This is the account of the solo canoe journey across Canada's north that was made by Shoalts in 2017. He is an accomplished canoeist and outdoorsman but this arduous trip was a formidable challenge to say the least. He left Eagle Plains, Yukon Territory in spring and successfully arrived at Baker Lake, Nunavut in September after facing obstacles most of us will never face in a lifetime. To say the terrain was rugged doesn't begin to describe it. As he did not meet another human along the way it sounded natural when he spoke to his tent and canoe. The descriptions of wildlife encountered were simply awesome, covering ravens, wolves, caribou, musk oxen, and foxes. And his responsibility and care for the natural world was admirable. Mine was an audiobook read by the author and while this is generally not recommended, it gave the story an immediacy and personal quality that is hard to beat. Highly recommended if you enjoy adventure stories. ( )

Beyond the Trees: A Journey Alone Across Canada’s Arctic, Adam Shoalts

A quiet hike along the dirt trail called the Demster Highway, from the sign indicating the Arctic Circle to the shores of the MacKenzie River, was the beginning of the journey. Adam Shoalts is crossing the Arctic from west to east which means he is paddling against the current as he goes up rivers like the MacKenzie and the Coppermine.

Each river and lake provides different challenges, rapids, waterfalls, ice in Great Bear Lake, the world’s eighth largest, fog, high winds and currents to the point he is land bound. His approach is the tortoise and the hare, he knows one wrong step could be life threatening. He conquers each river by paddle, pole, rope, hauling his canoe by hand and when necessary portaging his belongings. The latter is not a single trip but three return trips and finally the seventh with his canoe.

He finds the animals, grizzly bears, foxes, wolves, squirrels and the musk ox to a certain extent, are as curious about him as he is about them. He describes the landscape from the coming of summer to that of winter. The changing colours of the vegetation and of the animals. The rainbows and ever changing skies enchant him. He is very much in tune with the environment.

What amazed me the most, but was so in keeping with him, was his quiet arrival in Baker Lake, Nunavut, his final destination. He landed his canoe for the last time, did some hiking around the area, talked to old timers and left two days later. No big announcement, although he did tell the airline. He had sadly committed to leaving his canoe as he couldn’t afford to fly it out. When the airline heard what he had done they offered to fly the canoe to Winnipeg.

A quiet beginning, an eventful middle and a quiet ending to mark a solo journey across a beautiful but unknown part of our country, Canada.

“Beyond the Trees” is well written and researched. I thought the historical information on earlier travellers added interest to his journey.

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Look at a map and consider the huge expanse of land in northern Canada, dotted with a million lakes and few trees, this book gives some insight. Adam Shoalts solo canoed across in a single season, going from one lake or river to the next following a torturous route from the Alaska border to Hudson Bay. There is no easy path east-west because water flows usually north to south. The landscape is unchanged for millions of years and mostly untouched by humans. He encountered maybe half a dozen other people. Float planes dropped off barrels of supplies, called in with sat phone. He battled rivers upstream that were thought impossible. Pushed through dense weedy portages, and crossed a lake as big as Erie (Great Bear). This is not a particularly deep or stylistic adventure book. It is description of huge lakes and rivers you have never heard of, and can now form a mental picture. He makes it easy to follow along on Google Maps which enhances the arm-chair travel experience. The remoteness, brief warm season, animals and insects, terrain, flight cost, physical demands etc.. all discourage visitors, this is the next best thing. ( )

In 2017 author and explorer Adam Shoalts took a solo journey across Canada, staying within the arctic circle. He travelled west to east, beginning at Eagle Plains, Yukon in May, he reached is destination, Baker Lake near Hudson’s Bay in September.

Along his journey he met and conquered many obstacles including ice floes, swollen rivers, fog-bound lakes and gale-force winds. He covered abut 4,000 kilometres and often had to take the more dangerous route of going up the rivers instead of following the currents and going downriver. His frequent portages were feats of endurance as he needed to make a number of trips across each portage in order to get all his equipment across. He met grizzly bears, wolves, musk ox and countless other species of small game and birds. I was glad to only have to read about the millions of black flies that plagued him throughout his journey. Throughout it all, the ever present thought of “Winter’s coming” played in his head as he knew he had to reach his destination before the snow started.

This is a story of adventure undertaken by a well prepared, thoughtful man who had both done his research and had plenty of outdoor experience. Beyond the Trees was a great armchair adventure read as the author gives his reader both heart-stopping experiences and plenty of descriptions of the spectacular natural world. ( )