Let Them Paddle: Coming of Age on the Water, by Alan S. Kesselheim, paperback, 336 pages, Fulcrum Publishing, $19.95, is part coming-of-age story, part adventure story, part ecology primer, part family history, richly seasoned with personal philosophy. A husband and wife conceive their first child while on a cross-continental wilderness canoe trip across Canada. Their two subsequent children likewise accompany them in utero on lengthy river trips.
When each child comes into their early teens, the family takes a paddling trip to that child’s river of record. The story starts on the Kazan, a 550 mile long river interspersed with large lakes, that flows into Hudson Bay. The youngest member of the expedition is only nine years old. They deal with rapids, headwinds, weather, insects, polar bears, their own doubts and fears, and more. It makes a riveting adventure story.
“We are in deep, hundreds of miles from anywhere civilized, having scratched our way across trackless space. We are utterly alone, and feel that way. Isolation is too small a word for this. An unequivocal embrace of humility is the only possible response.”
River number two is the Yellowstone. It’s not the same as when Lewis and Clark came through. In spite of that I find myself considering paddling it myself.
They go swimming. “The river mauls us, pulls us under, slaps water in our faces. On top of the waves, we catch glimpses of each other, grin like fools. Then we slide into the trough and disappear. The bulges of boulders go under us, sometimes bumping our butts. The current momentarily keeps us in the backwash of holes, twisting and pulling. Through with the thrill ride, we stroke hard to regain the boats.”
River number three is the Rio Bravo, along the Texas-Mexican border, apparently as remote an area as you’ll find in the lower 48. Again, I found myself thinking, “I want to do this myself.”
“The only real rapid in Mariscal Canyon is called the Tight Squeeze… It’s best when the river does the work for you. Lined up on the outside edge of the passage, Sawyer and I hardly have to maneuver. We draw away from the rock with current piling into it and blast through clean, then pivot into an eddy behind a rock the size of a one car garage.”
On one hand I thought the Kesselheims were crazy for bringing their kids on a wilderness expedition like the one in Canada. OhmyGod, what if something happened? On the other hand you can’t help but have the utmost respect for them. How lucky were those kids to have parents who would take them on such adventures? They’re an American family that’s not dysfunctional!
To be nitpicky, I wasn’t crazy about the cover (although the muscle development, especially in the females, was impressive). But the writing occaisionally dabbles with lyricism, and the storyline is first rate.
I want to meet the Kesselheims. I want to paddle with them. Heck, I want them to adopt me.
If you like to paddle, if you love wild places, if you enjoy true life adventure stories, you have to read this outstanding book. It has my highest recommendation.
John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com
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