Spirited Waters: Soloing South Through the Inside Passage [Hardcover]

Jennifer Hahn (Author), Brenda Peterson (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2001

A gripping account of one woman's unforgettable and challenging kayaking journey In this insightful account of her solo voyage in a sixteen-foot kayak, Jennifer Hahn vividly relates the ecstatic moments and terrifying predicaments of paddling against the wind through Alaska's Inside Passage. Hahn's adventures include dramatic encounters with animals and heartwarming experiences with coastal characters. Much more than a memoir, Spirited Waters is a remarkable blend of adventure travel, natural history, and personal challenge.

* Winner of the Barbara Savage Miles from Nowhere Memorial Award * Mixes adventure travel with natural history * Includes the author's hand-drawn illustrations

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Not many people, especially a solo woman traveler, would attempt to kayak the 750 miles along the Inside Passage between Alaska and Washington state. All the more reason for the adventurous Hahn to try it. Hahn, a naturalist and kayak guide, felt a call to do this trip but realized that she would have to do it in sections, over two spring and summer seasons. Sometimes fearless, sometimes terrified (of the currents, wolves, bears, and strange men), Hahn remains honest and thoughtful about her experiences. As her account reveals, she meets many generous people and a variety of animals and sea creatures on the trip and finds a sense of peace within herself. Her extensive knowledge of nature, native customs and legends, and the navigational history of the area nicely complement her personal experiences, while her eloquent writing allows readers to feel both the pain and the triumph of the journey. Recommended for all travel collections. Kathleen Shanahan, Kensington, MD
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

JENNIFER HAHN grew up in Wisconsin, where she was raised by her father. A love of outdoor adventure was born during summers tromping about Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and Europe with her family--four pubescent kids and a widowed welding teacher. She has worked as a welder, ski instructor, editorial assistant for Audubon magazine, illustrator, and tour leader in the Galapagos Islands. She is the founder of Elakah! Kayak Tours (1990) and has guided extensively in Washington, Alaska, and Mexico. She lives with her potter husband and a fleet of kayaks in Bellingham, Washington. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 213 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books; 1 edition (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898867444
• ISBN-13: 978-0898867442
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #786,929 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #58 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Outdoor Recreation > Kayaking > Sea Kayaking

More About the Author

One book critic dubbed Jennifer Hahn "Emily Dickinson on steroids." Award-winning writer, illustrator, naturalist, welder, wild harvester, wilderness guide, and coastal traveler -- Jennifer calls the land her second home. With 30 years of wilderness travel under hull and boot--including her solo kayak from Alaska to Washington and guide work in SE Alaska--she spends a lot of time with whales, bears and seaweeds.

Jennifer is currently balancing an extroverted life guiding on the Inside Passage and teaching wild food cuisine and foraging classes--and an isolated life in retreat hammering away at a memoir about how her father welded the family back together after a tragic family accident.

Jennifer's first book "Spirited Waters: Soloing South Through the Inside Passage" won the "Barbara Savage 'Miles from No Where' Memorial Award" for an adventure narrative. Her second book, "Pacific Feast: A Cook's Guide to West Coast Foraging and Cuisine," is forth-coming October 2010 by Skipstone Press, Seattle. Jennifer studied under Pulitzer-prize-author Annie Dillard. She founded and still guides for Elakah Kayak Expeditions in Washington state, as well as the Pacific Catalyst in SE Alaska. She lives in Bellingham, Washington with her husband, clay sculptor, Chris Moench, and teaches at Western Washington University's Fairhaven College.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jennifer-and-the-Sea, January 15, 2002

By 

Jim Border (Columbia City, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spirited Waters: Soloing South Through the Inside Passage (Hardcover)

Adventurer, naturalist and narrator, Hahn takes the reader along through the spectacular scenery of a fabled coastline. Often pristine and wild, sometimes developed or abused, always interesting, sometimes scary. This is not another machismo assault of man-against-the-elements, this is Jennifer-and-the-sea. And she knows the sea well. This book is a good read. Inspirational and informative; enjoyable for knowledge gained (filling the plate at the "intertidal table") and emotions evoked ("At 2 A.M. I woke to hear food bags being shredded outside my tent..."). Spirited Waters is a spirited narrative of a modern grand adventure.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional, reminiscent of John Muir & Ann Dillard, December 10, 2001

By 

Jonathan Waterman (Marble, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spirited Waters: Soloing South Through the Inside Passage (Hardcover)

This is the debut passage of a kayak guide whose fecund and original prose is reminiscent of Annie Dillard and John Muir. As if her exceptional natural history writing isn't enough, Jennifer Hahn is also heritably wired--through the accidental deaths of her mother and brother--to the calculated risks of a modern day Odyssey. Her encounters with hairy bears, scarey tiderips, lonely men, huge seas, and a spy-hopping gray whale are gripping and inspirational.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Freedom, October 9, 2006

By 

Marilyn A. Mclauchlan (Bainbridge Island, Wa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spirited Waters: Soloing South Through the Inside Passage (Hardcover)

I read this book one winter day tucked safely and warmly under my bed covers. In the summer I signed up for a kayak trip with the author. Did the book inspire me--you bet! And I've been going on adventure trips ever since. I've bought the book for friends who love it as well. It's an exciting read but more importantly, for me, a life changer. Marilyn McLauchlan Bainbridge Island, Wa