Fur trapping in North America began at the turn of the sixteenth century when rugged mountain men pushed ever westward in search of beaver. These entrepreneurs possessed an unmatched sense of adventure, a relentless drive to succeed, and an uncanny ability to survive. The intimacy between man and nature discovered by these early explorers has been continued through hardy souls still lucky enough to know the thrill and excitement of a modern-day trapline. The proud heritage of America's fur-trappers lives on through trappers associations, trapper education programs, and the trappers who continue to live it. Follow the journey of a young boy in 20th century rural America who learned about wild lands and wildlife through fi rsthand experience. The people he meets along the way inspire him to write about trappers and trapping and the importance of preserving man's primitive crafts for the continuation of America's rich wildlife legacy.

When suddenly, the bear rears up not thirty feet to the front of us; I react instantly, brining my rifle to my shoulder and firing almost at the same instant. I hit him, because, he looks at us. I turn and yell, Darleen up that tree! She gets the limb from her saddle while I'm still reloading and pulls her, self up. I wish that tree was bigger but, it was the nearest one to her position. I get my rifle reloaded just as the big grizzly breaks through the underbrush, spruce and aspen saplings not twenty feet in front of me. I throw the gun to my shoulder to fire. But, Pegasus starts bucking almost, as soon as, the rifle comes to my shoulder. Consequently, I get a shot off but, its a dead miss; because, both me and the rifle are flying through the air. I hit the ground hard, I lay all sprawled out. The next thing I feel is the bears hot breath. The rifle is ten feet away it might as well be ten miles and I couldnt reload fast enough anyway.

When suddenly, the bear rears up not thirty feet to the front of us; I react instantly, brining my rifle to my shoulder and firing almost at the same instant. I hit him, because, he looks at us. I turn and yell, "Darleen up that tree!" She gets the limb from her saddle while I'm still reloading and pulls her, self up. I wish that tree was bigger but, it was the nearest one to her position. I get my rifle reloaded just as the big grizzly breaks through the underbrush, spruce and aspen saplings not twenty feet in front of me. I throw the gun to my shoulder to fire. But, Pegasus starts' bucking almost, as soon as, the rifle comes to my shoulder. Consequently, I get a shot off but, it's a dead miss; because, both me and the rifle are flying through the air. I hit the ground hard, I lay all sprawled out. The next thing I feel is the bear's hot breath. The rifle is ten feet away it might as well be ten miles and I couldn't reload fast enough anyway.

Tales of Trails in the Far North is a compilation of the time Mike Potts was blessed to follow his vision of the "free" life in the far north - Alaska. A straightforward telling of life in the frontier from 1968 to 1989, Mike takes us through his trials and errors in learning to survive in a wilderness that can be both beautiful and brutal, with temperatures as low as 60 below and summers only three months long. When Mike first arrived in Alaska he didn't know much about wilderness living, but he kept his eyes and ears open, listened when the Indians and old-timers spoke, and quickly learned not merely to survive, but thrive. He married a girl from Eagle Village on the Yukon River and together they raised a family, moving from cabin to cabin hunting and trapping on the trapline. These are their stories as much as his. This book is a precious record of a way of life that is gone forever. Mike's adventures are written so clearly you'll feel like you've lived those years in Alaska and had those adventures on the trapline yourself. But above all, you'll understand one man's love for Alaska and the faith in God it would come to give him.