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