REGIONAL— For the vast majority of visitors to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the experience is awe-inspiring. But for a very small number, a trip in the wilderness ends in tragedy.
Their experiences are the subject of a new book by Joe Friedrichs, “Last Entry Point, Stories of Danger and Death in the Boundary Waters,” published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press and set for release on April 30.
When tragedy strikes in the wilderness, the details are typically limited. Brief press statements from local law enforcement offer little but the bare facts of an overturned canoe, a lightning strike, or a fallen tree and rarely provide much insight into how what should have been a pleasant adventure have gone so wrong. The impact of the fatalities on friends and family go unreported for the most part.
Friedrichs has gone well beyond the press statements to learn more about these rare instances when people have died or been badly injured in the BWCAW. It’s fast-paced and it is bound to connect with anyone who has spent time in the canoe country.
The stories can be gut-wrenching at times, especially since many of the victims highlighted were young people, whose lives were snuffed out far too early. Friedrichs talks with some of the survivors and the impacts of their experiences and the loss of friends, family, or partners. For many, even those who had stayed at home, the impacts have remained with them for years, even decades in some cases. For those few, the Boundary Waters has taken on a sense of darkness and foreboding.
With the canoe season rapidly approaching this year, Friedrich’s book offers a useful reminder that a trip into the wilderness always puts Mother Nature in charge. High winds, lightning, and cold water, all can kill, and quickly. Even those who are thoroughly prepared and experienced may still encounter the unexpected. In those cases, being ready for anything can mean the difference between a memorable trip and a life-changing, or even life-ending one.
While a canoe trip always comes with risk, Friedrichs writes that his book is not intended to scare, only to inform in the hopes of raising awareness of the importance of preparedness when venturing into the wilderness. As some noted, visitors to the BWCAW often face at least as much risk on the car ride north as they do out on the water.
Friedrichs, a longtime journalist and paddler, has spent ten years reporting from the edge of the Boundary Waters. He co-founded the award-winning Boundary Waters Podcast and is the author of “Her Island: The Story of Quetico’s Longest Serving Interior Ranger.”
Friedrichs reported on a number of fatalities in the Boundary Waters while working for WTIP, the local radio station in Grand Marais and he’s talked at length with many of the emergency personnel who respond, often in difficult conditions, when the calls come in.
The 224-page paperback is set to retail at $19.95, $9.95 for the e-book version.