Trapping the Boundary Waters: A Tenderfoot in the Border Country, 1919-1920 (Midwest Reflections)

I've read many books about the Boundary Waters and Quetico Park, my favorites being by Sigurd Olson. I often wish I'd been born a century earlier so I could have seen it before development and tourists over-ran it. According to the epilogue in this book, it's the most-visited park in North America.Charles Cook, the author, was a restless young man, having just returned from WWI. He tried working at his father's grocery business, but chafed at the yoke of responsibility. He took off during 1919 with his best friend, intent on living in the wilderness and making his living while trapping.His friend soon got homesick and left him, but Cook remained for a year. He built a cabin, ran a large trap line, and reveled in the beauty of the lakes and forests. Some might be offended by the descriptions of trapping and the author's dealings with the local native population, but his book tells of life the way it was lived in those days.His book is written as the memoir of an old man looking back, so there are several stories that are pretty obviously tall tales embellished over time. His son wrote the forward to the book, and reminisces about stories his father told when he was a boy. Overall, this is a very enjoyable read and one that every fan of outdoor books will like.

I really love this book which is set in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Also, my dad knew the author's son.

Written in a simplistic format that any young man would find enjoyable. Would recommend to any youth interested in adventures.

I ordered this for someone else, but he enjoyed it very much.

I enjoyed this book very much. As someone that enjoys canoeing, I've long wanted to go explore the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. As a trapper, this is a story of the kind of life I can only dream about.

I have read most of the books on this subject. I found it well written, educational and worth the time.

I previously read this book and like it a great deal. I bought another copy as a gift for a relative.

The great American writer Hemingway wrote about the "lost generation" the fellows who came back from WWI and wanted more than the nine to five grind. Enter Charles Ira Cook who headed north to Minnesota to get the wilds out of his system on the advice of his father. Charles goes up with a friend who soon enough pines for the city life and goes back. Picking up a local man for a new partner Charles is off again in a highly descriptive book that reads fast and is so enjoyable. I loved the part when Charles and his partner Bill listen in the dark as a weasel chases a mouse around the cabin rafters. The story also shows what to look out for when a weasel doesn't have anymore mice to chase. Charles plunges into these woods with an open heart and his deep love of them. The locals are sometimes over taken by his lust for life as he traps,fishes and describes everything he see's - like a pet beaver that can sit at the supper table and drink from a cup. I only wish he would have wandered futher east into Canada and bumped into Jim Vanderbeck the real life person in Stephen W Meader's book Trap Lines North one I read every year. This is a book I will read again and it comes with a fold out map in the back. If you're after a good read and an adventure this is for you.

Bad copy: Pages not cut properly - rough torn edges

Love to read about the old days of trapping the abundance of wildlife and the total lack of other humans. Such a beautiful time to exist and experience nature. A must read of a time long past

A much enjoyed book for my hubby. It brought back memories of life in the far north.

Great book.