Title: Thlewiaza-Seal Rivers: The Challenge of the Ice
Author: Fred E. Nelson
Publisher: Writers’ Branding
ISBN: 978-1639455102
Pages: TBA
Genre: Non-Fiction
Reviewer: David Allen
Hollywood Book Reviews
This is not your run of the mill fishing party. Nor is it a mere afternoon spent cutting holes in the ice to fish like the Eskimos. This is a memoir of six men toughing it out in three canoes in the far reaches of ice-bound Northern Canada.
These guys aren’t newbies, far from it. With Gary Knauck, a veteran of canoeing and of the Minnesota Conservation Department, on stern, and his mate Greg Dufeck (also a veteran of Minnesota’s fast rivers) on bow, what could go wrong? These two intrepid spirits, paddling the Wakemaker 11, are accompanied by the H.M.S. Victory’s equally hale and hearty crew, Fred E. Nelson (author) and his son, Chuck Nelson . Brian Gnauck, and Carl Schmieder bringing up the rear in the third canoe, the Harricana VI.
The journey, compassing twenty-one days in all, takes place June to July 1978, recruiting these big-time white water and fishing enthusiasts from diverse points of mainland United States. When the six gather, that’s when the fun begins. Follow with wide eyed amazement as the group, sometimes in bits and pieces, clash with standing waves, with sinkholes, with a not so delightful process euphemistically termed portage (although a more accurate name for what they do would be ‘heaving and hauling a 75-pound canoe along with gear and backpack not weighing much less.’)
It is what it is. The enthusiasm that accompanies their first sighting of ice is awesome, as is the peaceful easy feeling imparted to the reader by the lovely narration of meals at fireside, meals of ‘lakers’ and trout, cocktails and energy bars, gratefully consumed against a backdrop of extraordinary natural beauty. The tackling of the Thlewiaza-Seal Rivers, achieved after weeks of struggle with freezing temperatures, unpredictable waters, and monstrous fatigue, is described famously, iconically — and makes the reader understand why we climb mountains, fjord rivers, and put astronauts on the moon.
The descriptions of the natural setting, of the varying types of ice formations, could only be crafted by a naturalist. Fred E. Nelson, with his canny and totally authentic narrative, accompanied at many points by selfies and shots of the rivers, the lakes, the ‘boiling white water’, succeeds in igniting us with his excitement, conveyed in every word of this book, about white water canoeing in the gorgeous surround of Northern Canada.
Here’s a tiny sample of the goodies this book holds in store, in the form of a summation by the author: “I think about our entire trip beginning with the early news of the ice, our first rapids, the long portages around Kashmere Falls…the grizzly, the many rapids, my big fish, and the reunion with Dad…the days of cold, wet hard paddling, the final send-off the Seal River gave us as we entered Hudson Bay…I vow, God willing, that I will return to the North Country to savor once again the cold, clear water, green forest, and blue sky.”
This book offers a genuine and immersive account of an adventurous canoe expedition. Nelson’s firsthand experience and passion for wilderness exploration shine, making this book a valuable read for enthusiasts of adventure books and those intrigued by the challenges of navigating Canada’s northern rivers. Pour yourself a hot coffee or cocoa and sit back next to a warm fireplace and enjoy this ride of an adventure in Thlewiaza-Seal Rivers: The Challenge of the Ice.