Book description
One hundred years ago, a young doctor from Cleveland by the name of
Robert Newcomb, travelled north to a place called Temagami. It was as
far north as one could travel by any modern means. Beautiful beyond
any simple expletive, the Temagami wilderness was a land rich in
timber, clear-water lakes, fast flowing rivers, mystery and adventure.
Newcomb befriended the local Aboriginals -- the Deep Water People --
and quickly discovered the best way to explore was by canoe. Bewitched
by the spirit of an interior river named after the elusive brook
trout, Majamagosibi, Newcomb had a remote cabin built overlooking one
of her precipitous cataracts.
The cabin remained unused for decades, save for a few passing
canoeists; it changed ownership twice and slowly began to show its
age. The author discovered the cabin while on a canoe trip in 1970.
Like Newcomb, Hap Wilson was lured to Temagami in pursuit of adventure
and personal sanctuary. That search for sanctuary took the author
incredible distances by canoe and snowshoe, through near death
experiences and Herculean challenges. Secretly building cabins,
homesteading and working as a park ranger, Wilson finally became owner
of The Cabin in 2000.
Artist, author and adventurer, Hap Wilson is perhaps best known for
his ecotourism/travel guidebooks. He has led over 300 wilderness
expeditions in Canada, and served as actor Pierce Brosnan's personal
outdoor trainer for the feature film Grey Owl."This is a complex
and fascinating story, beautifully told. At first, it draws us in
because the author appears to be living the life we all dream of-a
simpler life, close to nature, free from the stress and strain of our
consumer culture. But the reality, with its myriad challenges, is what
holds our attention and gives the book its substance."
- Judith Ruan, Muskoka Magazine
Hap Wilson has been a wilderness adventurer and guide for over 30
years. A self-taught writer, artist and photographer, he is also one
of Canada's best-known canoeists and the author of several books,
including Canoeing, Kayaking and Hiking Temagami, Rivers of the Upper
Ottawa Valley: Myth, Magic and Adventure, Missinaibi: Journey to the
Northern Sky: From Lake Superior to James Bay By Canoe, Wilderness
Rivers of Manitoba: Journey By Canoe Through the Land Where the Spirit
Lives and Canoeing and Hiking Wild Muskoka: An Eco-Adventure Guide.
His hand-drawn maps and illustrations were featured in Voyages:
Canada's Heritage Rivers, which won the Natural Resources of America
Award for Best Environmental Book. Wilson worked as actor Pierce
Brosnan's personal skills trainer in the Attenborough movie Grey Owl.
He lives with his wife and two children in the Muskoka and Temagami
lakes districts of Ontario.
Hap Wilson's recent entry, "Follow Your Blissters," in the
International Regional Magazine Association annual awards, as
submitted by Cottage Life, won an Award of Merit in the General
Feature category. The judges said: "Hap Wilson's achievement in
building this cabin is matched by his writing - crisp and
well-paced.... Gentle humour in the lead carries into the rest of the
article, providing an engaging thread to tie together personal
experience, observation and research."
