The Happy Camper: Reviewing 2 New Canadian Canoe Tripping Books
Writing narratives is still alive out there when it comes to wilderness canoe tripping. I just finished reading two new books, back-to-back, and they’re both amazing publications.
In the Wake: An 80 Day Canoe Odyssey into Canada’s Northern Wilderness
By James McNamara
In 1991, a young couple—Jim and Laurie McNamara—left their truck at the far northern limit of roads in Saskatchewan, Canada, and paddled their canoe and gear for 80 days, beyond the edge of the northern forests where “trees yield to tundra.”
It was a challenging trip, with more than 1000 miles of paddling and portaging. But hasn’t this all been done before? I’ve read countless similar accounts of extensive wilderness canoe trips. So why is this one any more special?
The uniqueness of In the Wake is that the author wrote the book after the trip and then left it idle for a few decades. Life got in the way—he and his partner Laurie had a family and began to pursue their careers. The book was stored on a floppy disk, then an external hard drive, a server and then the Cloud. In late 2024, he finally published it.
Waiting so long to release the adventure to the public adds more flavour to it. Back then, they traveled without a GPS, a satellite phone or emergency location devices. Topographical maps weren’t up-to-date, and they were confused of their whereabouts at times. No one knew where they were. They came to the realization that their journey was done during a time closer to when many past cultures called the Canadian North home. They witnessed an end to an era before the information revolution took hold.
Reading In the Wake, you can sense the couple’s youthful enthusiasm and how they learned from the land they traveled. Their passion for wild places bleeds through the pages.
Danger on the Dumoine (Captured by Canada)
By Skeeter Lee
This isn’t a canoe tripping journal. It reads as a novel—an adventure thriller. The book is set on a wilderness river in Quebec, Canada—the Dumoine. The main character is 15-year-old Tom, a rookie canoe tripper attending Camp Catamount. He is given the job of the stern paddler for his campmates Ack and Borden. There are seven boys in total, and during their trip down the treacherous whitewater of the Dumoine, group dynamics unfold: resentment and jealousy create chaos throughout.
I was honoured to write a back-cover review for Skeeter’s book:
“What a solid story! An awesome wilderness canoe experience, vibrant characters, a remote backdrop, tripping tips sprinkled throughout: inspiration for us to set out on the water and gain our own adventure.”
If you’re looking for a book that fuses wilderness travel, personal growth, a coming-of-age story and just a touch of suspense now and then, then you’ll really enjoy Danger on the Dumoine. Also check out Skeeter Lee’s previous book with a similar format but based in Algonquin—Alive in Algonquin—and an upcoming book: Chaos on the Kazan. The author definitely knows how to combine his canoe trip experiences with telling a good story.
