Wild Shore

Exploring Lake Superior by Kayak

2002
Author:

Greg Breining

A real-life adventure and journey of discovery on the greatest of the Great Lakes

Over two years, sportsman, writer, and world traveler Greg Breining set out to circle Lake Superior by kayak, a means of travel that allowed him to visit the lake’s places of rare beauty and solitude, experience its wildly varied moods, and see its remote historic sites and isolated communities. Wild Shore is a tale of outdoor adventure, odd characters, humorous stories, and quiet reflection.

Marvelous! A travel book that allows you to settle back in your easy chair and enjoy the ride instead of feeling guilty as the author lowers his cholesterol and strengthens his cardio-vascular system at your expense! You can let yourself see through his eyes and not worry about emulating his feats. And Mr. Breining makes it easy to see through his eyes. He’s a fine writer, very descriptive without being wordy. A nature writer of some reputation (he has several books to his credit and articles in Sports Illustrated and other well-known magazines), he goes on to relate several informative and amusing anecdotes about loons. In fact, throughout the book we are treated to his interesting musings regarding the wildlife of the lake area.

Reader Weekly (Duluth, MN)

Over two years, Greg Breining set out to circle Lake Superior by kayak. Paddling more than one thousand miles, he camped on the lake’s islands and shorelines, visited its places of rare beauty and solitude, experienced its wildly varied moods, and explored remote historic sites and isolated communities. The result is Wild Shore, a tale of outdoor adventure, colorful characters, memorable stories, and personal discovery.

Greg Breining is the author of many books, including Minnesota (2000) and Return of the Eagle (1994). He lives in St. Paul.

Marvelous! A travel book that allows you to settle back in your easy chair and enjoy the ride instead of feeling guilty as the author lowers his cholesterol and strengthens his cardio-vascular system at your expense! You can let yourself see through his eyes and not worry about emulating his feats. And Mr. Breining makes it easy to see through his eyes. He’s a fine writer, very descriptive without being wordy. A nature writer of some reputation (he has several books to his credit and articles in Sports Illustrated and other well-known magazines), he goes on to relate several informative and amusing anecdotes about loons. In fact, throughout the book we are treated to his interesting musings regarding the wildlife of the lake area.

Reader Weekly (Duluth, MN)

Wild Shore brings Lake Superior—in particular its shorelines and island—to brooding life in memorable fashion. Breining succeeds in describing both the dangers and beauty of the huge lake in blunt, forceful, often elegant prose, sometimes conveying sharp sociological observations.

Ken Wisneski, Minneapolis Star Tribune

For two years St. Paul sportsman/author Breining paddled the big lake in stops and starts in a small, funny-shaped boat and wandered the shore, keeping account along the way of his encounters with Superior’s people, wildlife and changing landscape. Read it if you grew up skipping stones on annual family fall trips to the North Shore and wondered what was beyond that blue horizon. Or, if you’ve already discovered what awaits there.

Jerry Zgoda, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Wild Shore is an entertaining mix that is part travel guide, part memoir, part history and part outdoor adventure.

Chicago Tribune

Contents

Acknowledgments

The Thin Blue Line

1.East Shore: Sault Sainte Marie to Old Woman Bay
2.Pukaskwa Peninsula: Michipicoten River to Hattie Cove
3.Coldwell Peninsula: Little Pic River to Port Coldwell
4.Slate Islands
5.Nipigon Islands: Rossport to Pigeon River
6.Minnesota: Pigeon River to Duluth
7.Isle Royale
8.Apostle Islands: Brule Point to La Pointe
9.South Shore: Long Island to Houghton
10.Keweenaw Peninsula: Houghton to Marquette
11.Pictured Rocks: Grand Island to Brimley State Park

Bibliography