marlin55388 wrote on Aug 3^rd, 2009 at 3:22am:

Crossing Bayley Bay the first week of June, we COUNTED 21 loons fishing in a group.  I'd estimate the total group size to be more like 40.

dd

I saw a group of about 18-20 several times on Merriam Bay on June 30th and July 1st.  They were team-fishing some small deepwater baitfish.  It appeared about half the group would dive first, head deep and drive the baitfish towards the surface.  Then the next group would dive to intercept.  Once when I was very close, shortly after the second group dove, I saw tiny baitfish frantically jumping out of the water.  That's what clued me in to their strategy.  The loons basically paid zero attention to me unless I was within 15-20 feet.  Would have been cool to capture on camera if it hadn't been raining.

What would El_Tigre say?  He doesn't say anything anymore.  It would appear that he has been silenced, but he still visits, doesn't he?  Maybe he will enter this discussion now?

Are you a jerk, is that the question?  Since I have already seen today's POD before, I had to ask myself "what is the reason for the juxtaposition with the photo from yesterday?"  The contrast, to be sure, is striking.  It makes a point.  But I am not sure it makes exactly the point you are trying for, either.

Yesterday's loon photo wasn't made in the "wilderness" either.  It was made a few hundred feet from the luxury home of a wealthy man who can afford to buy his own "wilderness", a place on a lake where only two other homes exist.  It could have been shot on any pond in the northland if a person were willing to get up at 5 AM on a cool, misty July morning.  And yes, it was a highlight to experience.  I sat on the dock (yes, on a dock, not on the lakeshore) and waited for a long time while two loons floated by, snapping many shots and soaking in the silence and the beauty of those loons in the morning mist.  It isn't a morning I will ever forget.  Spartan1 was up in the "cabin" sound asleep and I was alone with my thoughts and my loons.  Magic.

So, you see, it is a fraud!  It isn't a BW/Q photo at all and I misrepresented it (well, no, I didn't, because I did identify the lake and you do know that East Twin Lake isn't in the BW/Q, don't you?)  But I thought it represented the "feel" of wilderness so well.  As I stood there with my camera I was enjoying the special relaxation and aura of the canoe country, even though my canoe was still strapped to the car and my husband was snugly resting in bed hooked up to his dialysis machine!  Go figure!

Mike Prouty's photo today is (it seems to me) the photo of a group of people who are breaking the rules.  If (again, as it looks to me) these people are all traveling together, they are much too large of a group.  I cannot fathom going to the canoe country with a CROWD!  We tried a trip with five once and I found it fun for five days, but could hardly wait until the other three went their separate ways and it was just the two of us for the last five days.  If I met up with that group, I would find it dismaying.  We have had very few times when we have experienced severely crowded portages, and it is never fun.  That isn't "wilderness".

I know that "wilderness" is in your other thread.  I may go there and pontificate, too.  Your point today is well taken--there is a huge contrast to these photos.  We would all rather experience the solitude, the misty morning of peace and quiet.  Our "wilderness", especially the BWCA, is becoming too crowded and too many times overtaken by people who are ill-prepared or inconsiderate (and this happens in the Q also, although some Q purists are not willing to ever admit it).  But I still maintain that it is the best place that I go and I intend to keep going there for another decade or so if I possibly can.

And in less than a month I hope to be dipping my paddle.  
And snapping my shutter.      

Isnt the Maximum group size 9?... looks like more than 9 to me

Definitely looks familiar