Caroline Van Hemert

Nonfiction Memoir 2019 | 307 pages

What a truly remarkable story!  Caroline and Pat travel 4000 miles from Bellingham in Washington State to Kotzebue, Alaska, completely under their own power ... hiking, paddling, and rowing.  It takes them six months in 2012 as they chase Alaska's short summer weather.  The astounding journey is one of wilderness, personal growth, adventure, memoir, and the cementing of a married couple's love.  Of course, there are close calls and harrowing tales, but these are far surpassed by her exquisite descriptions of what they see and hear and acknowledge, often far, far from any civilization.  Caroline Van Hemert is an extraordinary writer, and the pages fly by.

Caroline is an ornithologist, so we track an inordinate number of bird species on both their migration north and as they leave again to go south.  The hard part about taking in her immeasurable knowledge is not being able to SEE the birds she describes so eloquently.  I wanted this book to be a picture book!  I was quite moved by their travels through one of my own favorite places on the planet, The Brooks Range.  Of course, my short view, mostly from a prop plane, does not hold the smidgen of a candle to their crossing by foot and water.  If you enjoy the outdoors, you will enjoy this book.  It is so different from many other real-life adventure stories because the route is completely new and made up by Caroline and Pat. This is not another ascent of Annapurna, nor a story about traversing The Appalachian Trail.  Not only is the writing unique, but so is the territory, their path, and their shared journey.  I definitely recommend!

Thank you, Rynda!!

December 2021