Episode 4: The Brent Run Challenge

Though perhaps hard to believe by some, since the 1930s there has been a hidden challenge by locals primarily from Camp Ahmek and the Portage Store staffs on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park to see if it’s possible to complete the entire 160-kilometer trip in less than 24 hours. The trip includes just about every possible terrain that it’s possible to experience in Algonquin Park including large and small lakes, winding creeks, bogs, rapids and portages long and short. 

In the summer of 2013 two women, Quinn Cathcart and Rachel Quinby, decided to make an attempt.  As a frame of reference, in my youth, the backcountry canoe trip from Canoe Lake to Brent was a weeklong adventure with three days each way and a rest day in between.  In the late 1960s the rest day included getting up in the pre-dawn to hitch a ride on the CN train to Kiosk and then paddling pack to Cedar Lake. 

This episode is the story of Quinn and Rachel's transforming, hair-raising and exhausting 43-hour journey and shares details of what was an incredible learning experience. Everybody has their own Brent Run Challenge - this was theirs.