10 Days of Quetico Adventure

We all stood raptured by the two eagles that had settled in the wind blown White Pines above our lunch spot. The juvenile, still enormous in size yet awkward and gangly, called out incessantly pleading for food and attention. The parent looked us over with regal disinterest. They stayed for a while, then with a powerful and dramatic beating of wings they were gone.

“That is SO cool!” one of the kids exclaims.

‘If this is going to be our next ten days, then we are in for one heck of an experience.’ I thought.

Quetico Provincial Park is situated deep in both Christy and my bones. I first came here in 1990 on a 36 day canoe trip, looping through Quetico and down through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Christy did the same trip in 2001 as a counsellor. The land here has a way of creeping into the deepest part of you, coming back and visiting is akin to returning home.

We set off on this trip with our dear friends Aspen, Marnie and Anna, friends who share the same love of the natural world and for canoe travel. Departing from Guelph, we endured the grueling drive across the north shore of Lake Superior to Thunder Bay and then on to Stanton Bay in Quetico Park. The pressures of the days of packing up our house, wrapping up projects, and getting set for a year away, shed with each mile we put behind us. Pushing our boat, our “Tiger Rose”, out into the water I could feel the unmistakable sensation of stress leaving my body. We were on trip, our happy place.

The early days of the trip were tough as we learned, and relearned, the rhythm of tripping. The lakes here are big, the portages rocky, and the campsites sometimes elusive. We worked our way across Pickerel Lake, down through Maria Lake, Jessie Lake, and then onto Quetico Lake. These three days of paddling were tough, with muddy portages (water levels are super low) and expansive water. The kids were tired, as were we, and we decided that we needed to inject our days with more relaxation and enjoyment, rather than the tough tripping of our youth. We rerouted from digging deeper into the park, to swinging north onto the larger lakes which would bring their own unique challenges and adventure. Our journey along Quetico, Kasakokwog, McAlpine and Batchewaung Bay were punctuated with glorious sunshine, tail and head winds, a brief but exhilarating thunderstorm, muddy creeks, and spectacular scenery. After 10 days we pulled back into Stanton Bay with the bittersweet feeling I get after every trip: sad that it is over, but excited for what comes next.

Several highlights stick out from this trip. On one campsite on Jessie Lake we were entertained by the local wildlife; red squirrels that rained pinecones down on us, a group of grouse that crept optimistically unseen through our site (which inspired the kids song “Forest Chicken”), and a particularly large snapping turtle (lovingly named “Sir Fat Boy” by the kids) who brought along a smaller, but still large, friend to check us out.

The land we were travelling through is the traditional lands of the Lac La Croix First Nation. The history and connection to the land was particularly evident when on Quetico Lake we day tripped along the north shore to visit three pictograph sites. Images of canoes, of moose, handprints, and mythical entities amazed and enthralled us all - wrapping us in a feeling of profound respect and humility for this place.

Eagles have always had a special place in my heart. I vividly remember in 1990, an eagle swooping down over our canoes, so close I felt as though I could reach up and touch it. This moment is a touchstone for me in my passion for wildplaces. Everytime I see an eagle I feel that connection. Con has always said that eagles are his favourite animal, and for him to see them on a regular basis though the park was a special and magical experience for him. It is wonderful to see so many eagles, that their recovery from near extinction has been successful.

Over the past several trips we have traveled alone as a family, with schedules and plans in a pre-covid world not lining up with others. This year we were able to trip with others which was special in so many ways. The gift of being able to share experiences of this year with others is invaluable, we treasure our Guelph community and being able to be with some of it here was wonderful. Marnie’s immense and deep knowledge of the natural world injected a welcomed richness of understanding of the land around us. Her identification of hawks, falcons, turtles, warblers and countless other birds and animals amazed me. Aspen’s equal love of Quetico and the land here has deepened our already special friendship. Anna’s ability to entertain and play, to find her inner child, provided an outlet for Con and Kai that Christy and I could not contribute to their experience.

The morning of our last day on the water we awoke to Aspen quietly announcing that there were two eagles on the rocks by our campsite. We silently put on our shoes and crept down to the waterfront. There a juvenile and an adult eagle sat perched on the rocks. We stood motionless as the young eagle rose into the sky settling in a pine tree above our heads. The adult eagle launched and did several turns in the sky before plunging down into the lake, grabbing something from the water just off the shore, then the two of them departed across the lake to an adjacent island. We looked at each other without words; did this really happen? These eagles had welcomed us into the park 10 days ago, and now seemed to be acknowledging our departure.