Gunflint: Reflections On The Trail

by Justine Kerfoot

“The best way to get to know Justine Kerfoot would be to explore a northern forest with her. The next best way to know ‘Just’ is on these pages. Here Justine is at her best, sharing with us her romantic and colorful, and sometimes a tad dangerous, life.” —Les Blacklock Step off the Gunflint Trail, stride to a high point, and savor the view. Only the dark, cool waters and the rugged granite shores interrupt the panorama of the sweeping forest. In this engaging memoir, local pioneer Justine Kerfoot chronicled a year’s worth of experiences and insights while living on the legendary Gunflint Trail. The unique month-by-month chapters of Gunflint and Kerfoot’s rich memories provide a year-round view of a wilderness life that most of us glimpse only in all-too-short weekend interludes. Justine Kerfoot (1906–2001) lived on Minnesota’s remote Gunflint Trail for more than six decades. She wrote of her adventures and travel in a weekly column for the Cook County News-Herald for forty-five years and is the author of Woman of the Boundary Waters (Minnesota, 1994).

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 1990

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me feel serene, which is a lovely thing. A collection of the author’s short musings and anecdotes about life in the far north of Minnesota from the 1950’s though the 1980’s, I was by turns amused, awed, and uplifted. What a gem.

[Sara Baranowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know if I would have enjoyed this book as much if I didn’t already love Minnesota’s north woods and the Gunflint Trail, but I don’t really care. Biased or not, I really enjoyed Justine Kerfoot’s writing - her obvious love of her home, her appreciation for the ways of life in remote northern Minnesota, and her humor about the people, the animals and the stories of the Gunflint. This was an easy, enjoyable read that I’d recommend to anyone for whom the Gunflint Trail holds a special place in their heart.

[Paul Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of wilderness stories presented in order of a calendar year, highlighting the wondrous change of seasons in northern Minnesota. A quick, easy, and satisfying read.

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Minnesota cousin sent this to me as an intro to one style of life in this wonderful state I'm just becoming acquainted with. It's a collection of newspaper columns Kerfoot wrote for a Grand Marais newspaper on life along the Gunflint Trail in the far north Boundary Waters area. The stories are a testament to the rugged individuals who choose to be surrounded by nature and wilderness. I laughed aloud at retellings of bears carrying away sacks of seeds or flour from people's porches, but am put off by even the vague descriptions of trapping. I don't consider myself a city girl but neither am I a woman who could ever have chosen this lifestyle.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love finding great local authors who have written about my favorite destinations. Kerfoot's work is a combination of essays and selections she wrote for many years for the local paper. She lived on the Gunflint Trail for 60 years, so she has some remarkable tales to tell. The book is filled with local history and reflections on nature. Her prose is simple and almost poetic. Organized by the months of the calendar, it is possible to pick this up at any time and find a meaningful reflection.

[G Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked her memoir Woman of the Boundary Waters more, but now that I've read that I took "Gunflint" into the BWCA this summer and read snippets in the tent. It follows the seasons, with plenty of observations on the natural world. Also many hilarious and interesting stories of humans engaging with nature and with each other on the Gunflint trail through the 1950s-1980s.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book spanning several decades of The Trail. A quick read that is probably best enjoyed in sips as a series of essays in a deer stand, screen porch, or as a hiking companion.

Highly recommended for any lover of the North Shore.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes me wish I could go there this afternoon...