Customer Reviews

A Long Trek Home: 4,000 Miles by Boot, Raft and Ski

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This little book tells a big story of two trekkers' incredible journey a long the coasts of British Columbia and Alaska. I read a lot non-fiction wilderness adventure and find this book to be among the best I've ever head in this genre. The adventure is compelling enough, and the author's insight into the environmental issues of our time adds a contemporary perspective. But the part I like the most about the book, is the description of Erin and Hig's relationship with each other and with the people they encounter along the way. I've hiked, skied, and paddled a small fraction of this coast with my wife. Erin captures the wonder, fun, adventure, frustration, anxiety, and love that a couple experiences as they travel together, depending on each other to survive. This is why I think their story will endure.

Although I love the outdoors and I value books that describe the adventures others have had there, I felt I was taking a gamble when I bought this book. It's apparently the author's first book,and I've often been disappointed by new authors' first efforts. Also, the publisher's description emphasized that "environmental concerns" had motivated the book and the trip it described. So I was concerned the book might be preachy and narrow minded. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that none of my concerns were justified. Although the author is indeed concerned about environmental issues (who isn't?), her discussion of these issues was balanced and unobtrusive. In most respects, this was a genuinely interesting description of what must have been a truly great adventure. Frankly, I'm somewhat awe struck that the author and her husband actually completed their amazing trek. And the writing is so good that I look forward to reading more by this author. I believe she has a great future ahead of her, not only as an adventurer but as a writer. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who loves the wilderness and who cherishes the life-changing experiences that they and others have had there.

This book is destined to be an Alaskan wilderness classic in the literary sense of the phrase.

Not only was Hig and Erin's packraft and walk journey immense, epic, and original but her story is told so much better in this book than in their on-line blog. It's no wonder that "A Long Trek Home" is already in its second printing.

While I am not really a big reader of first person adventure narratives (so can't speak with much authority), I would put the book in the same class as "Arctic Wild" by Lois Crisler, the 1950s story of a couple who spent a year in the Brooks Range filming caribou and raising wolves. Perhaps, and depending on how important Hig and Erin's non-profit activism turns out to be, "Long Trek" might some day land in the same class as "Two in the Far North", the autobiography of Margaret Murie.

"A Long Trek Home" is a chronological collection of vignettes of Hig and Erin's 4500 mile trip that stretched over a year -- and into a pregnancy -- from Seattle to the Aleutians. Erin expends most of her text as emotional and detailed landscape and weather description at all scales, from boot-tip and arms length to as far as the eye can see. More interestingly, she does a wonderful portrayal of Hig, who is one of the most fascinating people I have ever met. She captures him well, but as a reader of the book, and as a fan of Hig, I long for more of him in her narrative. In fact, I'd like more human life and description of the interesting characters they meet and interact with along the way. Finally, she describes -- rather unevenly -- a host of environmental issues that are at the heart of "Ground Truth Trekking." With the exception of the Pebble Mine project, I found the treatments mostly superficial with few new insights, although her personal realization that guided trophy hunting on the Alaska Peninsula is actually a good way to value the land, in contrast to the logging on the other side of the Gulf of Alaska in Southeast AK and BC, was refreshing.

But the book really shines in its details of camp and travel life as a husband and wife crossing wild landscapes. Erin's book offers up the best modern descriptions I have read of couples-style wilderness travel, something Peggy and I have done a bit of in Alaska and elsewhere. In 1986 we walked and packrafted for a month across the Gates of the Arctic National Park in one boat. She was two months pregnant with Cody Roman. Reading Erin's accounts of snuggling with Hig, of showdowns with curious grizz, of perpetual hunger, of staying comfortable in worn-out gear and sharing a two-person bag inside a floorless shelter, of reading the landscapes - those vignettes brought back strong memories of our own adventures.

Indeed, I got my copy of the unpretentious little paperback on a Wednesday afternoon and by that night I'd read the first two sections, "Summer" and "Fall". The book is a nice size, with evocative B&W photos and Hig's maps are superlative. I finished "Winter" and "Spring" over the following weekend in another push. Her writing is breezy and easy, with some interesting viewpoints and fresh phrases of an activity as old as humankind - one man and one woman together, surviving, living, even reproducing as they cross wild landscapes.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone with a packraft, a spouse, and an interest in slow-motion adventure.

A Long Trek Home is not your typical trekking narrative. Too many travel stories end up reading the same. Woke up, walked, dealt with this or that, saw this or that, met this person(s), ate dinner, went to bed. Next day, more of the same. Instead, A Long Trek Home reads like a series of wilderness vignettes, each a picture or episode standing on its own and yet also woven together to form a coherent story of this incredible journey by two resourceful and intrepid travelers.

Wonderfully written, A Long Trek Home is destined to become an adventure travel classic.

My only complaint was the book was too short, but if one is forced to error on too short or too long, it is always better to leave the reader wishing for more.

I just finished this book, and I thought it was wonderful. I was aware of Erin and Hig's because I followed the podcast interviews for weeks, but reading the book was even better. Erin is an excellent writer, and I think this was the best outdoor adventure book I've read. As I read I kept thinking of my own stories of backpacking, and even though my experiences had absolutely no connection or similarity to theirs, Erin's writing brought them out.

I couldn't put this book down. Erin does an amazing job describing their epic journey that I almost felt like I was right there with them. It is also clear from the photos throughout the book that both Erin and Hig are talented photographers and I'm hoping that they publish a photography companion book. Rarely do I want to read a book again having just finished it, but I'm looking forward to a second read. I think this book will appeal to a wide variety of people and think it will make an excellent gift for any person who is interested in environmental issues or who appreciates hiking or nature.

Erin McKttrick and her husband lived a great adventure. More important she is an excellent writer that know how to tell her story. She is just plain good as a writer. There was a clarity in her writing that made me feel like I was on the trip with them.

Thanks for the dreams your book has inspired.

I love this book! It has everything I look for in an Adventure / Travel Essay story. First is incredible writing, you are with Erin and her husband Hig each step of the way. Second is needing almost superhuman strength to complete the journey. Third is a reason for the journey through the environment. And Fourth is the never ending desire to complete the journey in spite of very difficult odds. This "Classic" book is indeed destined to be a "True Classic." "Walking from Seattle to the Aleutian Islands." That statement alone should entice everyone to pick up this book, just to make sure this couple is not certifiable and in need of immediate wilderness rescue. Not only are Erin and Hig completely capable of completing their amazing journey, Erin has written an incredible book, a book that indeed matches their journey and will stand forever as a true testament to the human and wilderness spirit. Buy this book and support Eric in her travels so she can write another book for us, and another! FANTASTIC BOOK! WONDERFUL STORY! AMAZING JOURNEY!!

This is an excellent first book. Obviously it's the story of the author's journey from Seattle to the Aleutians, accompanied by fabulous photographs (I wished for more of those, as I read, as well as a detailed gear and food list). But it's also a story about what they learn from the landscape and the people they encounter on the trip, so it's reflective as well as practical. Finally, as other reviewers have mentioned, it chronicles Hig and Erin's partnership after 10 years of exploring together. It's kind of like the newlywed version of _Rowing to Latitude_, another favorite book. Erin's writing is engaging and I'm sure her next book will continue the nuanced analysis of the Alaska she now calls home.

I started reading this book on the way home from the bookstore on the subway. It was by accident, I didn't want to start another book as I was already into two others. However, once I started it I couldn't set it down. Each page was filled with adventure as well as insight into the beautiful landscape and harsh climate of the British Columbia and Alaskan coast. The author tells the story of their yearlong rafting, skiing and hiking journey in a smooth and natural flow. As a reader I was continually intrigued by her vivid descriptions of their natural surroundings combined with the informed musings of a trained biologist (Erin) and geologist (Hig). Along with masterfully recounted tales of adventure the reader also gets a clearer sense of the ecological challenges facing this part of the world. I would recommend this book to anyone and look forward to future books by the author.