North American Odyssey - 12,000 Miles Across the Continent by Kayak, Canoe, and Dogsled

From the acclaimed authors of A Year in the Wilderness, an extraordinary account of a 12,000-mile, human-powered journey across the continent, and of how the authors’ experiences along the way awakened a deep commitment to environmental activism.Amy and Dave Freeman get married and set out on an unusual honeymoon: a 12,000 mile, human-powered journey across North America. They begin in the Pacific Northwest, kayaking up the Inside Passage to Alaska, navigating tidal rapids and encountering sea lions and majestic humpback whales. In Skagway, they trade their kayaks for backpacks, retracing the path taken by prospectors in the Klondike Gold Rush. They canoe the Yukon, Blackstone, Peel, and Mackenzie Rivers, navigating whitewater rapids and avoiding grizzly bears and moose. From the Northwest Territories in Canada, they dogsled south across the frozen landscape, skiing and snowshoeing stretches through blizzards accented by howling wolves, then resume travel on interconnected waterways, paddling along the routes taken by voyageurs centuries before, migrating tundra swans high above. They paddle kayaks across Lake Superior, through the Soo Locks, and down the Saint Lawrence River, dodging seals, container ships, and fishing boats. Finally, they descend the Atlantic seaboard mostly along the Intracoastal Waterway, their journey interrupted for a few days by Hurricane Sandy, then paddle across the Suwannee River and through Everglades National Park, with manatees, alligators, and sharks, before emerging into Florida Bay and concluding the expedition in Key West.Experienced wilderness travelers—they were previously named Adventurers of the Year by National Geographic—the Freemans completed this extraordinary odyssey over the better part of three years. Along the way they meet Indigenous water protectors and subsistence hunters and encounter painful signs of the legacy of colonization and environmental degradation: remote beaches covered with plastic, retreating glaciers, mountainsides stripped clean of all trees, infernal forest fires, Indigenous communities flooded by dams. Listening with humility to the land and those who live in close relation to it, and stopping to visit school assemblies and share online content with the Wilderness Classroom, a nonprofit organization providing resources for environmental education, the Freemans gain confidence along the way in their ability to survive in wild places, but they also come to feel increasingly small as human beings, mindful of our place in life on Earth.At once an extraordinary adventure story and a clarion call for change in the way we live, North American Odyssey is an essential book for our times.Table of ContentIntroductionKayaking the Inside PassageHiking and Paddling to the ArcticDogsledding to Great Slave LakeCanoeing to Lake SuperiorKayaking to Key WestAfterwordNotesAcknowledgmentsReview QuotePraise for North American Odyssey“An absolutely epic journey—and against a backdrop of climate change that makes it all the more monumental. Perhaps it will help impel us to act so that trips like this might be possible for our children and grandchildren as well.”—Bill McKibben, author The End of Nature“This is a view of North America that you’ve never seen before and aren’t likely to forget, a trip that ignited the fire of activism in the Freemans and that’s likely to inspire the same in you. From the temperate rainforests of the West Coast to the sunny beaches of Key West, through deep boreal forests of the north, the bitter cold of winter, the steamy swamps of the Florida Everglades, the magical company of humpback whales, and the pounding heart of grizzly country, Amy and Dave’s North American Odyssey is a grand adventure that spans 12,000 miles and three years through wilderness and front country. It’s simultaneously an epic journey of high adventure and a meditation about what it means to be a consumer and an advocate of wild places. A prequel to A Year in the Wilderness, North American Odyssey is adventure on a scale that’s difficult to comprehend—and even more challenging to put to words. But what they’ve accomplished is extraordinary and inspiring, presented both humbly and openly. This is an epic journey that I didn’t want to end.”—Alex Messenger, author of The Twenty-Ninth Day“Adventure on a grand scale! Trekking coast to Arctic to coast by kayak, foot, dogsled, ski, and canoe, the Freemans draw you deep into their wild world—body and soul—with a well-paced balance of action stories and stirring reflection. Whether entranced by a rainforest coast aglow with nighttime bioluminescence while kayak camping or facing heart-pounding fear upon meeting both a grizzly bear and bull moose while bushwhacking the Yukon, their awe is palpable. So is their heartfelt despair at the industrial devastation and climate change impacts found all along this sweeping arc of our continent. Yet woven through is a love story: on this three-year honeymoon Amy and Dave listen to the land, find their voices, and are inspired to launch their tireless advocacy for our beloved Boundary Waters. As someone who’s shared many great adventures with the Freemans, I envy them for this one!”—Paul Schurke, adventurer and author of North to the Pole“We are in deep need of more stories like this one, more humans like Amy and Dave Freeman, who stretch the limits of the possible in search of vital contact with the living land. This account of their incredible journey across the continent is a potent dose of what the poet Richard Hugo called ‘the right madness.’ For our sake—and the earth’s—here’s to more of it.”—Chris Dombrowski, author of The River You TouchPraise for A Year in the Wilderness“For 365 days in 2015 and 2016, the Freemans lived in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, paddling a canoe or towing a toboggan from campsite to campsite. They fell through the ice. They were trailed by wolves. They drank from the lakes. Mostly, they bore witness.”―Minneapolis Star Tribune“Gorgeous words are complemented by an outstanding selection of photographs that immerse the reader in the watery landscape, making an indelible impact.”―Canoe & Kayak“Through evocative personal narrative and nature photography, the Freemans [. . .] speak with a single attentive and amiable voice that centers the joys and challenges of navigating the land and water. [. . .] Gorgeous color photographs focus on the human experience of being in wilderness and augment a novel work that should draw attention to the plight of the Boundary Waters.”―Publishers Weekly“The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is among our nation’s great natural treasures. It is also fragile, and increasingly threatened by the prospect of sulfide-ore copper mining. At this moment in our history, when calls are growing to privatize public lands and weaken national parks, adventurers Amy and Dave Freeman spent a year in the Boundary Waters, experiencing its singular beauty and advocating for its preservation. In this extraordinary book, they have done us all an invaluable service, offering a wonderfully compelling testimony for the value of wild places and the creatures who inhabit them. I urge you to read it, and then to join the Freemans in advocating for the preservation of the Boundary Waters.”―Vice President Walter Mondale“Recounting their adventure in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Amy and Dave Freeman offer a compelling tale about the beauty as well as the brutal challenges of living a year in this northern wilderness―one of our nation’s very first areas protected by the Wilderness Act of 1964. Their first-hand observations about the wild, the land ethic, and threats to this natural heritage build on a long tradition. Exemplifying a new generation of outdoors writer-adventurers, the Freemans infuse excitement and energy into the wilderness canon crafted by Mardy and Olaus Murie, Sigurd Olson, and other champions in earlier generations who have done so much to protect our wild places by describing them with a keen eye and a passionate heart.”―Jamie Williams, President, The Wilderness Society“Here’s the story of a great adventure in one of the planet’s most gorgeous wildernesses―and with high stakes at risk in a fight to stave off a truly gross assault on its integrity. So many reasons to read this book!”―Bill McKibben, author of Wandering HomeBiographical NoteAmy and Dave Freeman have traveled over 50,000 miles through some of the world’s wildest places, from the Amazon to the Arctic. They were named Adventurers of the Year by National Geographic, and they are also the authors of A Year in the Wilderness, an award-winning book about the year they spent in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. When they aren’t on expeditions, their sailboat, or speaking tours, they are based in Ely, Minnesota, where they organize and lead canoe and dogsled trips.National author tour, including events at top national and regional outdoor and book festivalsNational media campaign, including television, radio, podcast, and print and online interviews, features, profiles, original essays, first serial placement, and op-edsTargeted media outreach to outdoor publications and regional outlets across the country where book takes placeNational radio campaign, including national and regional NPRWidespread galley distribution into book and outdoor retail markets, library, and outdoor and environmental organizationsComprehensive Indie Next and holiday/gift guide placement and promotional opportunitiesNational consumer advertising campaign at publication targeting outdoor, travel, and environmental sitesOnline and social media campaign, including giveaways, and digital graphicsDedicated bookstagrammer and influencer galley mailingExtensive library and academic marketing including galley giveaways E-Newsletter promotion via the publisher to readers, booksellers, and librarians lists of more than 70K contactsReader’s Guide available for downloadHardcover inclu