Few outdoor pursuits are as involved as river trips, and few are equally exhausting and rewarding. The river trip, be it a summer long expedition or a day float just outside of town, embodies the adventure once experienced by the early pioneers. In North America’s youth, river runners were commonly referred to as ‘voyageurs’. The name came from the French Canadians, who … [Read more...] about 99 Days on the Yukon
Walter Arnold Revisited
When I think ‘mountain man’ and ‘Maine’, it’s tough not to think back to Walter Arnold. Sure, we have a few folks left in northern Maine who spend a significant amount of time living in the woods, but Arnold was considered by most to be the state’s last true mountain man. For two decades, until shortly before his death in 1980, Walt lived alone in a cabin on the shore of Indian … [Read more...] about Walter Arnold Revisited
Jim Rearden’s Alaska
Alaska is a vast land filled with adventure and opportunity, but it’s also a state of mind, a symbol of freedom, and a home for some of the more adventurous characters out there. Jim Rearden was a unique and special Alaskan. He not only experienced the state and its outdoor paradise in its infancy, he also met many of the legends and crazy characters that make the place so … [Read more...] about Jim Rearden’s Alaska
Staying Alive in Alaska’s Wild: Andy Nault
“Unless you change your lifestyle, you’ve got about six months to live.” Folks have been hearing those words from the doctor, in some form or another, since the beginning of modern medicine. Most don’t change. Some try diet and exercise for a while, but lifestyle changes are hard, and most end up living out their final months in some sort of miserable state. Not Andy … [Read more...] about Staying Alive in Alaska’s Wild: Andy Nault
Sam O. White, Alaskan
So many of us dream of going to Alaska, but only a few actually take the plunge. Sam O. White was one of those early adventuring pioneers who helped shape the great northern territory before it was even a state. Born in Eustis, Maine in 1891, the young woodsman longed for adventure after fighting overseas in World War I, and found a job that would take him to wild places. … [Read more...] about Sam O. White, Alaskan