Sigurd Olson (1899-1982) was a Minnesota-based writer, biology teacher, and outdoorsman who spent decades guiding and outfitting in the Boundary Waters region before leaving academic life in 1947 to write full time. His first book, The Singing Wilderness (1956), brought him wide readership, and he went on to produce eight further works drawing on his deep familiarity with the lake and river country of the North Woods. An experienced canoeist, he traveled extensively through the wilderness waterways of Canada and the northern United States throughout his life.
The Lonely Land recounts a 500-mile canoe journey along the Churchill River in Saskatchewan, running from Ile-a-la-Crosse to Cumberland House. The Churchill is less a single river than a chain of interconnected lakes punctuated by falls, rapids, and ledges cutting through the Precambrian Shield, and Olson's account reflects both the physical demands of the route and the character of the boreal landscape through which it passes.
