Threading the Currents : A Paddler's Passion For Water

" Our passion led us down rivers so late in the fall that we had to break through half an inch of ice at the take-out. So early in the spring, that if we capsized, we had to clamber up three feet of ice still clinging to the river banks. We paddled rivers at flood stage, at bony low water, under the moon. We snuck down creeks barely big enough to turn around in, stroked across strings of mirrored lakes vivid with fall colors." --from "Threading the Current"Over the past twenty-five years, Alan Kesselheim has spent countless hours paddling along the blue veins of the continent. He has taken trips ranging from afternoon jaunts to year-long journeys, from social outings to white-knuckle adventures, in landscapes stretching from the canyons of the Rio Grande to the shores of Hudson Bay. In "Threading the Currents," he explores how his great love of the outdoors and his intense passion for paddling have shaped his life.In a lively and engaging style, Kesselheim describes the highlights of his paddling trips with friends, family, and lovers. Some, like being stranded naked alongside a river, are humorous. Some, like being stalked for more than a mile by a determined bear, are frightening. Others, like his and his wife's surprise conception of their first child during a fourteen-month trek through the Canadian Arctic, are poignant. But all speak to the heart of things -- to love and friendship, birth and death, anger and forgiveness, to the elemental joys and sorrows of life.Part travelogue, part adventure, part coming-of-age story, "Threading the Currents" is certain to find a place in the hearts of outdoor adventurers, wilderness enthusiasts, and everyone who has worked to find a place fortheir passions within the demands of everyday life.