The Twenty-Ninth Day: Surviving a Grizzly Attack in the Canadian Tundra

The Twenty-Ninth Day: Surviving a Grizzly Attack in the Canadian Tundra by Alex Messenger is a harrowing tale set in a beautiful topography. 

After growing up going to kayaking camp each summer, Alex Messenger joins four other high school seniors and one adult for a six hundred mile trek / paddle across the Canadian taiga, tundra and lakes in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. 

The group is transported by small plane to Wholdia Lake to start their adventure. The planed route is forty-two days long. They will not likely see any other humans until they overlap with a group of young women doing a different path that leads to the same final village. 

The trip is gorgeous. It is land that few people see. The lakes and portages are beautifully described. It is the trip of a lifetime.

Then on the twenty-ninth day, a day of rest, Alex takes a short walk on an island in the middle of a huge lake. He has napped and missed the rest of the group who have just returned from their walk. He plans to climb the hill and get some photographs of the landscape.  

It is rate to even see a grizzly bear. The team had seen two already on the trail - both a safe distance away. But this day Alex surprises one. He fights back, using his hard-sided camera case to swing at the bear. But he is badly hurt. When he comes to, with no idea how long he was unconscious, he can see the bear leaving from the corner of his eye. 

Once the bear is out of site, Alex used his last adrenaline to get back to camp. Then he has to decide if his injuries can be taken care of in the wild, or a helicopter or plane should pick him up. The next part of the trek includes daily check ins on the satellite phone, consulting with doctors in Minnesota, where the guys live. Each day is a balance between staying (thought to be better for PTS) or getting medical attention from an actual doctor. 

Messenger used his journals and the input of his trip mates to put together his incredible story. Even in spite of the attack, after reading this, I would jump at the chance to canoe though Canada! Read this book for an amazing, real-life, adventure. 

Messenger, Alex. (2019). The Twenty-Ninth Day: Surviving a Grizzly Attack in the Canadian Tundra. Oregon: Blackstone Publishing.