Reviews for Wild rivers

The average rating for Wild rivers based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-10-22 00:00:00 William Albert Since reading Karsten Heuer's "Being Caribou" I've been looking forward to reading another epic adventure through Canadian landscapes. Though Gary and Joanie's adventure is just as epic, the story they tell didn't provide the same sense of adventure as Heuer. To me, the story comes across as quite negative. Rather than inspiring me to fall in love with the Canadian landscape they were advocating for (as Heuer did with the porcupine caribou herd), they instead inspired hate for the causes of its destruction. As effective as that can be, it makes me think the landscape is already lost and there's no hope in working to save it. I found Joanie's writing quite condescending and a bit egotistical, and by the end was annoyed with her...something that doesn't happen often between me and the story teller. The writing focused on explaining in detail the difficulties endured (e.g. mosquitoes, wind, rain, daily annoyances), but only glossed over the truly wonderful/magical moments (experiences with wildlife, accomplishments on difficult rapids, etc). I'm inspired to protect natural things because of the intrinsic value I see in them. By not dedicating as much effort to describing the things they loved about the trip and their surroundings, I found myself uninspired. The McGuffin's story is still very important. And not many authors go to the length they did to tell it - paddling and portaging 6,000 miles across Canada. They highlight the environmental and social destruction of hydro dams in the far north - something hidden from the eyes of us 'southern' dwellers. The McGuffin's story does inspire me to pick up a paddle to experience my own adventure. If that was one of their goals, they won!

Review # 2 was written on 2020-03-23 00:00:00 Larry Jefferson Super-inspiring journey of the McGuffin's journey from the St Lawrence to the Arctic Ocean. For any dreamer who's rolled out the maps and plotted a similar journey, this book provides some good tips, such as the shortcut up the Ottawa River with a quick portage over to Georgian Bay (skipping Lake Ontario, Erie, much of Huron and of course Niagara Falls!), the unexpected beauty of the (now-dammed) Winnipeg River, and the "bifurcation lake" of Wollasotn Lake - a lake with an outlet flowing in two directions, allowing for a portage-free crossing into the Arctic watershed! This was the McGuffins' first book, and some of the annoying hectoring and naivete of people in their early 20s who think they know more than they do comes through in the writing, but it is greatly outweighed by their passion for nature and their home country.