-laid back, he generally /eventually got you what you needed or where you needed to go.  There still are a couple of full-time outfitters on the north side of Quetico who seem to hang on as survivors of the economy.  I doubt Canoe Canada is going anywhere anytime soon.  Doug Chapman of Canadian Quetico Outfitters also manages to eke out an existence over in the French Lake area.  Talk about somebody with a "missionary complex" for outfitting!!  I'm sure there are also one or two other fine providers on the north side that live on whom I don't have any experience with.

Outfitting has to be a tough business with fewer folks from younger generations each year replenishing increasing numbers of the older generation that are hanging up their paddles in favor of more sedentary past times.  Coupled with the ailing economies & the reluctance to plug discretionary cash into recreational activities across the border, it must be nearly impossible making a living as an outfitter.

Tip them well, my friends... their survival may depend upon it!!!

Jimbo   8-)

Jimbo,

Part of the draw of a guy like Q-Dave, is that he's a little local guy who's trying to eke our a living doing something he loves ;)

I think we all would like that, but in most cases financial burdens/family responsibilities make that next too impossible. If your one of the lucky ones who's making a living do what you would do for free, count your self blessed.

Part of a northern trip for me, is letting go of that 24/7 service idea that most of us have come to expect. Whether as a consumer or provider, we all seem too have become slaves to the machine.

My first trip into the Q was thru Canoe Canada. Excellent service, no complaints, but there was something lacking, at least for me.

I wanted some one on one time with a local guy who I could get too know, and talk about other things besides trip related things.

I looked forward to talking too Dave before the trip. We fired up the grill, drank some beers and talked about everything under the sun that had a bearing on HIS life. I even managed to get some Q info along the way ;D

Dave was his own man. Some here probably wouldn't like his laid back personality, but he always got me there and picked me up although not always on MY time line ;D

He's an Up-North character, from posts, I'm sure Doug Chapman is cut from the same cloth. I like that.

Atikokan as a community hangs on by the skin of its teeth. Dave has worked at the mines, for local contractors, anything to be able too run his business when he could. Unfortunately all the things Jimbo mentioned are working against the Q-D's of the outfitter world.

Hopefully, he'll resurface sooner than later? My concern is for his personal well being, I hope he and his family are doing okay.
Whether he's providing a service too me or not, I plan on looking him up the next trip I take. We'll fire up the grill, have a few Blue's  and tell some stories 8-)

One thing that always strikes me, apart from the girls at the local bar, when I leave the city for rural communities is just how tenuous the income potential can be.  Tourist season is a few months long, but it's often the only time we see these places.  Also often the only time the burger joint will have a line-up.

Odds are that burger joint has a corner store attached and a gas pump out front and a small engine repair out back and be careful when you take your salad from the fride 'cause they're next to the live bait.  The staff likely work the grill in summer and the forest the rest of the year and pick up other jobs when other jobs are available.

I have trouble juggling one job.

Thanks a lot for the replies, everyone - especially SoloTripper.  And thanks to you, also, for going the extra mile and making phone calls simply trying to get an answer.  Any one of the theories regarding his disapearance could be true.  I just hope all is well with QD and his family.

We've utilized QD for shuttles into Beaverhouse, as well as the occasional canoe, etc.  Unfortunately, people don't make a good living off of guys like us.

Your very welcome ;)

Update:

After numerous attempts at making a phone contact, which even included calling Walt's in Atikokan, I finally sent a snail mail letter to Dave, and received a reply this weekend.

Yes, he's shutdown for the foreseeable future. Didn't say it was permanent, but that until business picked up and economy improved on both sides of border, he needed a full time job with benefits for his growing family.

His road grader job has expanded.  He worked long hours all summer and will be busy this winter as well.

I had mentioned the park survey we had a chance to have input on. I like may here am bewildered by the proposal to have designated campsites/travel loops.

Dave said he knew about this idea, and like most of us, he can't understand how that will increase park revenue :-?
Said it would kill business, not increase it. He said what many of us feel.  The ability to travel when and where we want is a major factor in deciding to go north of the border.

I had wished him well and that hopefully he could get back in business?
He didn't include a phone number, but his mail address is the same as I previously posted.

I told him that he had people here on the QJ who had enjoyed outfitting thru him, and where sad to hear he wasn't in the game anymore.

He was grateful for the past support, but his family obligations came first, as we all know too well.

ST,

Thanks for the follow-up on this!  QD is a good guy and has served many of us well in his own special laid-back way.  Also, it was really handy to have him functioning for trips originating (or ending) on that west side of the park.  Our alternatives are rapidly dwindling, it seems.

Again, thanks for the follow-up!

Jimbo   8-)

Just as a footnote, when I checked in at the Beaverhouse Ranger Station this past Labor Day, the ranger said that registration numbers were up at Beaverhouse compared to last year.

Westwood

Westwood wrote on Sep 27^th, 2010 at 10:09pm:

Just as a footnote, when I checked in at the Beaverhouse Ranger Station this past Labor Day, the ranger said that registration numbers were up at Beaverhouse compared to last year.Westwood

I don't doubt that, but Beaverhouse being an easily accessible starting point, I'm sure more and more self outfitted paddlers are the reason the numbers are up.

As fees increase, more and more paddlers will buy their own canoes/gear and the small outfitters will fade from the scene.

I think if Dave wasn't married and had those responsibilities, he would tough it out. He mentioned nothing about selling out his gear, so who knows what the future holds?

Dave had told me awhile back that there was talk about requiring ALL visitors to go thru an outfitter for at least licenses/permits/transportation.
Obviously that didn't fly.

This past summer on the 4th july holiday weekend I was quite frankly amazed at just how few people we saw through PP and on Basswood.