Far Distant Echo: A Journey By Canoe from Lake Superior to Hudson Bay

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 9 JUL 2012

Outdoorsmen and armchair travelers will encounter history, ravenous insects, trail menus, hungry bears, and the quiet joys of endurance in this intriguing recounting of a 2008 canoe expedition. Six men began a 1,300-mile canoe trip along a traditional fur-trading route. During the two-and-a-half-month expedition, four of them dropped out. One of the two who saw it through turned 62 on the trail, and the satisfaction of the authors at completing the trek is expressed in vibrant if understated language: "Both of our hearts were racing. We had made it." The highly detailed account of planning the trip underscores the atmosphere of authenticity, and problems encountered along the way ring true. This is no journal of transcendental rapture; the emphasis is on the incidental and, often, on mishaps. Moments of serendipity, too, are presented keenly. Yet the perspective is not mere self-absorption: the account touches upon Canadian culture and history. Invoking traditions of earlier travelers on the route extends this theme. But antiquarianism is no goal in itself; the travelers rely on satellite phones and GPS devices as well as maps. Although the expedition concludes with an airplane flight home, no ironic overtones seem intended in the comment: "sorrowfully we are on our way back to the twenty-first century." Readers with a yen for adventure whether in person or vicariously will appreciate the achievement and the wilderness explored along the way.