Living in the Dakota's where Roosevelt is already revered - reading this; I developed a whole new respect for the man - who was born of privilege and made himself a solid barrel chested wilderness man, most of us could not keep up with at our best, born with handicaps and still (barely) conquered and unknown river with hostile natives who might have seen his crew as invaders that needed to be eliminated.

I too, have been overconfident, as you will find in this trip report, of late - lost - fell out of my canoe, lost a paddle and various other mishaps. This is a reminder that the wilderness remains a dangerous place, and that we are the biggest danger to ourselves perhaps.

This volume now rests in my bookcase and will be talked about and treasured throughout my days.

K