At the end of my August trip to Quetico I stayed on Birch Lake, just east of Prairie Portage. I chose this location so I could have an easier exit day paddling down Moose Lake and back to the entry point.

When I arrived on Birch Lake after a long day battling the wind and waves on Basswood, I was tired and hopeful of quickly finding a nice campsite. It was still early enough in the afternoon that I figured I'd have no problem finding something. Well I was wrong. All of the campsites shown on the Fisher and McKenzie maps were already occupied on the Canadian side, and I did not have a permit for staying on the U.S. side. So I continued to zig-zag my way around Birch Lake looking for any unmarked sites or just someplace to make a new camp. Heading back toward the large island at the far west end of the lake, I began to take a closer look at the very small island just off the northeast end of that large island. It looked like a prime spot for a potential camp, so I paddled up to it and got out to take a look around.

I was a little surprised, but not totally shocked, to find a fire ring a little ways up on the island. Obviously others had thought this was a good looking spot too, and it was. There was a great tent pad space and nice open understory. I was very pleased. But what I was not prepared for was the wood structure sitting further back against some brush. After a double-take, it registered that I was looking at a picnic table. After a few weeks of total immersion in the Quetico wilderness, this manufactured object seemed completely out of place and totally unexpected. Nonetheless, my tired legs were happy to see it, and by now the wilderness spell was already lifting due to the day's earlier trip through Prairie Portage and from hearing all the fishing and tow boats zooming back and forth on adjacent Moose Lake.

The table itself looks quite old and is clearly in an advanced state of decay. However, it still has one good seat bench, and the top, though porous, can still hold most things just fine. The other seat bench has been replaced with a couple of logs, but both benches can hold a person's weight with no problem.

So does anybody know how this may have gotten here or how old it might be? Is it just a remnant of the days when the park was not a designated wilderness area? Are there other known picnic tables scattered about the BWCA and Quetico?

Also, what do you all think about sharing this kind of thing with the general BWCA public? My inclination is to be open with it, but sometimes I'm not sure what should be distributed openly and what should be revealed more discreetly. Would telling everybody about this risk harm or excessive wear being done to the table and site. After all, it is in a highly traveled area.

Anyway, I figured you aficionados might find this useful or interesting. Below are some photos of the campsite and table.

What a treasure! I think this is one of the old BWCA tables that someone, somehow brought over to the Canadian side before they were all removed from the US side... Because the Canadians don't have potties and fire grates to maintain it has escaped time. Beautiful pictures! If I ever am in that area I would stop by just to take a look.