Rowing To Latitude, Journeys Along the Arctic's Edge

This book belongs to one of my very favorite categories of books, that of true-life outdoor adventure. This book, "Rowing to Latitude" by Jill Fredston, was very enjoyable. The book is about the author and her husband who are avalanche experts in Alaska, and spend the 4-month off-season each year rowing along a different northern coastline. Ms. Fredston rows backwards in an ocean-sturdy skiff with a sliding seat and oars. Her husband Doug Fesler spent the first 13 thousand miles kayaking, but then switched to a boat with a sliding seat and oars also due to greater speed allowed by that type of boat. Each year they plan a trip to a different coastline. In this book she details memories from their trips; Seattle to Skagway, the Yukon River (Skagway to Nome), the Chukchi Sea, the Mackenzie River to the Arctic Ocean, the coast of Labrador, the coast of Norway, Svalbard islands, and the coast of Greenland.

This adventure book is an interesting overview of the peoples, landscapes and animals they encountered along the way and the trials and difficulties they overcame on the journeys. There is so much land and water in the northern hemisphere that is uncharted, unexplored and relatively unknown. The few people they interacted with are relatively isolated from the rest of the world so that at times it seemed like they lived in another time.

Ms. Fredston writes with intelligence and clarity, deftly choosing which details to share with us to give us a clear picture of her experience. I don't necessarily agree with all her conclusions, but I appreciate her honesty as she shares her thoughts with us.

This was a interesting, low stress book that stimulated all the adventure genes in me without the usual intensity and suspense of most of the outdoor adventure books I have read before. I thoroughly enjoyed it! This book would make a great summer beach read.