The Happy Camper: These Students Gave Me Hope
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Things didn’t go as planned for my latest canoe trip in northwestern Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park.
I became wind-bound for four solid days only two hours into my circumnavigation of Pickerel Lake, my camp stove blew up and burned my bug shelter, a massive storm blew in—twice—and a lightning strike ignited a forest fire not far from my campsite which grew to such an extent that Quetico was closed to all paddlers the day after I left the park.
My time in Quetico, however, did come with a silver lining.
The campsite that I was stuck on for the entire trip was the best one in the park. It’s called The Pines; it’s an elongated beach-front lined with stout old growth red and white pine trees. It was a beautiful spot to be wind-bound on. I read two books and soaked in my wilderness surroundings for once, rather than wander about as fast as possible to try and reach the next piece of tranquility, forgetting I was already there.
It was also the place I planned on meeting up with the Quetico Foundation’s Summer Student Research Team on day four of my trip.
The crew (Lowen Hoenisch Matthes, Jaedyn Couch and Spencer Thorburn), along with retired park biologist Brian Jackson and current park naturalist Jared Stachiw, pitched their tents beside mine. They fed me dinner and shared their stories of collecting research data across the countless lakes and portage trails of a place they dedicated themselves to help protect—one of the largest wilderness areas in North America.
Their company was nice to have after being alone for a few days, and their taco dinner was awesome. They spent time to do a show-and-tell about the data they were gathering and why they were gathering it. I loved their banter between one another, as well as their deep conversations about why they haul such heavy research gear, along with their canoes, packs and dried granola throughout Quetico. My time with them was life changing.
My main purpose to invite the crew to camp with me was to write up and video record all the ways the Quetico Foundation collects data for researching invasive species, water quality, possible pollutants, bird and bat populations and so much more. Quetico Foundation is like a watch dog for the park, and other wilderness areas. I also volunteer as a Trustee. So, I was more than intrigued how the data was collected and why.
But my time with the young data collectors was much more than that. It was a promise of hope!
I’ve never been that old guy cursing the youth of today. Some may say their music sucks, and the ethics of some teenage punks at the shopping mall really pisses others off at times. But I’ve spent so many magical moments with positive youth in my career that those brief encounters of adolescence stupidness wash away really quickly.
The crew showed me the gadgets and gizmos on how they were gathering bats’ calls and spiny water fleas. That was cool. But it was the “why” they were hauling heavy metal disks and rock weighted water collectors across the portage, all in the hope to protect what’s still wild in Quetico. After all, that was the initial reason the Quetico Foundation was formed back in 1954.
“To support the long-term preservation of Quetico Provincial Park’s natural and cultural heritage by raising funds that drive conservation, research, education and recreation initiatives, and to create sustainable trust that safeguards the intrinsic value of Quetico for present and future generations.”
I just posted a video of my Quetico journey and included my time spent with the summer students. It shares their passion and commitment to making a change. I’m not talking about saving the world. That’s certainly overwhelming for all of us, and especially them. But they all agreed that something must be done to alter human connections to the environment, and that they’d rather go down fighting for the conservation of wilderness values, than to not.
Yes, being wind-bound, my stove blowing up and burning my bug shelter, the storms, the approaching forest fire—are all great click bait. But please watch the chats I had with the summer students and listen to what Lowen, Jaedyn and Spencer had to say about their connection to Quetico, and other wilderness areas.
That’s the real click bait. That’s the real reason I went to Quetico. To listen to the future and feel good and positive about life.
