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Good morning. PHOTO: KEVIN CALLAN
[ trips ]
100 Years of Quetico T
his summer marks 100 years since the inception of one of the canoeing world’s
largest protected areas. When Quetico be- came an Ontario forest reserve in 1909 and then a provincial park in 1913, a paddler’s paradise was born. It’s a place you can exercise your eyes on
cascading waterfalls, reflective tannin lakes and stands of old-growth forest; spend calm evenings lying on a rock listening to loons call; pick marble-sized wild blueberries for morn- ing pancakes; and take on a challenging por- tage to some remote lake full of feisty fish. Tere’s no better way to celebrate the
centennial than to paddle the renowned Hunter Island route. Tis is where it all be- gan. It was the “island” area that was first protected in 1909. It’s not really a true island. Te Hunter Is-
land area is a chunk of land and lakes that split the two historically significant fur-trade routes, Kaministiquia and Grand Portage. Te route is chock-full of history and has far more water to paddle than trails to portage. And with Quetico being a border park, you can get to it either at the north end from Atikokan, Ontario, or from Ely, Minnesota and through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area to the south.
16 SPRING 2009
Quetico Provincial Park (807) 597-2735
ontarioparks.com
Friends of Quetico (807) 929-2571
friendsofquetico.com
Boundary Waters Canoe Area
bwca.com
MAPS: • Friends of Quetico:
chrismar.com • W.A. Fisher Maps:
fishermaps.com • McKenzie Maps:
bwcamaps.com • Etopo digital maps:
etopo.ca
OUTFITTERS:
Canoe Canada Outfitters Atikokan, Ontario (807) 597-6418
canoecanada.com
Piragis Northwoods Company Ely, Minnesota 1-800-223-6565
piragis.com
Celebrate a century of protected wilderness on Hunter Island, the trip that started it all FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Te 200-kilometre circuit takes 12 to 14
days to complete, though it’s possible to slice and dice the circuit to leave you with differ- ent trips of five or seven days. If you are in a hurry, have a go at the annual Hunter Island Canoe Race and try to break the speed re- cord. Te current record, set in 1994, is just under 29 hours. But you’re best not to rush the trip. Hunt-
er Island has too many natural and historic treasures along the way. Paddling this route you will pass: the place where Bill Mason starred in his first film, a portion of David Tompson’s survey route of Canada, the route of the militia heading to engage Louis Riel during the Red River Rebellion, the place where the infamous John Tanner was shot, a portion of pioneering conservationist Aldo Leopold’s favorite canoe trip, significant na- tive pictograph sites and Warrior Hill, where young Ojibway braves raced to the top to test their worth as warriors. For reservations in Quetico call 1-888-
ONT-PARK. If you are coming from the United States you don’t need to camp in the BWCA, but you’ll need a Remote Bor- der Crossing Permit from www.queticopark. com/rabc/
index.html. » KEVIN CALLAN
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