Quetico Adventure Begins

Our drive up to Ely, Mn. was very enjoyable. Laura and I opted to leave "Scout" home ( which was an extremely good idea).

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Our first stop was in the small town of Spooner. Wisconsin. It was a great night out as we went to a very unique local tavern and a high end sports bar. Very contrasting establishments.

The local pub " The Wobblin Duck" was a trip. The beer was extremely cheap and for good reason. The tapper line must have been dirty or the beer skunked cause Laura and I both had to dump out our drinks.

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I had an interesting conversation with a local gentleman as Laura took our mugs to the bathroom for dumping. He spoke Nort'woods and I nodded my head allot. He gave me what could have been considered a high "5" but he missed my hand and I think he tried to hug me... We made our move for the door. But not before I waxed Laura in a game of billiards.

We caught this sunset on our way out of the Wobblin Duck. The Jersey Sports bar was your typical sports bar. Great local beers ( more on local breweries later) and a billion TV's.

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Spooner WI gets a 7 out of 10. great little northern community - The Capt'n

Quetico Provincial Park

Sunrise on Lake Agnes

We have returned safe and sound. Over the next few days I will share some of the highlights of our paddling adventure. The short version: Outstanding!

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Our favorite quote of the trip:

Unattended children will receive espresso and a free puppy - The Great Nort'woods

CANPASS in Hand

File photo Quetico

Quetico Provincial Park is a premiere wilderness park in the northwestern part of Ontario, Canada. It's landscape is laced with a network of quiet lakes and small rivers, which make it one of the finest canoeing areas in North America. First time going there, imagine that. Can't wait to experience it.

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We may be taking "Scout" our 9 month old shepard-moose mix pup. He gets a test paddle tonight if the "Weather Gods" permit. "Scout" did pretty well down at the MR340 when we camped at the finish.

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One thing "Scout" has going for him is he loves to swim. He can really motor, but he is pretty rambunctious, so we'll see if it is a go. Otherwise it is off to Aunt "B"'s pet spa at a staggering $350.00 dollars for a 9 day visit. :-/

File photo Quetico

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I think this will be the last post till our return. Unless of course there is an incident tonight worth noting.

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Like "Scout" swamps the canoe and we all take a swim!!

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Time to get lost, then find myself - The Capt'n

Weekend warriors

Went camping with Emily and Marissa this past weekend. Never got a boat in the water. The rain came in fast and furious. A poorly placed tent and improper rain fly configuration makes for a very wet and soggy experience. Spent the better part of Sunday morning at a local laundry drying out gear and sleeping bags. We had gotten lazy and just threw the flys over for the dew. But the thunderstorms rolled in and we got drenched.


Managed to get in a game of mini-golf, listen to some whacked music at Riverfest and grilled burritos over an open fire. I ate so many smores I am still feeling the effects of all the sugar

5 days till we leave for the Quetico for a week of paddling and camping. Looks like it's Laura and I, as the rest of the gang has bailed out for one reason or another. Which makes logistics and planning much easier. But we'll miss their company.

Marissa before the rain came. The last of the smiles for the weekend.



"A rainy camp weekend with your kids, shows no mercy" - The Capt'n

MR 340 the after

The start - River John on the bottom in red Sea Wind - Alan and us top right - photo Connie

When Mark and I were closing in to the finish, I told a story about two of my best friends and how we met. I ended the story by, " I wouldn't be surprised if these to characters were at the finish when we arrived."

Low and behold, there they were. Mike Polzin and Tom Grow. Camera and champagne in hand. These two took us under their wing, They got our boat up and secure on shore, took us shopping for clothes (as our stuff was in a vehicle that had not yet arrived). Got us checked into a hotel, fed us and joined us for a fabulous meal. What a great way to end the challenge. Bestest friends in the whole world!!

We had Friday and Saturday to mill around and meet the racers as they came in. Awesome to hear their tales. I have fond memories of the Trail-Head Brewery just up the road. I sat down with Wayne and Ann from Team Huki and heard their story first hand. Unbelievable accounting. What an adventure that was.

Mark caught a ride back to Kansas to retrieve the Team Kruger Van. Laura arrived and joined in our celebration of teams arriving. We met up with Dawn and Alan later in the evening and had a wonderful meal at a restaurant called "Canoe". Very fitting. Very relaxing and very enjoyable.

Funny things I am starting to recall:

Don't set you tent up on a bunny nest. The little ones tend to get nervous and send your dog into a tizzy.

Nicknames - they are wonderful... A new one came up for some one "Cabin Boy" hmmm who could that be?

In a world of supplex nylon and self inflating mattresses--- Long live the blue jean and foam egg carton sleep system. - You go John boy!

The End - or the beginning - The Capt'n

MR 340 the during - part 3

Night leaving the checkpoint at Miami Photo by Connie

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Our third morning found us in great spirits. We had calculated our ETA to St. Charles around 7:00pm, made phone calls to family and friends.... and pushed on.

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We battled the heat, mused each other with our attempt to stay cool. Mark was wearing multiple shirts soaked in cool ice water. I had a bilge snake wrapped around my neck drizzling ice water into it. We were quite the site.

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Our goal today was to keep it moving and enjoy. We talked for hours, but to be honest I can't remember any of it. I do remember laughing a lot. Humor was our friend. It fought off the boredom, it fought off the heat. It made the hours go by effortlessly.

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We did meet up with Karin one of the race directors that told us the Huki story. The had what was left of the Huki in the back of their chase boat. It looked like scrap material, no resemblance of a outrigger canoe.

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We did have some fun with Doug Berg and Dave Dahl. They were in a faster tandem canoe about 30 miles out from the finish. They were slowly working their way closer. Mark and I would sprint a head almost to exhaustion. We figured if they were going to beat us, we were going to make them hurt a little. We did this cat and mouse antic a couple times before they pulled along side. Their comment was priceless: "Man you must have gotten quite a boost from that discharge pipe. We couldn't catch you." We held back any comments as they went by. They got us at the finish by 25 minutes or so. We were hard pressed to wipe the grins from our faces.

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More to follow...

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Just too much fun! - The Capt'n

MR 340 the during - part 2

Mark and I in the Kruger Cruiser - First evening - photo by Merek

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Really settling in, the Kruger Cruiser felt like home. There is magic on the river, the connection through the craft in which we paddled. Life is grand. Couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Mark and I reflected on the Lewis and Clark expedition, wondering if we were experiencing anything like what they endured. We agreed we had it easy compared to the up hill battle they encountered.

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Day 2 is a bit of a blurr. I remember - eating chicken and hot roast beef sandwiches... I remember laughing so hard my sides hurt. I remember the ice and the calculating of our journey and our ETA's to different check points. One thing that sticks in my mind, was the well staffed energetic and very accommodating race staff and volunteers. Very impressive in-deed.

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The second night on the Missouri was slow going. We were flashing markers through the fog and moving cautiously down river, trying to stay in the channel. Our travel was safe and calculated. No sense wrapping the boat on a buoy or pinning on a wing dam. Cuts into the fun factor a whole lot.

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After moving slowly for about 6 hours we beached river left to catch a nap. It was too dangerous to go any further on an hour and a half sleep. The buoys tend to suck you in and they can be quite menacing in the middle of the night. As we found out early the next morning. Team Huki had been taken out by a barge just down river from us...

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more to follow...

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What a ride - The Capt'n