Canoeing Quetico

Canoeists paddle and portage eight days to camp and fish among the 6,000 lakes in the wilderness of Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park.

Section:Gallery

Wed., Oct. 11, 2017

Paddlers head upstream to portage above a waterfall in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
A flotilla of goldeneye ducklings swims behind some unsuspecting canoe paddlers in Quetico.

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Canoeists are shuttled by Seagull Outfitters water taxi from American Point off the Gunflint Trail in Minnesota to an island near the U.S.-Canada border where they will begin their paddling trip into Ontario through Cache Bay.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Canoeists are shuttled by Seagull Outfitters water taxi from American Point off the Gunflint Trail in Minnesota to an island near the U.S.-Canada border where they will begin their paddling trip into Ontario through Cache Bay.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Veteran Ontario Parks Ranger Janice Matichuk registers paddlers heading into Quetico.

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Before they could hear the roar, rising mist warns paddlers of a waterfall and the need to portage in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Pasha Kahn portages a fully loaded Duluth Pack past a waterfall in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Portage trails often are rugged in Quetico. RICH LANDERS/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Paddlers enjoy a rainy stretch of flatwater in Quetico.

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Bill Hall, an Eagle Scout, uses birch bark as tinder to start a campfire in raining conditions in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Rain freshens a patch of wild rose in Quetico.

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Amphibians are right at home in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Bill Hall adds another Quetico walleye to a stringer that includes smallmouth bass and northern pike.

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Bill Hall paddled to a rocky island far from camp to fillet walleye for fish tacos in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Beth Hall fires up the stove for cooking dinner at a remote campsite in Quetico.

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Loons serenade campers as they sip tea after dinner at a remote campsite in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Loons serenade campers as they sip tea after dinner at a remote campsite in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Clouds dance over a lonesome lake in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Paddlers search for a portage trail in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Paddlers find a lesser-used portage trail in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
A sketchy Quetico portage trail, as seen by the canoe portager.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Scott Wolff carries a double load on a 1.2-kilometer portage route in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Wild iris greets paddlers in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Lichen flourishes over rocks on an island in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Scott Wolff reaches into his bag of paddling skills to land a feisty bass in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Scott Wolff reaches into his bag of paddling skills to land a feisty bass in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Julie Allen and Pasha Kahn pause paddling to experience a cloud burst in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Canoeing dogs are at peace during cloud bursts in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Dragonfly nymph in Quetico.

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Dragonfly nymph crawls out of its skin in rainy weather to emerge as an adult in Quetico.

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Dragonfly adult in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Another sketchy portage trail in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Tarps are handy in rainy weather for sheltering eating and packing areas at campsites in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Fishing for pike and bass at sunrise in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Margi Preus makes pancakes over a wood fire in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Landing a northern pike, one of the most common fish species found in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Rich Landers lets his paddling partner, Ed Kowachek, do all the work heading upstream from a portage in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Using coals for baking biscuits in a cook pot at a campsite in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Blueberries -- not quite ripe in Quetico on July 1.

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A white admiral butterfly rests on laundry at a shoreline campsite in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Time for a swim from camp in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Pasha Kahn makes a splash at camp after a day of paddling in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
A paddler purifies water from a Quetico lake. In some cases this group took water directly from the middle of lakes with no complications.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Another sketchy portage trail in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Scott Wolff portages in Quetico

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Heading upstream toward the next portage in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Exploring one of more than 50 known pictograph sites in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Exploring one of more than 50 known pictograph sites in Quetico.

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A slug hitches a ride on a portage in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Matching up maps for route planning in Quetico.

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Another portage in Quetico.

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Portaging over a rock outcropping in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Julie Allen scales a rock outcropping in a Quetico portage.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Paddlers load before heading upstream to portage above a waterfall in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Paddlers head upstream at the end of a portage trail above a dangerous waterfall in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
R & R time in camp after a day of paddling in Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Paddlers take advantage of sunny days to swim in lakes while tripping through Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Paddling through Quetico is a great group experience.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
An Ontario Parks float plane is tied into the Cache Bay Ranger Station dock, one of several where paddlers must stop to check in and out during their treks through Quetico.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Paddling through Quetico is a great group experience.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review