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.

The River

The River by Peter Heller is a peaceful boat ride through a series of lakes...until it is not.

Wynn and Jack have one month to traverse a series of lakes and a river ending in Hudson Bay in northern Canada. They both love to fish, canoe, and be in nature. They have allotted themselves more time than it should take so they can enjoy the peace and solitude.

During a foggy evening, they hear a man and woman arguing from the shore. They give the couple a wide berth so not to intrude.

The next day, in the next lake, the wind shifts and Wynn and Jack smell smoke. Jack climbs a tree and sees a huge forest fire racing toward them. No more taking their time.

They agree to warn the couple they passed, but when they go back to the previous lake they cannot find anyone. The make up the lost miles and camp at the top of the first set of falls on the river.

Before they carry their boat and supplies down the trail to the bottom of the large waterfall, they see a man in a canoe. He is alone and looks lost. When they call him over - saving him from going over the falls - he is disoriented and confused. Is he the same man from the couple? If so, where is his wife?

Heller writes beautifully. His story flows like a river. He makes readers want to paddle this set of lakes even in spite of the second half of the book where there may be a killer and there is definitely a huge forest fire coming for the characters. This is a great read that will fly by but and stick with you for a while. A perfect summer read.

Heller, Peter. (2019). The River. New York: Alfred A Knopf.