Running the Amazon: Thoughts

Joe Kane’s Running the Amazon was an incredible journey trapped inside a mediocre book. That probably sounds harsher than I mean it to be, but I think a journey by river across the entire South American continent deserves better than average travel memoirs writing. Though not nearly as bad as Eric Hansen’s Stranger in the Forest, I feel like the author spent too much time focusing on petty things, like arguments between expedition members, and (like Hansen) never failed to mention anything even remotely indecent that occurred during his seven month journey. He also spent a surprising amount of time sleeping in hotels. It’s a shame, because I feel like Kane had a lot more potential than that with this book. He started out just like Hansen, as a “non-adventurer” whose main purpose in traveling abroad was to try and write a bestseller. However, over time, I noticed a slight change in Kane. As the expedition team grew smaller and smaller, he stepped up to the plate and managed to grow beyond this narrow focus, and in the end, he truly achieved something remarkable.

The journey began high in the Peruvian Andes, not more than 200 miles from the Pacific Ocean. From the top of the continental divide, Kane and three of his companions traveled over 4,000 miles from frozen glaciers, through whitewater canyons, and down the entire length of the Amazon to the Atlantic Ocean.

The most exciting part of the book was the section of the river they traveled called the Acobamba Abyss. This section of the river was high in the mountains and canyon walls were so tall and narrow that in places they appeared to connect at the top. The river was riddled with class VI whitewater rapids with little or no way around. (A class VI rapid is one that poses extreme threat to life with little chance of rescue.) The team would portage around the class VI rapids that they could, but many of them were unavoidable because of the steep canyon walls. It is remarkable that they didn’t have more accidents, especially since all but one of the team took a swim in the whitewater. This part of the book was exciting and easy to get lost in, unlike later in the book when they seemed to go from one river-town bar to another.

Though I didn’t love the book, I do want to give credit where credit is due. Joe Kane and his companion Piotr Chmielinski traveled the entire length of the world’s longest river entirely under their own power. They were the first, and as far as I know the only, ones to accomplish this incredible feat. They battled freezing temperatures, whitewater, and altitude sickness in the high Andes, and in the Amazon basin they faced scorching heat, wild animals, disease, narco-traffickers, and exhaustion. Nonetheless, they endured… and they didn’t stop paddling until the water beneath them became salty. And for that I have to tip my hat to them.

  

My rating: 5 out of 10

March's Book: Running the Amazon

The voyage began in the lunar terrain of the Peruvian Andes, where coca leaf is the only remedy against altitude sickness. It continued down rapids so fierce they could swallow a raft in a split second. It ended six months and 4,200 miles later, where the Amazon runs gently into the Atlantic. Joe Kane's personal account of the first expedition to travel the entirety of the world's longest river is a riveting adventure in the tradition of Joseph Conrad, filled with death-defying encounters: with narco-traffickers and Sendero Luminoso guerrillas and nature at its most unforgiving. Not least of all, Running the Amazon shows a polyglot group of urbanized travelers confronting their wilder selves -- their fear and egotism, selflessness and courage.

(Summary from the back of the book)

Minus 148°: Thoughts

Minus 148° is the thrilling account of the first winter ascent of Mount McKinley. The tale of tragedy, triumph, trial, and rescue is enough to satisfy any adventure seeker. For me though, I enjoyed this book because of the people I read about. Two men in particular inspired me and make me want to emulate their examples.

The first was a climber named Shiro Nishimae. I loved reading about Shiro and his willingness to give his all for those around him. On those cold, dark mornings, when everyone stayed in the warmth of their sleeping bags as long as possible, Shiro was always the first one out of bed and would begin making warm drinks for his companions. When there was a job to be done, Shiro did it, no questions asked. When the team found their camp was exposed to high winds, Shiro set out in search of a suitable site for a snow cave, and completely exhausted his strength digging it out before relief came. The author noted that, even though Shiro was the smallest of the group, he “always tried to do as much of the strenuous work as anyone.” He took the initiative in a “gentle but forceful manner” often considering the well being of his companions before his own.

The ultimate demonstration of Shiro’s sacrifice was when he gave up his chance at the summit to return to camp with another climber who had become discouraged. That decision saved at least one life when trouble arose later, and may have saved the lives of the whole team.

Another climber that inspired me was affectionately called “Pirate” by the rest of the team. Ray Genet was a large man with a thick black beard and an infectious smile. He received his nickname on the day the men were sorting out their climbing gear when, instead of writing his name on everything as his companions were doing, he drew a large skull and crossbones on each of his belongings. Pirate had next to no climbing experience before joining the team, but his endless enthusiasm and his refusal to be left out convinced the others to bring him along. Throughout the climb, Pirate inspired everyone with his constant war whoops and his cheerful nature. However, it wasn’t until starvation threatened him and his friends that Pirate showed just exactly what kind of man he really was.

Coming down the mountain, Art, Dave, and Pirate got stuck in a blizzard. They managed to dig a snow cave for shelter, but not until after Art had frozen his hands and Pirate had frozen his feet. It was in this setting that they experienced their lowest temperature of the climb. With winds over 130 mph, and -45° temperatures outside they calculated “an equivalent wind-chill temperature somewhere off the end of the chart; the last figure on the chart was minus 148°.” The men remained in this setting for several days, not being able to move for fear that the extreme winds would blow them off the side of the mountain. Soon they were low on gas, and knew that their only chance for survival was to find the extra bottle of gas that had been stashed somewhere outside in the storm. The men lay in their sleeping bags for hours, not wanting to be the one to volunteer to go out into the storm, possibly never to return. Art was the warmest of the three, and Dave had not frozen any of his limbs like the other had done, but still, neither of them wanted to leave the shelter of the cave. Without saying a word, Pirate got out of his sleeping bag, pulled on his boots and left the cave, returning with the can of gas that saved all of their lives. Though he was by far in the worst condition of the three, he made no excuses and did what had to be done. I admire this act, and this man who so unassumingly took one for the team.

Men like this remind me that these adventure books are about so much more than just exploration and discovery. They are about ordinary men facing whatever the world can throw at them. And some men, when they are brought down to their lowest, can rise up and teach all the rest of us how to truly live a life worth living.

My rating: 8 out of 10

February's Book: Minus 148°

1967, eight men attempted North America's highest summit: Mount McKinley (now known as Denali) had been climbed before but never in winter. Plagued by doubts and cold, group tension and a crevasse tragedy, the expedition tackled McKinley in minimal hours of daylight and fierce storms. They were trapped at three different camps above 14,000 feet during a six-day blizzard and faced the ultimate low temperature of 148° F.

Minus 148° is Art Davidson's stunning personal narrative, supplemented by diary excerpts from team members George Wichman, John Edwards, Dave Johnston, and Greg Blomberg. Davidson retells the team's fears and frictions and ultimate triumph with an honesty that has made this gripping survival story a mountaineering classic for over 40 years.

(Summary from Goodreads.com)

Cooper's Creek: Thoughts

Cooper’s Creek is the heart-wrenching account of the 1860s expedition to cross the interior of Australia from south to north. No one had ever survived this journey before, in fact, the colonies all around the coast of Australia didn’t even know what they would find in the interior of the continent. Many believed that there would be a large inland sea, while others believed there would be tremendous mountain ranges. Part of the purpose of the journey was exploration and discovery, as the author put it, “to go where no one else had ever been before.” Another reason for the expedition was the fact that the south of Australia was separated from Europe by 4 months journey, and if they were successfully able to cross the continent on foot, then it would be possible to connect the colonies with Europe by telegraph, reducing communication time to a matter of hours.

The leader of the expedition was a man named Robert O’Hara Burke, and his second in command was 26 year-old William John Wills. After months of preparation and traveling to get themselves into position to make a push across the interior, Burke and Wills set out on a mad dash to the Gulf of Carpentaria with two other companions, John King and Charley Gray. They left behind the bulk of their team and supplies at a depot on Cooper’s Creek, where they intended to return in three months time. Everything went well for a while, but then all good fortune failed them. I can’t think of another group of travelers that had worse luck.

Burke and company made it across the continent all right, but on their return journey to Cooper’s Creek, they ran out of food, and when they were just one day out from the depot, Charley Gray passed away. The team began the task of burying Gray, which in their exhausted state took them most of the day. That evening they arrived at the depot and Wills’ personal journal relates what they found.

“Sunday 21^st April 1861.—Arrived at the depot this evening, just in time to find it deserted. A note left in the plant by Brahe communicates the pleasing information that they had started today for the Darling [another river].”

The backup crew had been stationed at the depot with instructions to await the return of Burke’s team, but at the direction of their leader Brahe, they had abandoned the depot the very morning of the day when Burke returned. In their worn out condition, Burke, Wills and King could not even consider chasing after Brahe’s team. They left a note buried in the cache and slowly continued on down the Cooper, choosing to remain next to a source of water rather than follow after Brahe. The rest of their story is nothing short of tragic.

Burke’s team missed Brahe by about 9 hours. 15 days later Brahe returned to the depot to see if anyone had come, but failed to notice they had been there. About three weeks later, Burke’s team thinks they hear a gunshot, so Wills makes a mad dash back to the depot to see if anyone is there and he doesn’t realize that Brahe has been back. About three months later, Brahe returns with the rescue party and doesn’t detect that Burke’s team has been there since he last left. Brahe stayed only a few minutes and then continued on. The next day, the rescue party found King wandering through the desert like a mad man, Burke and Wills having died at the end of June.

I have to admit I struggled with this book. First of all, this is the first book that I’ve read from this list that was not written in the first person by someone who experienced the adventure, so it was harder for me to connect with the story. The constant back and forth of bad luck was also maddening at times. The author said it in this way,

“Even across a gap of a hundred years it is difficult not to feel indignant. This was too hard; surely they might have been allowed, if not success, at least a little respite: a shower of rain, a pigeon… making for a waterhole, just one faint whisper of hope instead of this endless implacable rejection. The narrow margin by which they had missed Brahe at the depot had been, in the main, bad luck, and Brahe’s failure on his return visit to realize that they had been there, though maddening, was a comprehensible twist of fate.”

In light of this terrible ending to their expedition, it is important to recognize that Burke, Wills and King were successful in achieving what they set out to achieve. The fact that they all died as a result of their journey (King died a year after being rescued, having never fully recovered) does not diminish the reality that they achieved something truly remarkable.

My rating: 6 out of 10

January's Book: Cooper's Creek

In 1860, an expedition set out from Melbourne, Australia, into the interior of the country, with the mission to find a route to the northern coast. Headed by Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills, the party of adventurers, scientists, and camels set out into the outback hoping to find enough water and to keep adequate food stores for their trek into the bush. Almost one year later, Burke, Wills, and two others from their party, Gray and King, reached the northern shore but on their journey back, they were stranded at Cooper's Creek where all but King perished. Cooper's Creek is a gripping, intense historical narrative about the harshness of the Australian outback and the people who were brave enough to go into the very depths of that uncharted country.

(Summary from the back of the book)

No Picnic on Mount Kenya: Thoughts

“No Picnic on Mount Kenya” was an exciting and unique take on a mountain climbing adventure. With the ultimate goal of climbing the 17,000 ft Mount Kenya (the second tallest mountain in Africa), Benuzzi and his companions first had to escape from the POW camp where they were held captive. What makes this story even more unique is that these men planned from the very beginning to return to their prison camp after their attempt on the mountain. They had many reasons for this, and I won’t list them here, but their chief motivation was to escape the monotony of camp life. They had no hopes of escaping and making it away safely, but since they had to wait in prison they wanted something to help them pass the time.

So they began preparing a mountain climbing expedition in complete secret while in the confines of a POW camp. They had to collect everything they could save by way of food and supplies over a period of eight months, while at the same time using scrap metal to manufacture much of their gear, including ice axes and crampons. These men endeavored to climb a world class peak using ropes that were intended to secure their bed sheets to their bunks. Now that’s what I call chutzpah!

After a clever escape from camp and a treacherous crossing of occupied territory, the group of travelers found themselves in the heart of an African jungle. This was big game territory with wild rhinos, elephants, lions, leopards, etc. and all they had to defend themselves were two ice axes they had converted from hammers. After several close calls with a rhino, a leopard, and an elephant, they finally reached the base of the mountain and were able to begin their ascent.

I won’t recount the whole story here… I just hoped to illustrate how awesome this book really is. It’s a prison break, a jungle safari, and a mountain climb all rolled into one. It was a lot of fun to read. That being said, one of the things that made this book meaningful to me was the way it captures the indomitable nature of man. Benuzzi and his companions were prisoners of war, stuck in what is arguably one of the most demoralizing of all human experiences. And yet, when they looked out the door of their bunk house each morning, they could see the summit of Mount Kenya towering above them in the clouds, and their spirits were drawn to it.

Benuzzi put it like this, “standing in the ranks at morning roll-call and seeing Batian [the peak of Mount Kenya] beckoning me with its shimmering glaciers, I sometimes felt like running away on the spot, to seek and to meet adventure halfway.”

One of the things I found most humorous about this story was the note that Benuzzi and his companions left when they escaped. They sent a letter to their camp commander letting him know that they were escaping, but that they would be back in fourteen days. I wonder what must have been going through the commander’s head when he read that note! After their adventure, the men snuck back in to camp and took a day to read their mail and get some food in their systems before turning themselves in to the commander. They were sentenced to twenty eight days in solitary confinement as punishment, but only served seven days of their sentence because the commander “appreciated [their] sporting effort.” Sounds to me like a small price to pay for such a life changing adventure!

My rating: 7 out of 10