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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 9, 2017)
NOVEMBER 9, 2017 // 19 Authors paddle through the Northern Pacific coast Over the past week, your faithful book critic has paddled through more than 500 pages of words about journeys along the inland waters of the North- ern Pacific coast. Erin McKittrick’s book, “Mud Flats and Fish Camps,” details a trek she and her young family undertook by pack raft and on foot around 800 miles of Alaska’s Cook Inlet. In another book, “Pad- dling with Spirits,” Irene Skyriver marks her 40th birthday by launching on a solo kayak journey that follows the water routes her coastal ancestors plied from Alaska to the San Juan Islands. Let’s begin with McK- ittrick. This is not the first time the Seattle-born trans- plant to Alaska has tackled epic journeys and written about them. But in this age of push-button convenience and screen-mediated life- styles, how remarkable it is to follow her young fami- ly’s four-month immersive trek along the saltwater fringes of big wilderness. McKittrick, her husband and their 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter take to this life like otters to mudslides — and is there ever a lot of mud! At one point her son gleefully yells, “Our goal is to get more muddy!” He and his sister take “immersive adventure” literally. The author’s ability to describe mud in a hundred different ways is notewor- thy, but where she really excels is in examining the interface between human activity and Alaskan geog- raphy. The state’s biggest city, Anchorage, is situated on Cook Inlet. So are sea- sonal fish camps, offshore oil platforms and a whole lot of wilderness. McKittrick combines present-day observations with reflections on the records of earlier explorers and settlers who came to this cold saltwater coastline of seemingly endless bays and estuaries and inlets. She asks of everyone they meet along the way what they think the future holds for this place. At the beginning of the 21st century, McK- ittrick’s family is still able to pursue an adventurous life away from highways and shopping plazas, if not entirely off the grid. But readers will detect the au- thor’s underlying concern that Alaska’s wilderness is as vulnerable as it is vast. In “Paddling with Spirits,” Irene Skyriver may adopt a similar mode of travel, but her journey is more about connecting spiritually with the places her forebears came from than about what will be- come of those places in the future. In contrast to McK- ittrick’s careful prepara- tions, Skyriver approaches her quest by mailing her itinerary to a psychic for guidance. This free-spirit- ed, “fringe of the fringe” style — the author never wears her lifejacket — guarantees that surprises will crop up along the way. Her travel agenda may seem disconcertingly spon- taneous, but Skyriver’s in- tentionality becomes clear in the way she weaves the stories of her ancestors into the landscapes and water- ways she passes through. Anecdotes passed down through the generations in her family, richly recreat- ed, take up the bulk of the book and are bracketed by the author’s breezy con- temporary travelogue. “Paddling with Spirits” BOOKMONGER Mud Flats and Fish Camps By Erin McKittrick Mountaineers Books 224 pp $18.95 is set to be published Fri- day, Nov. 10. The Bookmonger is Barbara Lloyd McMichael, who writes this weekly col- Paddling with Spirits By Irene Skyriver Green Writers Press 292 pp $21.95 umn focusing on the books, authors and publishers of the Pacific Northwest. Contact her at bkmonger@ nwlink.com. Crossword Answer M O W S S H A H G I L D A O C T E T N O Y O U D I D N T L A W D J A F A R A B A C I O U T B R E I A M L A S U C R U P A H N E S W O O E S S S F L H E L P U E R I H S E L F I L L A C K A D T H E R O W A N A T T R H A S R E H E V E I N A A C R N I E S P N D A L E L E G E N Y D O W N O S E E A D R L D T I S E S D O P M A N E R O S E A D N Y E T P R P Y A T R U N O N O L A S E P D I N N E R F M A G Y A R S B E L L A G I O S L S A O T T U P O B A H W F U E B E S H O A T H D A H E R I I G T A L D I A B I L A B O A Y A U R A R N A N D D R S K S A P H T I S O O N P W N A K E N H O L S T W C S H E H B E L T U B L O W Z E L A Z E C D E G F I N D E O E S E S S A S Open 7am Daily! K A S R D A S O G R E S P E E R E U L E R R E T R O O R E O T S K S 5:00 pm Downtown Astoria Every month, year ‘round! Nov . 11 th SERVING BREAKFAST, LUNCH & SUPPER European Style Coffeehouse by day, intimate bistro offering neo-regional cuisine by night. Regional selection of beers, wines and vintage cocktails available. We cater your event! Weekly Specials: 5-8 PM Sushi & Martinis Mondays Taco & Margarita Thursdays (3 Buck Tacos) 243 11th Street, Astoria, OR 97103 503-325-1787 www.AstoriaCoffeeHouse.com Follow & “Like” us on Facebook Visit Downtown Astoria on the 2nd Saturday of every month for art, music, and general merriment! Presented by the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association astoriadowntown.com facebook/astoriadowntown.com