4/4/2023 0 Comments Tip of the iceberg![]() ![]() Adams' description of his journey is interesting, especially as compared to Muir's voyage a century ago, and often touching and hilarious. Even a frontier as wild and isolated and imposing as Alaska is impermanent and under siege by forces visible and invisible. What was once pristine is now trampled, harvested, pillaged, disappearing. These two ideas, compared side by side, reflect the basic gist of Mark Adams' journey through Alaska. ![]() Believe me, it could be the event of a lifetime." And if you are young, what are you waiting for? Check the ferry timetable, grab a sleeping bag, and go. "If you are old and want to see the finest scenery in the world, there's no time like the present. America's new president is reviewing monuments preserved under the Antiquities Act and considering lifting a ban on uranium mining in the area surrounding the Grand Canyon, which could contaminate its waters. ![]() The frozen poles are melting into the sea at an alarming rate. As I type this, however, the ocean is warming and clogged with millions of tons of plastic. Reflecting on this quote, Adams writes, "The optimism of men like Muir and Grinnell helped preserve Alaska for generations that followed. "Fortunately, Nature has a few big places beyond Man's power to spoil - the ocean, the two icy ends of the globe, and the Grand Canyon," wrote John Muir more than one hundred years ago, whose shadow Mark Adams chased throughout the book. Along the way, he encounters dozens of unusual characters (and a couple of very hungry bears) and investigates how lessons learned in 1899 might relate to Alaska's current struggles in adapting to climate change. Elder's itinerary north through Wrangell, Juneau, and Glacier Bay, then continuing west into the colder and stranger regions of the Aleutians and the Arctic Circle. Using the state's intricate public ferry system, the Alaska Marine Highway System, Adams travels three thousand miles, following the George W. As ever, it remains a magnet for weirdos and dreamers.Īrmed with Dramamine and an industrial-strength mosquito net, Mark Adams sets out to retrace the 1899 expedition. More than a hundred years later, Alaska is still America's most sublime wilderness, both the lure that draws a million tourists annually on Inside Passage cruises and a natural resources larder waiting to be raided. Those aboard encountered a land of immeasurable beauty and impending environmental calamity. Harriman organized a most unusual summer voyage to the wilds of Alaska: He converted a steamship into a luxury "floating university," populated by some of America's best and brightest scientists and writers, including the anti-capitalist eco-prophet John Muir. From the acclaimed, bestselling author of Turn Right at Machu Picchu, a fascinating and funny journey into Alaska, America's last frontier, retracing the historic 1899 Harriman Expedition. ![]()
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