My first post for this site is a pictograph from Lake Hegman in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Located in northern Minnesota, many scholars have studied this collage of red ochre paintings, left on the rock by the Ojibway people an estimated 500 to 1,000 years ago (Quetico Superior News). 

Like any great image or photograph, this image told a story. Centuries later, we can attempt to read it. Did the artist arrive in one of the three canoes?  Were they hunting a wolf, was the wolf hunting them, or was that image of a canine travel companion?  Had they spotted a moose nearby?  Do the hash marks indicate how many people were in their party, or do they suggest how many days the party stayed here?  Is that caricature of a man supposed to be a person of importance, or even a higher spirit?  The cross… does that represent the sun, the stars, or something else?

Chief Seattle is credited with the saying, “Take only memories, leave only footprints.”  As the environmental movement took hold in the 1960s and 70s, the phrase evolved into “Leave only footprints and take only pictures,” and the National Park Service introduced the “Leave No Trace” campaign.

It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. But a great photograph can leave you speechless.  When you see this amazing pictograph, the northern wilderness touches your imagination… and maybe even your spirit.