Three major watersheds begin in northern Minnesota. The Mississippi River begins at Lake Itasca. On the other side of its source, over a watershed divide, rivers and lakes flow north to Hudson Bay. Also near these two high elevation points, another watershed parts the waters that flow east through the Great Lakes and ultimately down to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. When I was twenty years old, I canoed down the Mississippi River. Ten years later, I paddled from Minnesota north to Hudson Bay. Five years after that, I paddled east through the Great Lakes, following an old established route all the way to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Each trip took a full summer. I had three different companions who joined me. Each journey was unique in its direction and experiences. My book describes these experiences.
