A selection of Sigurd F. Olson's finest writing on the splendor of the great outdoors, hand-picked by the master himself

In the evocative words of one of America's best-loved writers about nature, and in 56 beautiful photographs, this book crystallizes the very essence of that magnificent wilderness with which its author is so deeply identified. In it he has culled from his writings those moments that most vividly summon up the turn of the seasons in the great woodlands and waters of the fabled Quetico-Superior region overlapping the Ontario-Minnesota border.

Experienced child actress Marissa Gould is looking forward to spending the summer before her senior year of high school at UCLA's musical theater program in hopes of entering the drama school there as a college freshman. Instead, she is jolted awake one morning by strangers who drag her off to a wilderness character development camp for troubled teens. Until now, Marissa thought she shared an open relationship with her parents. At the wilderness camp, Marissa endures exhausting hikes through rural upstate New York with an overloaded pack, festering insect bites, and inadequate food. Her counselors have no psychology training, and instead dish out deprivation and humiliation using sleep control, food control, and extreme physical-endurance challenges to change her behavior. The result? She is soon saddled with something she has never had to deal with before -- chronic depression. What will happen when she graduates? Will her life ever be normal again? This is the true story of Marissa Gould's experience at Adirondack Leadership Expedition.

A selection of Sigurd F. Olson's finest writing on the splendor of the great outdoors, hand-picked by the master himself

Donn Fendler's harrowing story of being lost in the Maine wilderness when he was just twelve, was made famous by the perennial best-seller, Lost on a Mountain in Maine. In Lost Trail, more than 70 years after the event, Donn tells the story of survival and rescue from his own perspective. Lost Trail is a masterfully illustrated graphic novel that tells the story of a twelve year old boyscout from a New York City suburb who climbs Maine,s mile-high Mt. Katahdin and in a sudden storm is separated from his friends and family. What follows is a nine-day adventure, in which Donn, lost and alone in the Maine wilderness with bugs, bears, and only a few berries to eat, struggles for survival.

Girls looking for adventure, romance, and a strong heroine will love the second book in this action-packed historical trilogy by three-time Newbery Honor winner and New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Holm. 1854. The Pacific Northwest. Sixteen-year-old Jane Peck has traveled halfway around the world in the name of true love, only to find herself alone on the frontier, abandoned by her no-good fiancé! With nothing of her old life in Philadelphia left to return to, Jane has little choice but to dry her tears, roll up her sleeves, and make the best of things in Washington Territory. But can a proper young lady survive as the only girl in a primitive pioneer settlement? And can she keep her wits about her as she braves a flea-ridden cabin, a perilous manhunt . . . and a blossoming romance with an entirely unsuitable suitor? What would Jane's finishing-school teacher say?! With Boston Jane, Jennifer L. Holm has created a spirited, memorable, and one-of-a-kind heroine who continues to delight and inspire in this acclaimed sequel to the award-winning Boston Jane: An Adventure.

While living far from civilization at ¿Cold River City¿Population one,¿ Noah John Rondeau, the original Adirondack Hermit, wrote daily diary entries to document his experience. To conceal incriminating information from ¿snooping game protectors¿ he developed an enigmatic code that was said to resemble the ¿footprints of an inebriated hen.¿ In 1946, Rondeau wrote his entire journal in code, making it the most mysterious of all. Attempts to break the code all ended in failure until David Greene discovered a key and shared his findings with author William J. O¿Hern. Noah John Rondeau¿s Adirondack Wilderness Days¿A Year with the Hermit of Cold River Flow, tells the story of how the code was broken and then reveals the real story of a fun-loving hermit thriving in the wilderness. In addition to Rondeau¿s decoded journal entries, letters, photographs and reminiscences from friends who visited him complete the story of the misunderstood recluse. Why did Noah create the code? What secrets does it contain? Learn the answers in Noah John Rondeau¿s Adirondack Wilderness Days. Features over 135 vintage photographs and illustrations!

"A riveting...saga of survival against formidable odds" (Washington Post) about one man who survived a World War II plane crash in Alaska's harsh Yukon territory Shortly before Christmas in 1943, five Army aviators left Alaska's Ladd Field on a routine flight to test their hastily retrofitted B-24 Liberator in harsh winter conditions. The mission ended in a crash that claimed all but one-Leon Crane, a city kid from Philadelphia with no wilderness experience. With little more than a parachute for cover and an old Boy Scout knife in his pocket, Crane now found himself alone in subzero temperatures. Crane knew, as did the Ladd Field crews who searched unsuccessfully for the crash site, that his chance of survival dropped swiftly with each passing day. But Crane did find a way to stay alive in the grip of the Yukon winter for nearly twelve weeks and, amazingly, walked out of the ordeal intact. 81 Days Below Zero recounts, for the first time, the full story of Crane's remarkable saga. In a drama of staggering resolve and moments of phenomenal luck, Crane learned to survive in the Yukon's unforgiving wilds. His is a tale of the capacity to endure extreme conditions, intense loneliness, and flashes of raw terror-and emerge stronger than before.

Like Thoreau's "Walden," Dale Clem's account of his 40-day trek on the Appalachian Trail is part hiking journal, part religious, spiritual and philosophical meditation. Clem muses about how the landscapes he traverses reflect and inform our lives, passions, social values, darker impulses and relationship with God. Along the way, he meets a wide variety of hikers, each with their unique issues - sons in troubled relationships with their fathers, women discovering independence and courage, soldiers returning from war trying to reenter civilian life, and more. Positing that walking in nature can heal psychic wounds of all sorts, Clem's personal quest is a prayer journey that also goes inward - he questions his motivation and purpose in life, seeks to mend wounds of his own and pursues closer communion with God. Yet he never fails to appreciate and celebrate the joys and beauty of the American wilderness and the camaraderie of his fellow hikers whose generosity affirms what is best in us.

Since its establishment as a federally protected wilderness in 1964, the Boundary Waters has become one of our nation's most valuable--and most frequently visited--natural treasures. When Amy and Dave Freeman learned of toxic mining proposed within the area's watershed, they decided to take action--by spending a year in the wilderness, and sharing their experience through video, photos, and blogs with an audience of hundreds of thousands of concerned citizens. This book tells thedeeper story of their adventure in northern Minnesota: of loons whistling under a moonrise, of ice booming as it forms and cracks, of a moose and her calf swimming across a misty lake. With the magic--and urgent--message that has rallied an international audience to the campaign to save the Boundary Waters, A Year in the Wilderness is a rousing cry of witness activism, and a stunning tribute to this singularly beautiful region.