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Cold Oceans: Adventures in Kayak, Rowboat, and
Dogsled by Jon Turk
From its opening passages, Jon Turk's Cold Oceans chronicles explorations in both exterior and interior landscapes. In honest, accessible prose, Turk retraces more than two decades of his varied and stirring adventures -- attempting to round Cape Horn solo in a kayak, rowing the Northwest Passage, dogsledding the east coast of Baffin Island, and kayaking from Ellesmere Island to Greenland.
As Turk plunges headlong through icy seas, repeated and assorted blunders, and bouts of personal lows, he transcends mere adventure storytelling to explore a changing notion of himself, deepening relationships, and the nature of failure and true success.
These passages contain some of Cold Oceans's greatest riches.
With a host of explorers along as inspirational and literary companions, Turk evokes a landscape of life and history intertwined. After a daring 15-hour crossing to Greenland, Turk wrestles with polar explorer Robert Peary's notion of success, defined by fame and fortune, concluding, "What mattered was that he [Peary] communicated his passion to the world." And this is the success that Turk has achieved in Cold Oceans.
Although the saga of choosing a life of adventure to stave off a more rooted and standard existence may seem a common tale, it is Turk's contemplation of this lifestyle choice that offers some of the book's finest insights. Ultimately, Turk's wanderings reveal how a thirst for adventure can at once drive, fragment, and unify a life. This incongruity is perhaps one of a traveler's greatest ponderings, and Cold Oceans confronts it boldly, piercing the heart of what it means to adventure. -- Amazon.com, Byron Ricks
The Handbook covers most of the medical emergencies one must be prepared to face while recreating off the beaten path. For example: Your mountain biking partner crashes and is sitting in the trail with blood on his face from a scalp wound. What do you do? "Your first instinct is to wipe the blood away and help him up. This is a perfectly natural reaction, but it's dead wrong. Stabilize his neck until you are certain there is no spine injury or other major body system problem, then worry about the laceration." Or: You're caught in an electrical storm while backpacking. Now what? "In the field, the best tactic is to squat with your feet together as low as you can, ideally on your foam pad or backpack, which will help insulate you from ground current...Theoretically, there is a safety zone on the ground about 45 degrees out from the top of a tall object." Covering general emergency medical procedures as well as specific symptoms and accidents--everything from avalanches to snakebites to hypothermia--the Handbook is well-organized, thorough, and practical. But like any useful first-aid guide, it also discusses proper preventative measures and responsible outdoors behavior. -- Amazon.com
The only guide you'll ever need to visit the best parks in the East Here are all the essentials for touring 25 of the best-loved national parks, seashores, forests, a wildlife refuges in the eastern United States. From where to find a reasonably priced room and a hot meal to where to hike and camp, Fodor's National Parks of the East not only describes what to see but also gives you practical information and detailed maps. And you can use it to plan vacation after vacation, year after year. All text in this book was reviewed for accuracy by National Park and Forest Service personnel. Sales of this book help to support the National Parks.
Great information in every chapter Driving tours with the most spectacular scenery, from rugged mountains to magnificent coastlines Extensive reviews of hotels, lodges, campgrounds, and restaurants--both inside and outside the parks The best nature trails, backcountry hikes, strolls on the beach, and picnic spots. Best-in-one-day itineraries. Tips on biking, fishing, swimming, boating, rock climbing, horseback riding, and bird-watching. Detailed information on geology, flora and fauna, weather, historic sites, and local festivals. 33 easy-to-follow maps.
The East's best-loved wildlands
Hot air balloons capture the imagination like no other flying machines. Their beauty and grace combine to weave a spell over onlookers, holding people transfixed to these visions in the sky until the floating craft have passed, leaving those on the ground to marvel at their color,construction, and effortless wafting over hills and treetops. Hot Air Balloons brings these wonders of the sky to the page with enlightening text, aimed to inform the novice balloonist and enhance the expert's knowledge, and full-color photos and illustrations depicting the extraordinary appeal of this sport. Lavishly produced, this book is a stunning tribute to the magnificence of the hot air balloon. -- Synopsis, Amazon.com
30 pencil drawings 7 x 9 Concise, illustrated guides to specific canoe and kayak techniques Step-by-step descriptions of paddle strokes and maneuvers Tips for packing and loading boats, rescuing, portaging, reading water The three books in this new series are concise, crisply illustrated guides to paddling techniques compiled from the pages of Canoe & Kayak magazine. Each book contains some 30 articles on specific maneuvers written by top competitors and instructors, and each article is illustrated by Bruce Morser, an award-winning artist and regular contributor to Canoe & Kayak. The books also contain sections on packing and outfitting boats, executing rescue techniques, and using paddling games to develop skills. Explains and illustrates correct form for a variety of paddle strokes, rolls, ferries, and eddy turns. Includes everything from the basic forward stroke to the open canoe roll and the Capistrano flip. With information on reading water, rescuing, portaging, and playing developmental games. -- Amazon.com
by Robert F. Whelan, Inc Staff Rainbow Books (Illustrator), Betsy Lampe (Editor)
Cloud Dancing: Your Introduction To Gliding And Motorless Flight is a primer for the lay person who is interested in pursuing a highly individual sport that is both exhilarating and easy to learn. Cloud Dancing provides the ultimate in personal freedom -- soaring. Robert Whelan is an aerospace engineer and veteran glider enthusiast who provides a personal, experienced insight into what a budding glider pilot can expect during initial flights, while working toward FAA licensure, when engaging in soaring competitions, and from the soaring community as a whole. An unusual book for an unusual, and ever growing, sport. -- Midwest Book Review
This completely revised edition of a favorite hiking guide is now under new authorship. Tom Thwaites, Pennsylvania's preeminent hiking authority, describes 50 new hikes in clear, congenial prose. Hikes range from one to 14 miles long and cover the area from the Mason-Dixon Line to the Poconos and North Mountain. Gettysburg, the Delaware Water Gap, and Valley Forge are some the natural and historical areas touched. 51 maps. 26 photos. -- Amazon.com
In only six inches of snow, in any place, and at any age, anyone can take part in cross-country skiing, one of the fastest-growing winter sports in the nation. In this illustrated guide, Jules Older examines the technique, equipment, preparations, safety, and ski-touring centers--all in a conversational and entertaining style that emphasizes the importance of going at your own pace and enjoying the outdoors. 100 photos. -- Amazon.com
10 b/w photos 65 maps 5 x 7 Complete descriptions of 170 great day hikes on the AT Easy-to-read topographic maps and elevation profiles for each hike Plants, wildlife, and historical points to see along the way From the spruce forests of Tennessee and the leafy gorges of Virginia to the rolling Pennsylvania hills and the rocky heights of New England, the Appalachian Trail offers 2,200 miles of hiking opportunities. The five books in this series present accurate, detailed information for 170 day hikes (and a few overnighters), all recommended by AT experts. Where to start and finish, water sources and shelters, early exit options, and what to expect on the trail itself are described. Specially commissioned easy-to-read-and-use topographic maps and elevation profiles accompany each recommended hike; mileage data, the best direction to travel, route difficulty, and sources for additional maps and information are also included. Each book points out natural and historical featuresplants, trees, animals, landforms, bridges, vistasthat make the recommended hikes special. 32 hikes in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. -- Amazon.com