Chasing Fire: Danger in Canoe Country

Fire Danger High reads the sign at the US Forest Service ranger station as thirteen-year-old Danny Forester returns to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for another family canoe trip adventure. He is a year older, taller, and more skilled. Still, the unpredictable events of the trail test his courage and endurance. Early on, he helps his family rescue another family, the Tuckers from Ohio, who have swamped on huge windswept Lake Lac La Coix. Then, on a risky night paddle, the Foresters leave the Tuckers, including thirteen-year-old Julie Tucker, to a Canadian ranger station for emergency medical evaluation.

Despite the exhausting rescue and increasing fire danger, Danny and his family are still able to follow their planned route through canoe country. They discover an enormous beaver dam and lodge, spot a bull moose feeding, sight a bald eagle, and hear loons singing through the night. Danny's younger sister, Rachel, photographs nature, tape-records birdsongs and teases her brother about the attention he has paid to Julie Tucker. Danny's older brother, Mike, is off fighting forest fires, protecting the BWCAW, when he meets up with his family.

Danny tests his skill and courage by camping out "solo" on Bear Island on the last night of the trip. In the dramatic conclusion, Danny draws upon great reserves of inner strength to face the danger of a raging forest fire and save his family. Chapter illustrations by the author convey the essence of this exciting story.

Earl Fleck has camped for over thirty years in the BWCAW and Quetico wilderness regions. A psychologist in private practice and an investigator for the Minnesota State Attorney General's Office, he lives with his family near Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Also Available by Earl Fleck
Chasing Bears: A Canoe Country Adventure
TP $12.95, 0-930100-90-5 • CUSA