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The further north you
drive in Ontario from Toronto the more you realise just how
important outdoor life is to Canadians. Practically every second car
carried a canoe on the roof.
As the landscape opened up we glimpsed great lakes through the
trees and we resisted the temptation to follow the directions
to Horseshoe Valley and Big Chief Road.
Signs for bait, tackle,
leeches, minnows and frogs, left us in no doubt that we were in
huntin' and fishin' country.
The smooth dual carriageway runs up to North Bay, but just three
hours after leaving the airport I turned on to Route 60 towards the
Algonquin Park and soon encountered a sign that warned of
"Moose Crossing Area" ahead.
The highway cuts through
The Algonquin for some 35 miles
and along that corridor there is access to to camp grounds and
modern day amenities. Beyond lie lie lakes with canoe routes and
back-packing trails leading to more than 3000 square miles of
unspoiled wilderness. 
'Wolf howl.'
It was the call
of the wild, or rather the call of the wolves that
drew me there.
At dusk, as the
dragonflies took to the air for their evening bug hunt we
gathered at a clearing in the pine trees to hear the
park rangers' plan for a 'wolf howl.'
We sat on great log
benches and learned why wolves deserved a better reputation and
listened to a 'human howl' being demonstrated, to which it was hoped the
wolves would respond. And so it was, later that night, that we
stood silent under a vast starry waiting for the call.
It was an eerie experience, far away we heard the initial call then moments later a
lone wolf responded, then another, and another, as wolf after wolf
joined in a five minute long communal howl that spread in glorious
stereo throughout the forest.
* If you want to know more about wolf howls click on to
http://www.wolfpark.org/wolfsounds.html
Can you canoe?
The next day I headed for the Portage Store at Canoe Lake. It
has been there since 1937 and is now an extremely well stocked
wilderness outfitters.
The guy in charge gives advice, rents
out canoes and supplies everything that you would need to to explore 1600km of rivers streams and lakes.
You can hire
a basic canoe for four hours for $13.50/£6. or pay $19.95/£8.84
for the day. A full package costs $54.95/£24.38 per day, but
includes food, tent, canoe, matches, rope and even loo paper.
We
poured over the map and I located 'Whisky Rapids' but
the illusion was spoiled when it was explained that it got its name
because some one lost a case of whisky overboard. As for
mosquitoes? Well "In May or June the bugs are 'friendly'
but by August they are long gone."
It seems that most people
take four or five day trips, paddling off to quieter lakes and places only
accessible by canoe. For $4.95 /£2.20 (plus tax) you get a large map
showing camping places. These are little more than a clearing with a fire
pit and a privy back in the trees.
It is all very simple, you gather
wood for the fire and take drinking water from the lake and make sure that
before you retire for the night that you hang your food from a tree where the
bears cant get at it. (that's what the rope's for!)
By way of introduction I tried the
a one-day guided canoe trip. It costs $39.95/£17 and at 9.30 am we
paddled up the lake with four other canoes for company. 
We paused every now and
then while our guide pointed out items of interest, like the large totem pole
built as a monument John Thompson who died in mysterious circumstances.
We
were told how he was fished out of the water with a hole in his head after an
argument over a woman.
At the end of the lake we came
ashore with muscles aching. then plunged into the water for a refreshing swim.
Thus revived and with more than a little envy I watched others carrying their canoes
about 500 yards towards the next lake and on to the forests beyond.
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