Raid the North Extreme
A Castle in the Wilderness
Susan McKenzie / 20.08.2003
Legend has it that Jimmy McQuat built the castle for a mail-order bride who never arrived. He drowned in his fishing nets in 1916, but many locals say he died of a broken heart. The castle fell into disrepair but was restored in the 1980s. The original logs, grey with age now, are carefully interwoven with the newer wood, and a wide deck wraps around two sides.
There is talk of turning it into a heritage site, but that would mean no graffiti, no names carved or written anywhere. But there are those who say the names carved into the logs tell as much of a story as the castle itself.
- N. Bolton, 7/23/56, hand-carved in sweeping script carved into a post.
- M. Hull, Duluth 1969 & Julie in 1997.
- Lisa in 1998, who came back with Randy in 2003, and may return in a few years with new names to add.
Some of the original names go back as far as 1921, but none of the adventure racers competing in this year’s Land Rover Raid the North Extreme have carved their names into the logs. That doesn’t mean they won’t be remembered though.
The Kenora quartet isn’t technically a hometown team, but since Kenora is only three hours away from Atikokan, “We’re the locals’ second favourite team.�
“My daughter paddled through this region a while ago,� says Fudugazi’s Janet Findlay as her team huddles on the porch of the castle. The rain pours down, and the wind sweeps the water into the shelter. “She came back singing this song all about the castle. I can’t remember the lyrics, but it wasn’t a happy song.�
Fudugazi likes to sing as it treks. Usually. �We were pretty quiet last night,� says Findlay. When asked what songs they sing, Findlay and teammate Buzz Pedersen respond by bursting into a rather good two-part harmony of “One More River to Cross.�
“We get a pretty good four part harmony going at the end,� says Pedersen. “Though Bruce (Daly) usually has his own tune he uses,� jokes Findlay. “I’ve never had heat exhaustion like I had yesterday,� he says. “We expected heat, but not like this. This is unbelievable. I felt so sick yesterday, I could only eat two gels. Which was good, because we really didn’t pack enough food.�
“The guys at CP2 sold us some smoked moose sausage, though,� says Daly. “Two bucks a smokie. They were great.� The rain had only slightly let up, but the thunder appeared to be moving away, as Fudugazi pushed away from the shores of White Otter Castle. “Well, at least they’re not aluminum,� said Daly.
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