Danger and Survival in the North Woods - Lost in the Wild

I HAVE NEVER PREFERRED BOOKS ABOUT HIKING----ALTHOUGH I LOVE NATURE AND THE OUTDOORS; BUT AFTER READING THE SAMPLE, I JUST KNEW I WOULD LOVE THIS BOOK, AND I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED! I JUST COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN FOR LONG! I BELIEVE THE AUTHOR HAS TO HOLD YOUR ATTENTION AND MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE ACTUALLY THERE EXPERIENCING IT ALL FOR YOURSELF, AND HE HAS CERTAINLY ACCOMPLISHED THAT. I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH HIS FLUID TRANSFORMATION FROM ONE HIKER'S STORY OF SURVIVAL TO THE NEXT! THIS BOOK SEEMS TO SEND ONE VERY STRONG MESSAGE-----DO NOT HIKE ALONE!!!

Good, relatively quick read. There's a definite calmness in the author's approach to the stories. This matter of factness lends itself toward the reader's increased ability to absorb and retain important data, facts, and instructional guidelines/life-saving protocols related to wilderness survival and search and rescue -- and other various areas of expertise related to the story.

I would have appreciated the educational aspect even more had there been either a graphical depiction or photograph identifying the "not necessarily common knowledge" items. I'm thinking especially of the plants, trees, insects, ants, and crickets that can help and support human life in critical conditions.

A very enjoyable read especially if you visit this area. People who travel to this part of the world must read this book. It shows how fast circumstances can change what was a fun outing into a life and death struggle. Do your homework before go to the BWCA.

This book follows two unfortunate souls and for one of them, you will find yourself wondering if the story can be true since it is one bad decision after another. But I guess that is how it goes. I found both stories compelling and gave this book as a gift to two of my friends (one of which read each story through to the end instead of alternating them).

This is a book for people that spend their wilderness adventures at a campground. Anyone who has ever spent time in the wild will (I'm sure) agree that both of these guys were rank amateurs. To refer to them as experienced is an insult to anyone who has ever traveled in the wilderness. They were ill equipped, stupid and did all the wrong things. It's a pity that hard working volunteers have to give up their time, money and energy searching for fools with big egos that think they are something special. I will say, however, the writer did a great job telling the story but wasted his talents on people like this.

First of all these are 2 short stories. NOT enough content for an entire book. Padding is putting it mildly. There was one point where I knew this was gonna be bad when he described the guy setting up his tent for the night and thought we needed to know that he "moved 2 rocks to the side to make the ground more even". SERIOUSLY? It goes on and on like this. Describing every leaf and stick to pad this into a book. I just gave up and Googled the 2 stories and literally learned everything I needed to know in about 15 minutes. So essentially I wasted several hours of my life I'll never get back. I am obsessed with "I should be alive" and love survival stories but this book has NONE of that feeling of suspense and excitement. Dont waste your money.

Two fascinating stories of young men lost in the wild (Minnesota/Canada). The book notes that there is a difference between an experienced trailsman and an experienced woodsman. Very true. How many people understand this? When I read the story of Jason Rasmussen, I was stunned at the mistakes he was making. However, as I reflected, it was evident that many of these errors were not egregious; they could happen to anyone. The one decision that was essentially inexplicable was abandoning his equipment, when he was lost, because he concluded the trail was not far away and it would be easier to reach it without carrying a heavy pack through the underbrush. Jason compounded this poor choice by taking minimal equipment in his waist pack (including no matches) and making no attempt to mark his route, critical when it became necessary that he return. Fortunately, Jason finds a log to hollow out for shelter that will save him as a brutal, early season, blizzard strikes that night. Dan Stephens was a canoe guide for a Scout group when he falls and strikes his head, while reconnoitering for a portage. Dan was only a minute away from the Scouts, but disoriented he wanders off. This is a worst case scenario; the following day later Dan fully recovers his senses and, a after a three-day ordeal, walks to a lake that is on a canoe route. There he is rescued.

This book gives two accounts of people lost in the North Woods. It was well written and the author definitely did their homework. Both accounts started out as routine trips into the Minnesota wilderness. Dan Stephens and Jason Rasmussen both made critical errors that while reading you might say, "they should've known better". Maybe not. When the author puts you in their shoes it is easier to see how these things happen. Just a couple of mistakes can quickly turn a bad situation into a dire one. I thought it was pretty impressive how quickly and efficiently search and rescue is able to mobilize in that part of the state. Especially since the efforts are comprised mainly by volunteers.

The book is a riveting retelling of how two young men (independently) became lost in the boundary waters area. The most useful element of the story is the cautionary tale of how simple mistakes, easily made through carelessness or shortsightedness, can lead quickly to life-threatening situations in the wilderness. Alternating between the experiences of the two campers, and jumping between to the rescue efforts mounted on their behalves, the accounts are woven together ably. That said, the author insists upon describing all the events in the present tense rather than the past tense, i.e. he looks up, he sees the light, he wonders, he goes.... It's a personal gripe that some might not share, but rather than creating a breathtaking atmosphere for me as a reader, I found this writing style annoying in an otherwise well told story.

The book is not a survival primer per se, but there are many lessons of the "I never thought of that" variety to be learned here by those with little experience in the wilderness. For those who have "been there and done that," there are sobering reminders of the consequences of lessons forgotten. Keep your map with you and look at it frequently. Don't lose the compass. Never part with your matches if you walk out of camp. Don't wander out of sight of your camp in thick woods. Don't make a jump you don't need to. Avoid needless risks. Insulation is your friend, moisture your enemy. The fact that this isn't rocket science is what makes the book compelling -- simple mistakes that anyone could make can snowball. It is thought provoking to say the least.

Exciting to read with plenty of moments where you feel tangibly involved with the hikers. I wish the maps were larger so that you could follow better there routes and locate there various locations along with Google maps and satellite views. All said a great read.

Two interesting accounts of men getting lost in the Boundary Waters. I thought the stories dragged on a bit, and a welcome addition to the book would have been a concluding chapter on what the two survivors did right and what they did wrong. Also, adding tips and pointers for readers should they ever find themselves in a similar predicament would have enhanced the book.

Fittingly, I first saw this book at the Isle Royale NP visitor center and bought it soon after. The story tells the stories of two people who got lost in the same region, though at different times of the year and under different circumstances. Dan Stephens is a young guy from the southern U.S. who is working as a summer guide in NE Minnesota/adjoining Ontario. He is guiding a group of scouts on a long trip, and when he goes to look for a portage route, falls, bumps his head and is knocked out. When he wakes up later, he is disoriented and wanders off. By the time he is thinking clearly again, he is lost. The other story is about Jason Rasmussen, a med student who decides to go on a 26 mile wilderness hike in the BWCAW in late October, alone. After taking a wrong turn (the trail was poorly marked) onto an old discontinued path, he finds himself lost and things then get worse as he then also loses his campsite (and consequently, his food, gear, etc...).

Griffith tells both of these stories, switching back and forth between them chapter by chapter. This is effective enough but because Stephens story is shorter and less compelling, at the end Griffith runs out of stuff on Stephens and does the last two chapters on Rasmussen. So it's a little uneven, and maybe this could have been avoided.

But as for the writing style - for the most part, Griffith takes a very detailed, present tense, "just the facts" approach, trying to put the reader into the perspective of the characters. I think the book could have been better in this regard. He uses lines like "Jason believes he is going north, and hikes on." A reader might surmise that Griffith is implying that Rasmussen's belief was mistaken, but that isn't always the case - often Griffith is simply relating what the characters did and thought, and it gets a bit mechanical in this regard. Occasionally Griffith does give the reader some omniscient details, but it's so rarely that when he does it seems out of place. I think Griffith could have included more more omniscient details (i.e., by saying after such a line, "In fact, Jason was heading east.") without compromising his approach.

Furthermore, Griffith jumps right into the stories of the characters, making it all about them and their survivals. I think a great way to set up the book would have been to hear more about the area - its history, its land, its wildlife, its beauty etc... - and less emphasis on details like Rasmussen making oatmeal. He even goes out of the way to do a part on bogs, to emphasize the danger of the north woods, but does nothing on the wildlife or the other beautiful features of the area that the characters would have also traversed. In fact there is great beauty there, but that fact gets lost in this tale and instead it becomes a cold and unforgiving place. I wish he could have balanced this out a little better.

Similarly, some history would have also been nice at the beginning. Toward the end of the book, Griffith finally provides some background on the area where Rasmussen was hiking, and this background actually gives the reader a better sense of why it was so easy to get lost in this place (because it was an old logging camp with old logging roads) - I think it would have helped as exposition, but instead it comes at the end and when it does come it sounds out of place, as there is so little else of it in the book.

In sum, I wish the book had been organized a bit better - less insigificant details, more background info, more omniscient perspective, etc... He seems overly tied to his approach of giving the stories in a stories in a very detached, play by play way, probably to avoid armchair quarterbacking, to make it more realistic and to emphasize the danger. Griffith says in a radio interview that he's spent quite a bit of time up in the area, so he could have easily shared his own perspective on survival and what it's like and what draws him there, and I think this would have made for a better book if he had. I think he could have achieved what he wanted to achieve and still have made the places and stories come alive a little better. Instead, it read more like a long survival magazine article than a great book.

I'd give it 3.5 stars but I'll round it up to 4 because of the store's system. A recommended read though for anyone contemplating such a trip - I related a lot to Rasmussen and have since become more careful after my own wintertime bog slog. For the record, I wouldn't blame anyone in this book except maybe the US Forest Service, which I think should have done a better job to mark and maintain the trail notwithstanding wilderness regulations.

Easy to get Lost in this Gripping Narrative....

You may find this book hard to put down once you delve into it. Two parallel narratives of fairly savvy backcountry trekkers who make some mistakes for which they almost pay with their lives. We so rarely encounter The Wild in our urban and suburban lives. It helps to remember sometimes just how fragile the membrane is that separates survival from death.

I bought this book in the Minneapolis Airport with the thought I would start it on my flight. Once I started reading I immediatly could relate to the plight of the two central characters and those trying to help. This is am amazingly well written book and near impossible to put down. If you have ever wondered what it was like to be lost and looking death in the face this is one book you should not miss. This is a must read for even the casual weekend hiker who ventures into the woods for leisurely strolls.

About: Griffith tales the separate true stories of Jason Rasmussen and Dan Stephens, two campers who get lost in the wilderness.

Pros: Engaging, quick read

Cons: Woods is spelled "Noods" on page 18 of the hardcover

It is a fantastic book with devious plots and obtrusive characters. What intrigues me the most is the arduous survival of the exploere and the pertinacious rescue. Overall, I am so glad that I read that book.

It is a fantastic book with devious plots and obtrusive characters. What intrigues me the most is the arduous survival of the exploere and the pertinacious rescue. Overall, I am so glad that I read that book.

I was one of the Scouts personally involved with Dan Stevens' rescue, and it was surely a case of "right time, right place", but we handled the situation properly and swiftly. In this account though, we are written off like the cast of the Sopranos. Every line "quoted" from a New Jersey participant is fraudulent, and written to add cliche humor to a skewed story. None of us are from the inner city, all but one New Jersey scout eventually made the rank of Eagle, and we all revere the outdoors, even to this very day. I personally earned a degree in biology, and just finished a two-week excursion through the entire Grand Canyon for a second time, with members of the Minnesota crew. The hero Dan Stevens broke wilderness rule number one: Don't venture off alone! This is hack writing at it's finest, and any real authors should be appalled that this person is published.