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A lot of open water and no other people in Quetico

One allure of adventure travel is the amazing people you meet along the way whether they are locals or other travelers. Sometimes, one seeks adventure in order to escape human contact and find solitude. This is why I am going to Quetico Provincial Park and doing a wilderness canoe and fishing trip starting in two days.

I truly love people and appreciate all types of interactions with them whether they are friends, family, or sometimes total strangers. There are times though when people really annoy me, and I work hard to go to places where I will see nary another living breathing homo sapien.

If you are reading this post, there is a good chance you too are a human being and also a good chance that you annoy me sometimes. Do not take this personally as there are some places where just the sight of another person gets on my nerves. Don’t they know that I hiked twenty miles just so I would not have to deal with their crap? How dare they invade my solitude?

Paradise and solitude in Quetico

When one meets another adventure traveler in remote spots there is often a knee jerk annoyed reaction by both parties. Each person arrived at this spot just so they could not see each other, but then each person rudely crashed the other’s party.

After the initial annoyance wears off, usually immediately, you begin to realize you have a lot in common with this person. You finally met someone as crazy as you are. They spent just as much time to get to the middle of nowhere as you did and here you both are. You realize you have quite a bit in common. Sometimes great friendships are bonded by chance wilderness encounters.

Quetico Provincial Park in Canada lets in 20,000 people per year. Most of these people visit the park between June and early September. In comparison, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area lets in over 200,000 people although the area is larger it is quite a difference.

Hard to believe there is no one else here until you realize the hardship of the journey

Every person in Quetico exhumes a lot of effort and a good amount of money to find solitude. It is easy to come by in Quetico because the country is so inhospitable for travel.

One must canoe large lakes where a wisp of wind can create great hardships, portage half mile stretches on root and boulder filled trails around waterfalls, endure mosquitoes and biting flies, camp out with wolves and bears, dodge thunderstorms, and go without any type of outhouse or restroom all in order to find peace and quiet. It is not for everyone.

Last year, in the middle of the park, at Lake Kawnipi we did not talk to a human being for four days. We spotted two different canoes over a mile away. During this time we saw bald eagles every day, caught and ate our own fresh fish, canoed with river otters, and just luxuriated in the most beautiful spot in North America. We shared this place with no one and hope to do this again starting this Tuesday.

If we do spot another wandering soul in the Canadian wilderness, we will give them a dirty look for imposing on our solitude. Then we will realize they are good people and enjoy a conversation in the middle of nowhere about how awesome it is to enjoy solitude in Quetico Provincial Park.

Great fishing in the middle of the Canadian wilderness

Stay tuned,

TT

The goal of Traveling Ted is to inspire people to outdoor adventure travel and then provide tips on where and how to go. If you liked this post then enter your email in the box to get email notifications for each new entry. Daily travel photos are excluded from your email in order to not flood you with posts. There is no spam and email information will not be shared. Other e-follow options include Facebook (click on the like box to the right) or twitter (click on the pretty bird on the rainbow above).