A leisurely 15-kilometre paddle in the afternoon sunshine brings us to an island complete with all the quintessential elements that make up a back-country campsite. The requisite fire ring featured prominently on a narrow whaleback at the island’s southern terminus, complemented by two small tent sites neatly tucked in between flagged pines and black spruce. The afternoon gives way to a quiet summer evening, the kind that is only interrupted by the alluring call of loons echoing over the water.