When a Compass is More than a Compass...

When Ontario Parks visitors accidentally leave personal items behind at the end of their vacation, parks staff do everything they can to return the belongings to their rightful owners. But staff at Quetico Provincial Park had no idea of the true value of the objects they sent back to Colorado last summer, until they received this letter from their owner…

“Several days ago in my mail arrived the map case, both maps and my faithful compass that were inadvertently left behind during one of our portages in late July. That particular day was especially challenging in terms of long, difficult portages and we’re still not sure how it got left behind; it’s bright yellow for heavens sake.

Getting it back doesn’t mean the recovery of a map and compass. Rather it’s a vivid reminder of the best vacation my 13 year old son and I have ever had. Retracing the route, identifying the sites where we camped, the portages that tried to kill us, the moose, bear and wolf tracks and more than anything else, getting to literally watch my son grow up in front of my eyes. Seeing him and his two friends carrying 75 pound packs over trails, never once complaining in the 9 days. These are the things that map case represents to me.

You may have thought you were just returning a map and compass; instead your package contained memories of a rite of passage.

For this I cannot thank you enough. Not to mention whatever crew found the map and turned it over to you folks.

As a high school kid in the 70s back east, I used to hitch hike the Maritime Provinces in the summer. People were always friendly and each time I came away with a deep love for the Canadian landscape and its people. Thirty years later, nothing has changed.

So thank you very much for taking the time and trouble to return that to me. It may have been just a minor inconvenience to you but it means the world to my boy and I.”

John K. Moore
Westminster, Colorado