A Boundary Waters History

Teasing out the history of a place celebrated for timelessness—where countless paddle strokes have disappeared into clear waters—requires a sure and attentive hand. Stephen Wilbers’s account reaches back to the glaciers that first carved out the Boundary Waters and to the original inhabitants, as well as to generations of wilderness explorers, both past and present. He does so without losing the personal relationship built through a lifetime of pilgrimages (anchored by almost three decades of trips with his father). This story captures the untold broader narrative of the region, as well as a thousand different details sure to be recognized by fellow pilgrims, like the grinding rhythm of a long portage or the loon call that slips into that last moment before sleep.

Chronicles the geological, cultural, and environmental history of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) Wilderness, and highlights the experiences of author Stephen Wilbers on his thirty years of canoeing in the BWCA Wilderness. Includes black-and-white photographs.

With more than 200,000 visitors annually, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is among the most alluring wilderness areas in the country, unique because it is most often explored by canoe. Comprised of more than one million acres, the BWCAW is an exceptional combination of expansive wilderness, abundant wildlife, and fascinating natural and human history. Exploring the Boundary Waters is the most comprehensive trip planner to the BWCAW, giving travelers an overview of each entry point into the wilderness area as well as detailed descriptions of more than one hundred specific routes—including a ranking of their difficulty level and maps that feature the major waterways, portages, and the designated campsites. The book is crafted so that readers can design their own route through the almost inexhaustible network of lakes and streams. Daniel Pauly, Boundary Waters expert, worked with the U.S. Forest Service, the Minnesota DNR, and local outfitters to collect and present crucial information here: instructions on about how to obtain a permit, the rules and regulations of the park, safety tips, and suggestions about how to help maintain the ecological integrity of the wilderness. As engaging as it is informative, Exploring the Boundary Waters not only contributes advice on the pros and cons of each route, but also brings the reader a natural and historical context for the journey by offering insight into the pictographs, mining sites, logging railroads, and ruins one may encounter on an expedition. With its accessible and personal style, Exploring the Boundary Waters is the perfect guide for anyone—novice or seasoned veteran—arranging a trip to the BWCAW. A companion Web site for this book, http://www.boundarywatersguide.com, presents useful information that can be downloaded for planning a trip, including gear lists, overview maps, and route updates.

Canoeing the Boundary Waters Wilderness: A Sawbill Log continues the story of wilderness canoeing begun in A Boundary Waters History: Canoeing Across Time, this time offering historical information about black bear attacks on humans, loon calls and behaviors, lightning strikes on the waters, the experience of a woman going into labor while canoeing with her husband, the sighting of spectacular northern lights, and reflections on the wilderness experience. All the while Wilbers reflects on experiences canoeing with his family. As in the first book, quotes from some of Minnesota’s well known wilderness authors appear throughout the manuscript.

"True survival odysseys of two wilderness adventurers who entered the woods in search of tranquility-- but found something else entirely"--Page 4 of cover.

From National Geographic's 2014 Adventurers of the Year, a beautifully illustrated account of a year in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

With thousands of lakes and streams, over 1200 miles of canoe routes, 160 miles of portage trails, and 2000 campsites, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a true paddler’s paradise. Extending nearly 150 miles in northern Minnesota along the Canadian border, the wilderness area encompasses more than 1 million acres. This Eastern Region edition of the classic two-volume guide has been fully updated by area journalist Louis Dzierzak, with full coverage of 50-plus entry points and routes. Trip descriptions include day-by-day paddling distances, portage tips, and difficulty ratings, and identify the appropriate water-resistant, topographic maps W.A. Fisher maps for each trip. Together, these books deliver everything a visitor needs for the experience of a lifetime.

Former small-town sheriff Cork O’Connor leads a desperate search-and-rescue mission into the unforgiving Minnesota wilderness in this “gritty, bloody adventure” (Publishers Weekly) from critically acclaimed author William Kent Krueger’s award-winning mystery series. The Quetico-Superior Wilderness: more than two million acres of forest, white-water rapids, and uncharted islands on the Canadian/American border. Somewhere in the heart of this unforgiving territory, a young woman named Shiloh—a country-western singer at the height of her fame—has disappeared. Her father arrives in Aurora, Minnesota, to hire Cork O’Connor to find his daughter. Cork joins a search party that includes an ex-con, two FBI agents, and a ten-year-old boy. Others are on Shiloh’s trail as well—men hired not just to find her, but to kill her. As the expedition ventures deeper into the wilderness, strangers descend on Aurora, threatening to spill blood on the town’s snowy streets. Meanwhile, out on the Boundary Waters, winter falls hard. Cork’s team of searchers loses contact with civilization, and like the brutal winds of a Minnesota blizzard, death—violent and sudden—stalks them.