Canoeing in the Wilderness
by Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau was forty years old when he made this canoe trip to the desert. The travel record is arguably the second half of Maine Woods, the best idyll of the jungle ever written. It is particularly fascinating in combining meditative and poetic fantasies with a small description of the traveler's experiences. The main attraction that inspired Thoreau to make the trip was the primitiveness of the area. There was a huge forest road, almost untouched, inhabited by only a few lumberjacks and pioneer farmers, Indians and wild animals. No one would be better equipped than Thoreau to enjoy such a region and pass on their tastes to others.
