Westward I Go Free

Henry David Thoreau boasted in Walden that he had "travelled a good deal in Concord," his Massachusetts hometown. In reality, his lectures, surveying work, and natural explorations led him to select areas throughout New England, the American Northeast, and the Canadian East (Quebec). His recurring travels to the Maine Woods and Cape Cod were well documented and have been followed by "Thoreauvians" for decades. Not so, however, his 1861 "Journey West" with Horace Mann, Jr., which took the duo from Massachusetts to Minnesota and back. The details of this last, longest, and least-known of Thoreau's excursions were left veiled in mystery...until now. This is the story of two 19th-century men and a 21st-century woman who was determined to follow their 4,000-mile path.