” I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I may have ended up where I intended to be” ( Douglas Adams)
Late summer 2021. Three full weeks to paddle Quetico Provincial Park. We had been there the year before but with lemons mounting in our basket (cold weather, cracked canoe, broken stove), we pulled out early vowing to return. One year later we had a new canoe, a second stove and an ambitious plan to see the best of the park. In the weeks leading up to our adventure Ontario was having one of its worst forest fire seasons in years. Quetico closed its southern boundary. It then closed the full southern half of the park. We changed our route and the park office assured us that it wouldn’t completely close. Five days before our departure, the entire backcountry was closed. Jumping on the phone we called the parks office. Not wanting to brave the crowds of Killarney and Algonquin (not to mention the low probability of being able to book sites last minute) we asked for a suggestion of where to go. Definite in their response, the park ranger said “Check out Wabakimi”.
Wabakimi is massive (double the size of Prince Edward Island), remote (3hrs north of Thunder Bay) and quiet (no bookings necessary). We knew nothing about it but it was exactly what we were looking for. Five short stories and accompanying pictures tell the tale of our adventure.