Where Rivers Run: A 6,000-Mile Exploration of Canada by Canoe

by Gary McGuffin and Joanie McGuffin

Book Overview

Atypical honeymoon story. To fulfill their dream of traveling from sea to sea in a canoe, wilderness adventurers Joanie and Gary McGuffin, recently married, set out from the Gulf of St. Lawrence... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0773722076
• ISBN13: 9780773722071
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: Stoddart
• Length: 241 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Where Rivers Run: A 6,000-Mile Exploration of Canada by Canoe

"Where Rivers Run" is a wonderful book by the Canadian outdoor couple Gary and Joanie McGuffin, who have made a name for themselves as outdoor writers and photographers since they made their 6,000 mile voyage in the early 1980's. Their trip, retracing the voyageur's route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Beaufort Sea, took them 2 long summer seasons. I have read quite a few "expedition" books and this is one of my favorites. There are excellent section maps of their route. The authors are very honest about the hardships and joys that they experienced along the whole trip.They encounter environmental pollution at many places along their route and they write accurate portraits of the countryside and people along the way. It is very apparent that they love the historic north and they write well about their experiences. The evolution of their skills as voyageurs is told in detail: from having their equipment ripped off along the St. Lawrence River and battling wind, waves and current to learning about Native subsistence fishing along Arctic Red River. A fun book by an optimistic young pair of adventurers who aren't afraid to live out their dreams.

Where rivers "mostly" run

I found the McGuffins' story both engrossing and disturbing. Joannie just tells the truth: Many of the worst challenges of their pretty incredible, well planned, rugged and successful trip resulted from industrial development such as sewage and tanker propwash on the St. Lawrence R., and pollution, flooding and ecosystem destruction caused by hydroelectric dams in the more remote parts of the old NWC/HBC route through Cumberland House. But the friendliness and helpfulness of the people they ran into in remote places is still there and so is their infectious wonder at unspoiled wildness in the many places where they found it. The challenge for all of us seeking a nostalgic reconnection to unspoiled nature and history is to find and enjoy it under a mostly distressing overlay of increasing environmental abuses. Joannie succeeded despite the odds. The McGuffins' story was an eye-opener and page-turner for me.