KEEP ON PADDLING

About the Book

The events in these true tales of the canoe country of northern Minnesota and Ontario were compiled over the author’s lifetime of experience in the woods. Working with Boy Scouts and, in his later years, with employees, friends, family, and folks from his church, the author has led perhaps over five hundred people on trips into the Boundary Waters. The experiences on these trips over the past fifty years have provided a wealth of material that the author has crafted into enjoyable stories. Some of the stories are educational, many are hilarious, more than a few are inspirational, all of them are entertaining. Each story stands alone, but the book is best read from the beginning. Words followed by asterisks are defined in a glossary for readers unfamiliar with canoeing or the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. After reading this book, the author hopes you will be better informed about the lake country, you will have a greater appreciation for the wilderness, and you might even be encouraged to take a canoe trip to see Gods’ country for yourself. If this happens, then the author has succeeded in his purpose.

About the Author

Roy Cerny, the author of this collection of true tales, renews his love of the outdoors almost every summer, spending some time revisiting the canoe country that has become such a big part of his life. First paddling the canoe trails as a scout in the summer of 1959, he was awestruck by the beauty, the sounds and smells, the flora and fauna, and the immensity of the Quetico and Boundary Waters wilderness. It was so different from the South Dakota prairie where he grew up. Just a few years later, he began summer employment at the Charles L. Sommers Boy Scout Canoe Base as a guide, taking Boy Scouts on eight-day canoe trips into the wilderness. It was the most fun and rewarding job he ever had and provided the background for majority of the tales in this book. He loves to see what is around the next point, what is beyond the horizon, what is over the next hill—and he loves to find out by paddling there in his canoe. In his later years, he is still taking church groups, friends, and family members into the North Woods that he has grown to love. He and his wife, Midge, and their families all live in the land of ten thousand lakes, Minnesota, residing near each other in South Saint Paul, just a four-hour drive away from the Bound.