We practice OCD campsite and portage cleanup, picking up everything that gets left behind. People drop and lose stuff unintentionally, and I get that. Very little "littering" on my last trip, save for the tin foil in the firepits.

Here is a pic (if I can get it to work) of the "durable" items I picked up last trip. The water filter part was found at a campsite on Sarah. If it is yours I can send it to you. Nothing else worth anything (except for the tent stake and its a good one so I'm keeping it :) )

Joe

Not a bad haul Joe.

A few years back I had a Quetico trip in which I found: a GPS (eventually claimed), a crazy creek chair, a tackle box and fish pliers, binoculars, numerous tent stakes, a beautiful (and very long and heavy) crafted beaver tail paddle that I ended up leaving because my load was getting too heavy.

As for foil in the fire pits.... I quit being concerned about it. It's in the fire pit why fret about it.

Last week my son broke his sunglasses on the first portage in. Bummer. It's a long week with no shades. A couple hrs later he spotted a pair washed up in the rocks . They were perfectly fine! Good deal.
We did find some 1 pound propane cylinders tossed in the woods. Otherwise nothing.

I live in Florida and there is garbage EVERYWHERE. One of the things I most appreciate about Quetico is the lack of messy human reminders.. Our first trip I only found one top of a pen on 4 different campsites. Last year we came out near the Pines and there was quite a bit of garbage in that specific campsite, including a "toilet" area that just happened to be in an otherwise perfect tent spot.

It seems that the closer to an entry point, the greater the likelihood of garbage and bad behavior. Maybe that is because they get more day trip or base camp use. I don't know. I spent some time in Baker Lake Nunavut and there is a lot of garbage there as well, and some big stuff like fuel drums etc. Is it just selfishness and a general lack of respect or caring? I notice that frequently locals tend to have a different attitude towards stewardship of natural resources than visitors who come exclusively to enjoy/appreciate those resources...

There are so few places left that are clean of refuse. I wish there was a way to convince all visitors to Canoe Country that if you can bring it in, you can bring it out, understanding that you will lose the occasional fishing lure... So much of what we leave behind is not biodegradable and will be there for many years. "Leave No Trace" is our promise to future generations that what we so enjoy today will be there for them.

Dont get me wrong, my point was that "haul" wasnt bad for 9 days on trail. We didnt find a messy site. One site on William had three folding camp chairs...but we left them. Judging by the picnic table and fish cleaning station, they will be back.

No TP or sanitation issues anywhere.

It was a great trip!

Joe

Isn't it just wonderful that it is so clean! I didn't mean to jump on that soapbox when I commented, it just happened! It means a lot to me that we keep it pristine.

Camp treasures!

Thanks for doing your part!

quote mapsguy1955: "I live in Florida and there is garbage EVERYWHERE. One of the things I most appreciate about Quetico is the lack of messy human reminders.. Our first trip I only found one top of a pen on 4 different campsites. Last year we came out near the Pines and there was quite a bit of garbage in that specific campsite, including a "toilet" area that just happened to be in an otherwise perfect tent spot.


It seems that the closer to an entry point, the greater the likelihood of garbage and bad behavior. Maybe that is because they get more day trip or base camp use. I don't know. I spent some time in Baker Lake Nunavut and there is a lot of garbage there as well, and some big stuff like fuel drums etc. Is it just selfishness and a general lack of respect or caring? I notice that frequently locals tend to have a different attitude towards stewardship of natural resources than visitors who come exclusively to enjoy/appreciate those resources...


There are so few places left that are clean of refuse. I wish there was a way to convince all visitors to Canoe Country that if you can bring it in, you can bring it out, understanding that you will lose the occasional fishing lure... So much of what we leave behind is not biodegradable and will be there for many years. "Leave No Trace" is our promise to future generations that what we so enjoy today will be there for them. "

I don't think that it is just local people who trash an area. Some people are just ignorant of the fact that they are leaving trash behind for everyone else and themselves to see later. Sometimes they are just lazy and can't seem to bend over to pick up the bottle they just dropped or the fishing line they just cut from their spool because of a knot in it. I pick up trash along the road I live on almost everyday because I walk on it everyday. I seem to find some new bit of garbage every other day. When I go fishing at a local boat landing I pick up what seems like miles of fishing line. It's just certain people who act like they love the outdoors but really don't care at all about anyone elses love for it or for the sustainability of it. These people will do the same trash tossing anywhere they go. They don't pick up their own trash or others. Some people do. So thank you for picking up trash whether it's your own or something you just found lying about. (I do realize that some people drop/forget stuff, which is probably what happened with the tent stake. I am at fault for stuff like that sometimes.)

I think I probably find at least one tent stake per trip.

"(I don't think that it is just local people who trash an area. Some people are just ignorant of the fact that they are leaving trash behind for everyone else and themselves to see later. Sometimes they are just lazy and can't seem to bend over to pick up the bottle they just dropped or the fishing line they just cut from their spool because of a knot in it. I pick up trash along the road I live on almost everyday because I walk on it everyday. I seem to find some new bit of garbage every other day. When I go fishing at a local boat landing I pick up what seems like miles of fishing line. It's just certain people who act like they love the outdoors but really don't care at all about anyone elses love for it or for the sustainability of it. These people will do the same trash tossing anywhere they go. They don't pick up their own trash or others. Some people do. So thank you for picking up trash whether it's your own or something you just found lying about. (I do realize that some people drop/forget stuff, which is probably what happened with the tent stake. I am at fault for stuff like that sometimes.)"

Sometimes tent stakes get pounded in and people don't see them. I get that. It even goes to what you clip from your fishing line when tying a lure on. How many people put the cut tag in their pocket? How many smokers collect ALL of their butts, especially when out on the water? I get that there are many people who purport to love the outdoors, but what they are really saying is that they like PARTS of it, and too frequently those are only the parts they can exploit. That, frankly goes for many of us. The challenge is that Quetico is a biosphere and all of it is integrated. This isn't a dig; many people just don't understand the whole picture because they never had to or were never were taught how important it is. If anything it is a failure of our educational system. Almost all of what we are taught in life is about "Leaving A Trace" and now we need to "Leave NO Trace!" The wilderness needs to be in balance to survive in the long run. That is up to us.

I found a Carbon Fiber bent shaft on Sunday island near a landing at a campsite. It looked like a gift sort of neatly stashed, partially hidden blending in with some dead wood and just waiting for me.

But I thought better of it and decided if it was meant to be then 9 days later on my way out I would pick it up since it was truly lost. Needless to say it was gone on my return. Hopefully the rightful owner retrieved it. How do you leave a carbon fiber bent shaft behind?