This Couple Is Going On A 2000-Mile Book Tour By Bike To Save Their Favorite Wilderness Area

When adventure lovers and environmental activists Amy and Dave Freeman discovered that their beloved Boundary Waters — a breathtaking, 1.1 million-acre roadless waterway, bog, bedrock, and boreal forest-filled region of the Superior National Forest, spanning northeastern Minnesota to Canada — was at risk of being devastated by toxic sulfide-ore copper mining, the duo took action. Starting in September of 2015, the Freemans spent a year living in the Boundary Water wilderness: 366 days of camping, canoeing, skiing, snowshoeing, dog sledding, and exploring the region’s 500 lakes, rivers and streams, and more; totaling in over 2,000 miles traveled and hundreds of photos, videos, and blog posts shared with fellow concerned citizens across the United States and all over the world. They call their work “adventure advocacy”, and their year in the wilderness was just the beginning.

That journey later inspired the Freemans' debut book, A Year In The Wilderness: Bearing Witness in the Boundary Waters, published by Milkweed Editions in 2017. A Year In The Wilderness takes readers even deeper into this vibrant and mesmerizing terrain — sharing the magic and mystery of the Boundary Waters, demonstrating the intimacy that can be shared with the region’s wildlife, and illuminating the devastation that would result from turning this place of beauty into one of industrial mining.

A Year in the Wilderness by Amy and Dave Freeman, $22, Amazon

Now, the Freemans are taking their environmental activism on the road again, through a Kickstarter-supported campaign called Pedal to DC: Book Tour to Save the Boundary Waters. Starting on April 20, the Freemans — in partnership with their publisher Milkweed Editions and Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters — will spend two months biking a 2,000-mile book tour and hosting over 30 events at schools, community centers, libraries, bookstores, outdoor gear stores, and breweries along the way.

Throughout the tour, which begins at the edge of the Boundary Waters and extends to Washington D.C., they’ll be giving book readings and sharing the stories and images compiled during their year in the wilderness, while reinforcing the urgent threat the Boundary Waters faces from proposed industrial mining — a threat exacerbated by the Trump administration’s recent move to reinstate Minnesota mining company Twin Metals’ two expired mineral leases in the region.

You can share in the Freeman’s adventure advocacy too, by lending your support to Pedal to D.C.: Book Tour to Save the Boundary Waters. In addition to helping save the Boundary Waters and fight against the Trump administration’s assault on our national green spaces, support also comes with some bookish goodies, including: a postcard pack of some of the Freeman’s favorite images from their time in the Boundary Waters ($25 pledge), a signed paperback edition of A Year in the Wilderness ($35 pledge), and more.

For a complete list of all the stops the Freeman’s will be making on their biking book tour, as well as more information on how you can help, be sure to visit Pedal to D.C.: Book Tour to Save the Boundary Waters.