The Forest by Steward Edward White
Sept 24, 2021 7:16:37 GMT -8
downriver and thetroutwhisperer like this
Post by trinity on Sept 24, 2021 7:16:37 GMT -8
This book has been on my reading list for quite a while, and I finally got around to reading it. I remember seeing it recommended many years ago on a previous version of this forum, maybe by tigger, but I can't remember for sure. Whoever it was, I am very grateful for the recommendation.
This is one of my favorite outdoor/adventure books I've read in years. It is historically recent enough (published in 1903) to be recognizable from a modern backpacking perspective, but distant enough to give you the sense of glimpsing a world that is long gone, a world of trading posts, pristine forests and unexplored waterways, of Ojibwe Indians paddling birchbark canoes through the northwoods. The book is a series of canoing and hiking episodes through the north woods, I am assuming around northern Minnesota or Canada. It is beautifully written in language that is both contemporary and at times archaic feeling at the same time. White had a deep reverence and understanding of the northern forests, canoe travel, camping, bushcraft, and the peoples native to the area. Included towards the beginning of the book is a section on going light, which is fun to read from the modern ultralight perspective (hint: they didn't have DCF or titanium gear at the turn of the 20th century). I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves the north woods, canoeing, hiking, camping, fishing, and beautiful writing. I believe I downloaded it for free onto my ereader, but I loved it so much I just ordered myself a used hardback copy.
This is one of my favorite outdoor/adventure books I've read in years. It is historically recent enough (published in 1903) to be recognizable from a modern backpacking perspective, but distant enough to give you the sense of glimpsing a world that is long gone, a world of trading posts, pristine forests and unexplored waterways, of Ojibwe Indians paddling birchbark canoes through the northwoods. The book is a series of canoing and hiking episodes through the north woods, I am assuming around northern Minnesota or Canada. It is beautifully written in language that is both contemporary and at times archaic feeling at the same time. White had a deep reverence and understanding of the northern forests, canoe travel, camping, bushcraft, and the peoples native to the area. Included towards the beginning of the book is a section on going light, which is fun to read from the modern ultralight perspective (hint: they didn't have DCF or titanium gear at the turn of the 20th century). I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves the north woods, canoeing, hiking, camping, fishing, and beautiful writing. I believe I downloaded it for free onto my ereader, but I loved it so much I just ordered myself a used hardback copy.
