I was sleeping next to the man killed this last Tuesday morning on Point Lake in the Quetico. It was a preventable accident:before you pitch your tent, check out the dead trees. Make sure you're a safe distance from any one that might fall. Look up each dead tree and take note of the weight distribution and figure out which way it's most likely to fall, if it fell. The tree that killed Chuck was a 100 y/o red pine. It did not come down because of wind or a storm. It came down because of its rotted roots. This tree could have fallen at any time in the last 10 years or in the next 10 years.
Safe camping includes checking out dead trees.
I'm grateful to be alive. I was no more than 3 inches away from Chuck and John was 6 inches away.
Dave Clayton

Wow, Dave, that is a very sobering story. Thanks for sharing. I'm really sorry for the loss of your friend.

Thank you for your comment. So sorry for the loss of a tripping partner.

Thank you for your acknowledgement. Chuck and I were just getting to know each other. Last year, when we first met, we quickly acknowledged the areas we couldn't discuss, e.g. politics, religion and politics. But we had so much more to share: fishing together, portaging together, tenting together and figuring out the other people along with us that we'd just met, like each other.
Dave

Good tripping partners are hard to find. We thought we'd just begun.
Dave

I'm so sorry to hear about Chuck's death on your trip. Thanks for the reminder about paying more attention to the trees.

Sorry to hear that but glad it didn't get more of you guys. Thanks for the reminder, we're headed up in a couple weeks.

Great reminder to all of us! Thanks for speaking out as difficult as it must be for you at this time. So sorry for the loss of your friend.

Scariest part is it might not have been just the wind but the rotted out roots. Be extra careful folks.

So sorry for the loss of your friend Chuck.

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. There was only a slight breeze when the tree fell. The day before there were 20-25 mph gusts. I think it was the 2 inches of rain that had fallen during the early morning that finally weakened the one remaining root. As you my know, red pines have a lateral root system vs. white pines which have a long tap root. In the 25 years I've been up in the Quetico, I never once checked out the dead trees before pitching my tent. It was preventable.
Dave Clayton

I too am sorry to hear about the loss of your friend, especially inches away from you. Good thoughts to you in this time of grief.

This is an incredibly sad story. I did not know Chuck, but from David's description I am sure I would have liked him. May he rest in peace. My condolences to his family and friends.

This is terrible. I am so sorry.

4 weeks ago in Wyoming my 8 yr old son was struck by a falling tree while on horseback. The tree was as big as a telephone pole, and none of us who witnessed it falling understands just how he survived. The same improbability that caused the tree to fall right while his horse was reluctant to move around another fallen tree must have been the same improbability that got him out of the way just in time.

My kids used to make fun of me for always being concerned about 'widowmakers" in the trees in our yard. They get it now. We recently lived through your same nightmare, but we were lucky enough to wake up from it. God bless. So sorry.

I'm grateful to hear that your son survived. In the 25 years I've been enjoying the Quetico, I never once considered dead trees when pitching a tent. Now it seems so foolish to not first check the area out before potentially putting yourself in "harms way". It takes only a few minutes. I'm still struggling with the events of 7/22. I hope by next summer I will be ready to "go back".
Dave Clayton

Dave,
As we started our trip we had heard of the troubled weather the few days before. We had heard 2nd hand of the mishap. We heard a few others needed rescued as well. We saw the downed trees in campsites and on portages (we posted a photo in our report of downed trees across the portages)...We didn't maneuver those without thinking about what we had heard of the previous days. While we have never met, know that our hearts were going out to you all that struggled. We had strong winds, white caps, and hail storms on our trip and we thought about the dangers. No, we wouldn't have changed a thing... That was part of the experience; however, it was with more awareness after having heard the news. We are saddened by your report and thank you for the raw honesty and difficulty it must have taken to post. I know we never met, but I believe in some way the BWCA is a family of like-minded people.
We are sorry for your loss.
Joyce

Dear Joyce,
Thank you for your acknowledgment of our struggle with the trauma and the tragic loss of my friend Chuck. I'm sure my future Quetico trips will be with a new awareness of my vulnerability, as your awareness has apparently also changed. It's always been a potential danger even though I never paid any attention to dead trees in the 25 years I camped in the Quetico. Hopefully, those that read these posts will incorporate our experience into their thinking when looking for suitable campsite and be able to avoid our unnecessary tragedy.
I hope that, in time, I will feel more secure about camping under the trees. Late afternoon of the day of the accident ,the other guy that was in the tent with me when Chuck died and I had to try and resurrect my mangled tent (Halo 4) so we could have some shelter for the night. That night after falling into a deep sleep, I awakened at 2 a.m. and saw the canopy of stars and the tall red pines surrounding us. For a moment I struggled with my experience remembering that this 100 year old red pine didn't come down in a storm with high winds. It came down in the quiet of the woods as the rain stopped.
Thank you again for your concern and awareness. I wish all of the visitors to the Quetico were as able to express their thoughts and feelings as well as you.
Dave Clayton

that's a real heart breaker.when i read the story's i thought it was a major storm to bring down trees left and right.
this photo is not very clear as to whats going on.i had my tent pitched right under that standing pine.when the big one came down years before,i guess,it left several large busted branches just hanging in that tangle of smaller ones.i had pitched at the end of a long day and with the tent up and everything set up of the night i just happened to look up and saw i was not in a very safe place.
sorry to say i did a "nothings going to fall,it looks stuck really good up there" and went to bed.well luck was with me but i won't do that again!