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About the Author
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Lee Moldenhauer was raised in the rural community of Dapp, Alberta, and then went on to earn his Geology degree at the University of Alberta. His education and the experience he gained while prospecting in the Northwest Territories shaped the rest of his career and life. He spent four more seasons prospecting in the Northwest Territories, three of those working for mining companies there. He then became involved in the oil industry doing well-site geology. Lee’s sense of adventure never abated, and he has remained an avid traveller throughout his life.
Now retired, he splits his time between Alberta and Chicago, where his wife is still working. Lee and his wife have teenage twins, who grew up hearing about Lee’s tales of living in the bush and were the impetus for him to share his stories with others. |
About the Book
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It was a different time. In 1970, the hippie culture was still going strong, and young people were ready to take on the world. It was a time of getting back to the land, jumping in a VW van to tour the country—without wearing seatbelts, and listening to songs like Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild” on a transistor radio. Against this backdrop, Lee Moldenhauer, a twenty-one-year-old geology student jumps at the chance to do some prospecting in the wilds of the Northwest Territories with three friends under conditions that are almost unimaginable today. After taking a floatplane into the bush, the four are left to fend for themselves with food supplies, basic camping equipment, and some geological maps. Without a two-way radio or even lifejackets, they set about canoeing and portaging their way back to Yellowknife while staking claims and looking for mineral deposits over the summer.
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Prospecting in the Northwest Territories is the entertaining and engaging true story of the author and his friends’ adventures that summer. These include tackling terrifying rapids, losing half of their equipment in a canoe accident, and the author getting lost without any food or warm clothing. Yet despite these hardships, Lee Moldenhauer looks back fondly on these adventures with his friends, the beauty of the North, and the thrill of living rough in the bush and being able to survive by counting on their wits and each other. Part memoir, part travel story, and part adventure story, this fascinating read will leave you asking yourself, “Could I have done that?”
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Reviews
"For readers interested in Northern Canada, the wilderness, or prospecting, Lee Moldenhauer’s new book, “Prospecting in the Northwest Territories: 1970, a Season Remembered”, will be a real find.
Moldenhauer’s memoir details a prospecting trip done in 1970 in the Northwest Territories by four young men very new to this kind of life. It was a time before cellular service or GPS and they slogged and paddled their way across hundreds of miles of remote bush in search of “a find”.
Without any means to communicate with the outside world, they had to immediately become self-sufficient and proficient in the ways of the bush. Moldenhauer’s writing style is clear, straightforward and humorous. He was fully aware of their naiveite and lack of knowledge and recounts those four months with an air of celebration at having survived and learned from an excursion that could easily have turned out badly."
- Fran Hurcomb, Yellowknife NWT
(Old Town: 2012, Breaking Trail: 2020 and Chasing Fish: 2022)
"I loved the book and can hear the author's voice. It was an amazing story that is hard to believe." - M.S.
"Throughly enjoyed reading Prospecting in the Northwest Territories. It was an entertaining and adventurous about the author and his friends. I don't think the 20 year olds now would survive such an death defying wilderness even with modern and expensive equipment. Sounds like these men learned survival skills and life skills. I recommend this book and challenge yourself to learn about the adventurous and beauty of this area." - Sylvia B.
"Excellent work Lee. It brought many fond memories. You should feel good about it, as if you were a seasoned author with many publications." - G. Kent (one of the members of the prospecting expedition)
"What an amazing adventure is written by the author, Lee Moldenhauer. He describes all segments of the journey in great details which really paints a picture of what it was really like, including how he and his friends felt as they travelled by foot and canoe further into the wilderness. For people who have never been to the Northwest Territories this book would be a great introduction to the geography, the variety of minerals to be found & how prospectors went about frying to find them. The return trip outlines an arduous & dangerous trip down the Snowdrift River and Canyon, dealing with so many Falls, which I found enthralling! I highly recommend this book! It should also be a part of the libraries of Universities, Colleges and High Schools. " - Lucie L.
Moldenhauer’s memoir details a prospecting trip done in 1970 in the Northwest Territories by four young men very new to this kind of life. It was a time before cellular service or GPS and they slogged and paddled their way across hundreds of miles of remote bush in search of “a find”.
Without any means to communicate with the outside world, they had to immediately become self-sufficient and proficient in the ways of the bush. Moldenhauer’s writing style is clear, straightforward and humorous. He was fully aware of their naiveite and lack of knowledge and recounts those four months with an air of celebration at having survived and learned from an excursion that could easily have turned out badly."
- Fran Hurcomb, Yellowknife NWT
(Old Town: 2012, Breaking Trail: 2020 and Chasing Fish: 2022)
"I loved the book and can hear the author's voice. It was an amazing story that is hard to believe." - M.S.
"Throughly enjoyed reading Prospecting in the Northwest Territories. It was an entertaining and adventurous about the author and his friends. I don't think the 20 year olds now would survive such an death defying wilderness even with modern and expensive equipment. Sounds like these men learned survival skills and life skills. I recommend this book and challenge yourself to learn about the adventurous and beauty of this area." - Sylvia B.
"Excellent work Lee. It brought many fond memories. You should feel good about it, as if you were a seasoned author with many publications." - G. Kent (one of the members of the prospecting expedition)
"What an amazing adventure is written by the author, Lee Moldenhauer. He describes all segments of the journey in great details which really paints a picture of what it was really like, including how he and his friends felt as they travelled by foot and canoe further into the wilderness. For people who have never been to the Northwest Territories this book would be a great introduction to the geography, the variety of minerals to be found & how prospectors went about frying to find them. The return trip outlines an arduous & dangerous trip down the Snowdrift River and Canyon, dealing with so many Falls, which I found enthralling! I highly recommend this book! It should also be a part of the libraries of Universities, Colleges and High Schools. " - Lucie L.
