Alex Messenger is a Duluth, Minnesota, author and photographer who, at seventeen, was mauled by a grizzly bear. In the decade since, he's worked as a wilderness guide and volunteer search-and-rescue operator. His love of adventure, nature, and cultures has taken him all over the globe, but the north woods and canoe country have always been among his favorite subjects. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Men's Journal, National Parks magazine, Outside Online, and Backpacker magazine.