written by J. Arnold Bolz
chapter drawings by Francis Lee Jaques

From October 1-11, 1958, Arnold and his wife, Belva, along with their friend and guide, Harvi, "...portaged 15.33 miles over thirty-two carrying places and covered a total distance of 207.86 miles from Lake Superior to Rainy Lake. Our course over the old Grand Portage route, with minor variations, was identical with the present international boundary which, in turn, follows and, in fact, was determined by the route of the voyageurs."

What make the reading so entertaining is the fact that they brought with them a collection of passages from diaries of many of the early explorers and traders who had gone before them, and shared those readings each day around the campfire... writings from 1688 through the 1800s describing the very same spots on which the trio were camped or over which they had just traveled that day.

A mix of 1958 camp life along the voyageur's "road" and insight into the rigors of portaging those early loads and the establishment of the forts and fur trading posts of two centuries prior make this a very fascinating read.

The familiar scratch drawings of Francis Lee Jacques add to the pleasure.

I was just reading this one on my trip last week up to Crooked Lake. Kind of fun to be on a lake mentioned in the book, and you're exactly right about the interesting passages from the journal. I will be going up to LLC and Iron next week, and it'll be along again. :)

Great book!

My favorite part is when they discover the rocks stashed away in the pack.