Book description
The boreal forest of Quebec/Labrador -- some of the most rugged and
isolated land in Canada -- has captivated avid canoeists for
generations. In the latter 19th and early 20th centuries, the intrepid
A. P. Low of the Geological Survey of Canada spent, in total, more
than ten years of his working life surveying the area. Employing
Aboriginal canoemen and guides, he travelled by canoe, snowshoe and
sailing vessel to map and document much of this vast territory.
Challenged by the mystique of this extraordinary Canadian, canoeists
Max Finkelstein and James Stone
retraced Low's routes -- by their admission, their toughest canoe trip
ever! Using archival sources, oral history and personal experience,
they tell the story of A. P. Low and, in the process, reveal the
environmental issues now facing this much threatened Canadian wilderness.
"Once again Max Finkelstein has blessed us
with his incredible ability to make history of exploration come alive.
Rather than sit behind a desk and try to imagine the 'misadventures'
Low would have had, he goes out and duplicates them, and along the way
creates a few tales of his own. This is one great read and we should
be thankful that people like Max and Jim Stone exist
in this world of ours."
- Kevin Callan, well-known
author and canoeist
"From A. P. Low's logs and reports, Max
Finkelstein and Jim Stone give vitality to
that great geological surveyor. Interspersed are vivid accounts of
their own challenging canoe voyages on the same rivers and portages of
the boreal forest and rock in the James Bay/Ungava/Labrador country of
the Cree, Innu and Inuit. What emerges is an eloquent testimonial for
the wilderness canoe trip in the Canadian experience."
Bruce W. Hodgins, Emeritus Professor of History, Trent
University; President, Camp Wanapitei; Member, Advisory Council,
Canadian Canoe Museum
Paddler, author, environmentalist and raconteur, Max
Finkelstein works as the Communications Officer for the Canadian
Heritage Rivers System, Canada's national program for river
conservation. When he is not speaking about, writing about, or
otherwise promoting Canada's river heritage, Max can usually be found
paddling on a river. He has paddled over 22,000 kilometres in North
America, Europe, Africa and Australia. His first book,
Canoeing a Continent: On the Trail of Alexander Mackenzie
, which described his experiences retracing the historic first
crossing of North America by a European, was released by Natural
Heritage in 2002.
Paddling the Boreal Forest: Rediscovering A. P. Low
, an extraordinary project undertaken with his friend and
paddling partner James Stone, sent the two of them to northern
Quebec to retrace and experience first-hand the routes of geologist,
map-maker and explorer A. P. Low.
Max and his wife, Connie Downes, live in Ottawa, where they are
introducing their son, Isaac Thelon, to a life of travelling on and
learning about rivers.
James Stone works as an economist at the Department of
International Trade Canada. He first rediscovered A. P. Low while a
student at Queen's University and kept the idea of writing the
biography of this man in the back of his mind since then. Jim has
varied northern experience, including geodetic mapping in northern
Quebec and the Yukon, canoeing the Nahanni, the Hanbury/Thelon Rivers,
and now the Eastmain and Rupert Rivers. On a posting in Brussels he
also helped to keep the European market open for Canadian fur.
He is currently posted in Singapore, where he ignored the hot and
humid weather to write about A. P. Low's adventures in the north. His
spouse Michaela and sons Adam and Benjamin have been highly supportive
of his northern leanings and may yet go on a northern trip with him.
