After seeing rave reviews on this site and elsewhere, I finally got around to reading it. This book fell short of my expectations. It is advertised as a collection of cautionary tales that give the reader insight into the kinds of things that can go wrong in the BWCAW and therefore help prevent the same things from happening again. I think that is an excellent idea and really looked forward to reading it. And it did partially deliver; Unfortunately too much of the book is extraneous information that has nothing to do with danger and death in the Boundary Waters.

As for the things I liked, there are several stories that fit the stated premise of the book. One young man drowned with his life jacket on after capsizing in cold water. Another man and his son were killed by lightning while sleeping in their tent. Another was killed by a falling tree. There were incidents of campers getting lost in the woods, injured by bear spray, and of having a heart attack. The author himself escapes death after being pinned in a strainer. In addition there were detailed accounts of the Pagami Creek and Ham Lake fires. All of those stories are well narrated and informative. Just what I was expecting.

Now for the things I didn't like. There are multiple chapters focusing on how friends and family members of the deceased dealt with their grief. There are chapters about Mark Zimmer, who spends his time in the wilderness barefoot. There are chapters devoted to people who mysteriously disappeared and go on to speculate on what might have happened. There are pages about Jordan Grider, who had died at his campsite from some unknown accident and whose body was subsequently eaten by wolves. There are pages about visiting Jordan Grider's family in New Mexico. There are pages debating Native American treaty rights as well as the best fire management practices. There are even pages detailing strange occurrences such as people becoming hypothermic while waiting for flying saucers to arrive. All of these off-topic renderings really miss the mark.

To sum up, I wish the whole book would have focused on just those incidents dealing with danger and death. I suspect that the author was having trouble getting sources to cooperate. As one camper stated, "You don't want your worst day to end up in a book." The reader does end up with an appreciation of how medical personnel, law enforcement, and search and rescue operations come together when things go wrong. Hopefully this book will prove helpful for people planning their own adventure to the BWCAW.

Canoedad89: "
After seeing rave reviews on this site and elsewhere, I finally got around to reading it. This book fell short of my expectations. It is advertised as a collection of cautionary tales that give the reader insight into the kinds of things that can go wrong in the BWCAW and therefore help prevent the same things from happening again. I think that is an excellent idea and really looked forward to reading it. And it did partially deliver; Unfortunately too much of the book is extraneous information that has nothing to do with danger and death in the Boundary Waters.

As for the things I liked, there are several stories that fit the stated premise of the book. One young man drowned with his life jacket on after capsizing in cold water. Another man and his son were killed by lightning while sleeping in their tent. Another was killed by a falling tree. There were incidents of campers getting lost in the woods, injured by bear spray, and of having a heart attack. The author himself escapes death after being pinned in a strainer. In addition there were detailed accounts of the Pagami Creek and Ham Lake fires. All of those stories are well narrated and informative. Just what I was expecting.

Now for the things I didn't like. There are multiple chapters focusing on how friends and family members of the deceased dealt with their grief. There are chapters about Mark Zimmer, who spends his time in the wilderness barefoot. There are chapters devoted to people who mysteriously disappeared and go on to speculate on what might have happened. There are pages about Jordan Grider, who had died at his campsite from some unknown accident and whose body was subsequently eaten by wolves. There are pages about visiting Jordan Grider's family in New Mexico. There are pages debating Native American treaty rights as well as the best fire management practices. There are even pages detailing strange occurrences such as people becoming hypothermic while waiting for flying saucers to arrive. All of these off-topic renderings really miss the mark.

To sum up, I wish the whole book would have focused on just those incidents dealing with danger and death. I suspect that the author was having trouble getting sources to cooperate. As one camper stated, "You don't want your worst day to end up in a book." The reader does end up with an appreciation of how medical personnel, law enforcement, and search and rescue operations come together when things go wrong. Hopefully this book will prove helpful for people planning their own adventure to the BWCAW.
"

I have similar reflections. I read: "Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon" before I did a trek in the Grand Canyon seven years ago. So - I kind of had this type of book in mind going into Friedrichs book. Death in the Canyon is hugely instructive, and influenced how I prepared for our inner canyon backpacking trip. Last entry point is interesting, but not the same caliber as "Death in the Canyon."

I am in the final chapters of this book. While I appreciate the two previous comments, and having not read the Grand Canyon book, I will offer up that this book, for me, is to be read and reflected upon.

Most people that will read this book have tripped to the bwca/quetico in some fashion and for any length of time and number of trips. Experience levels differ widely amongst us all. A prevailing thought is that we mostly all think, “it won’t happen to me, I’m experienced”.

I lived and worked on gunflint lake from 1987-2016, lived through most of the news items the author writes about in this book. (as well as gunflint burning and gunflint falling by Griffith) It’s amazing all the different experiences and perspectives of those interviewed.

Joe is a creative writer who puts his chapters together in a way that makes the reader want to keep reading. Yes, there is back story about stuff, but that’s what makes the people come (back) to life for the duration of the book. It’s not meant to be a just the facts textbook. Although, perhaps Joe will take all the episodes and the lessons learned and make a book. Maybe with pictures. Or a pop-up book!

On the bright side, these are true stories about people who meant something to somebody. It is important to keep their memories close to the heart.

Did I ramble?