“You haven’t been around lately. Where have you been?”
“Up north.”
“Where up north?”
“Canada.”
“Where in Canada?”
“Here.”
“Hey, that’s beautiful. Where is it?”
“I’m not telling.”
“Why not?”
“Because then everyone would go there and the beauty of the place depends upon its isolation.”
“Is it hard to get to?”
“You tell me. The first portage is three-quarters of a mile. The next is half a mile and the third is half that. The third is the hardest, an uphill scramble through the trees and over big rocks. Not easy when you are wearing a sixteen foot aluminum hat.”
“Sounds like a lot of work.”
“That’s the point.”
“But it is worth it.”
“Looks isolated.”
“It is. It’s why we go there. You wake up in the morning and realize that you and your friends are the only ones around for miles and miles.”
“Did you catch any fish?”
“A few walleye.”
“And enough lake trout to make trout burgers.”
“Nothing is better than that.”
“Except maybe a little whisky and fresh wintergreen that we found in the woods.”
“And a quiet sunset.”
Almost Iowa 
Beautiful!!!!
Sounds idyllic 👍🏻.
I live in Canada. I know where you are. 😀
A beautiful spot but I am happy to leave you to your peaceful isolation. Canoe hats don’t suit me and I prefer to pour my whisky from the bottle in the kitchen cupboard.
It was definitely worth it!
Beautiful spot. I never made it to the Boundary Waters in my Minnesota years, but I imagined it to be something like this. (Although your spot is probably more private.)
Never heard of trout burgers.
Too bad you never made it to the BWCA, but I have seen your pictures of the Northwest. Every bit as beautiful.
I often think (and sometimes say) that it’s a good thing we all like different places. This is beautiful, your photos enhancing your writing.
It is always good to have a place to get away, if it is just in the imagination.
You choose a wonderful place to get lost. Glad you had a good time. I like the aluminum hat. Don’t want the aliens to read your mind and find out about the wilderness….
The hat does a great job of protecting one from aliens. Mosquitoes… that is another story.
Now that is my idea of heaven. Great photos, Greg. Looks like the perfect trip. 😀
It is heaven, except when it rains and rains and the bugs come out. This time however, the weather was perfect and the bugs kept to themselves.
I’ll admit I’ve been missing your posts and your creative comments on my posts! But then I read this, saw the pictures, and realized that if I had the chance to hang out there, I’d turn my back on the blogging world, too. Enjoy, my friend!
The great thing about up north is that there is no internet or cell phone reception.
“Except maybe a little whisky and fresh wintergreen that we found in the woods.” This is fun. I figured the modifier could apply to both. Did you take your own still. If so, it would be the best of all wilderness trips. Seriously, beautiful. My kind of place. –Curt
We didn’t bring a still but brought a distiller instead. My son owns a distillery. You would love this area, Curt.
I am sure I would love the area! And it’s fun that your son owns a distillery. I imagine that you were well taken care of. 🙂 –Curt
Wow! A very different “up North” to the one I knew. (South is London, North is Manchester)
I’ve been to Manchester, but I must say, I didn’t see a soul there carrying a canoe.
This looks really fun for someone (other than me) who enjoys camping, boating, and fishing. Nice photos!
Oh Molly, you would like this trip. We decided to do the “luxury tour”. That is when you don’t have to cut your toothbrush in two to save weight.
Nice! Looks absolutely beautiful.
It was gorgeous and the weather was perfect.
Hey, is that canoe a Grumman, Greg? I learnt on Grummans!
Not sure. All I know is that it is lighter than it looks.
And that is a good thing!
You look good in aluminum and my home and native land becomes you, too.
Your native land is a beautiful place. 🙂
Well, howdy! You look just like I imagined you would. Enjoy the serenity.
I wish I looked like I imagine I do. 🙂
Prue bliss. Next time I’ll bring the whiskey.
Naw, my son got that. He owns a distillery.
Absolutely gorgeous!
Although you lost me at portage…. I don’t look good in aluminum.
I’ve never had a trout burger, but feel I need to now. Care to share the recipe?
Think steam punk.
Ahhhhhhh….. Yes. Apart from not being able to wear the hat, of course. But I’d be willing to find other ways to pitch in.
The hat is a necessity. All that time on the water…but what am I tell you that?
Canvas hat, ok. Aluminum hat? Maybe not so much!
Oops, I forgot I called the canoe a hat. 🙂 🙂 🙂
“Except maybe a little whisky and fresh wintergreen that we found in the woods.”
Seriously? where’d you find whisky in the woods?!!
Those pics tell it all–definitely worth it!
We found lots of whisky in the woods, but then we brought it there.
Always plan ahead. The Wood Elves are not always so generous…
Peaceful moments in nature? What is the dark magic of which you speak? Tranquility sounds delightful. Glad you had a great time.
Very peaceful. We were blessed with perfect weather, a rarity up on the Canadian shield.
…meanwhile, on the Hammersmith & City Line, where half of London has congreted to go to the Carnival after having doused themselves with the premium “eau de armpit”, a man reads this blog post and drools. Massively.
I moved away from the city because of just such experiences.
Reminds me of our trip to the Boundary Waters two years ago. Those portages! Glad you found your slice of peaceful paradise.
This is north of the BWCA, in Quetico.
Gasp! You revealed the secret!!
Not really, Quetico is pretty big.
No one goes there anymore; it’s too crowded. Sounds like a good place to keep to yourself.
It is.
Now, we know where you’ve been off to, and it looks like you certainly didn’t miss us. 🙂 Glad you are having a good summer. But, I’m not sold on trout burgers – I need more info. I looked up a couple of recipes but each one seemed different. I’m guessing you have it figured out because they look pretty good. My hubby use to fish a lot so I’ve eaten my share of fish, but these days I like to eat my fish in a restaurant or even better yet a fish shack. 🙂
My son is the trout burger cook. I’ll have to ask for his recipe.
I understand why you would keep that to yourself. Trout burger? That sounds curiously good.
They are delicious, but then everything tastes better over a campfire.
That’s true
I never thought of making burgers out of fish.
They are exceptionally good.
Looks like you should keep it to yourself. I always enjoyed going to Canada for the quiet and pristine lakes. Thanks for sharing, Greg.
It is a secret and sacred place. I will explain the sacred in another post.
Excellent.