Back to the Trees and Caves

After dedicating over three decades to managing wilderness areas for the USDA Forest Service, Jonathan Klein comes to a sobering realization: the wilderness within the lower forty-eight is, at best, a theatrical semblance of the real essence of wild. Upon retirement at age sixty, Klein embarks on a solo canoe journey across the untamed expanses of northern Canada, yearning to uncover the authentic wilderness that eludes him. Back to the Trees and Caves unfolds this riveting 700-mile adventure from Saskatchewan to Hudson Bay, across landscapes untouched by time.

The voyage is far from tranquil. Klein battles violent storms, navigates raging rapids, and crosses lake expanses that mirror oceans. After seven grueling weeks, an utterly exhausted Klein reaches Churchill, Manitoba, but not without facing a life-and-death encounter with an apex predator, a confrontation that brings him face to face with the harsh yet majestic reality of the wild.

As Klein paddles through the endless miles, the journey morphs into more than a physical quest; it becomes a conduit for profound reflections on the intrinsic value of wild places. Not just for the wandering souls of humans, but as irreplaceable havens for the myriad wild creatures that inhabit them. The narrative encapsulates Klein's evolving insights on the sanctity of these landscapes and the imperative to shield them from the unrelenting grasp of human consumption.

Jonathan Klein was not born in the right place. Raised in San Francisco by a single mother determined to mold her only child into a sophisticated urbanite, he instead surrendered to an innate ferality. Moving to Montana as a young man, Jonathan found work as a ranch hand and later discovered his true calling as a wilderness manager for the USDA Forest Service. His adventurous spirit has led to a slew of dubious exploits including hopping freight trains, a very short stint as a rodeo rider, bull fighting in Portugal, and several expeditions by canoe and kayak to the far north. Jonathan lives in Montana with his wife, Marianne, and a couple of cats.