Bogtrotter: Notes from a North Country Cabin

by Richard A. Coffey

Book by Coffey, Richard A.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Memoir

208 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1996

Reviews

[Mrgrabau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its message is as relevant today as it was when the book was written in 1982. The political and social backdrop eerily foreshadows our current level of dysfunction which makes the author’s invitation to experience the timeless grace of the natural world all the more welcome.
His nature writing is deftly and sensitively expressed – endearing and enduring. But it is the love story of two admirable people that is the true heartbeat of the book.
There is one passage that makes me swoon: Dick and Jeanne are separately working at the unending task of cutting enough wood for fuel and cooking. The day is ending and Dick starts back to the cabin. Unexpectedly he comes across Jeanne who has taken a break to skate, “Her scarf and hair trailed behind her as she turned in graceful circles on a small patch of ice.” He describes her as an “elf at play on a bright snowy day…a small graceful figure dwarfed by the tall trees.” Unseen by her he melds back into the trees and quietly walks away. It is like one of those scenes in mythology where the mortal gets a glimpse of the Divine and her radiance humbles him.

I read Bogtrotters in one sitting with a smile on my face the entire time. I fell head over heels in love with both Dick and Jeanne. Read the book! You’ll feel it, too.

[Vern · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read but very close to home, geographically and in my heart. A young couple (early to mid-30's ?) buy 60 acres of woodland and bog in the Hinckley, MN area and decide to give up their hectic life in the Twin Cities, sell most of their belongings and move to a one room cabin. No electricity, no running water. They are neophytes to the rural life, but through trial and error learn to live and love the rustic life. This book is the story of their first year at their new home, 1979-1980.

I can relate to their experience in many respects because it was just about that time I bought my cabin in northeastern MN. Remote, no electricity, no running water. Like this couple, I was pretty much a neophyte to that way of life myself, but over the years have learned to live and love the solitude, and quite independence of living totally off the grid, and really communing with the nature around me. There is no other place I feel more comfortable, complete, and in control of my life. This book captures that feeling perfectly.

[Ben Gallman]

Coffey worked at a successful TV station in Minneapolis. He and his wife sold off everything they owned and bought a small acreage in a remote area of bogs in Minnesota. This is his record of their experiences living with no electricity in a small cabin in the bogs. Made for interesting reading.

[Duke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book - was given to me from my fathers collection of things. Reading it gave me a deep feeling of connectedness to him because he would have bought and read it when he was roughly my age.

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am from MN and this booked warmed my soul! You felt like you were living on the bog with them. I was on pins and needles as Dick wrote about witching for water. Absolutely read this, to find yourself is to go to a cabin in the woods…

[Emily Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love to live vicariously through others. This is a perfect book if you want to know what it's really like living in the woods. They describe simple moments as though they are the most significant thing in the world.

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not love this book anymore! I am from MN so that helps. I was I suspense as he writes about digging his well and after so much hard work, if it’s going to work or not. This book brought me warmth, laughter and many wonderful daydreams If a unique life with our electricity or running water on a bog in a self built cabin. Loved it!

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the idea of living in a 16 x 24 foot cabin in the wilderness has it's appeal, I don't think I am up to the idea of an outhouse in the winter. Or summer. But it is a great read and a lot to think about on how we accumulate 'stuff' and what really matters.

[Lynda Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It amazes me that they could live all that time without electricity and plumbing. A lot of work, but a lot of time to read and birdwatch.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book by a local author on his and his wife's first year living self-sufficiently in a cabin by a bog.