North American Odyssey: 12,000 Miles Across the Continent by Kayak, Canoe, and Dogsled

by Amy Freeman, Dave Freeman

From the acclaimed authors of A Year in the Wilderness, an extraordinary account of a 12,000-mile, human-powered journey across the continent, and of how the authors’ experiences along the way awakened a deep commitment to environmental activism

In 2010, Amy and Dave Freeman married and set out on an unusual a 12,000 mile, human-powered journey across North America. They begin in the Pacific Northwest, kayaking up the Inside Passage to Alaska, navigating tidal rapids and encountering sea lions and majestic humpback whales. In Skagway, they trade their kayaks for backpacks, retracing the path taken by prospectors in the Klondike Gold Rush. They canoe the Yukon, Blackstone, Peel, and Mackenzie Rivers, navigating whitewater rapids and avoiding grizzly bears and moose. From the Northwest Territories in Canada, they dogsled south across the frozen landscape, skiing and snowshoeing stretches through blizzards accented by howling wolves, then resume travel on interconnected waterways, paddling along the routes taken by voyageurs centuries before, migrating tundra swans high above. They paddle kayaks across Lake Superior, through the Soo Locks, and down the Saint Lawrence River, dodging seals, container ships, and fishing boats. Finally, they descend the Atlantic seaboard mostly along the Intracoastal Waterway, their journey interrupted for a few days by Hurricane Sandy, then paddle across the Suwannee River and through Everglades National Park, with manatees, alligators, and sharks, before emerging into Florida Bay and concluding the expedition in Key West.

Experienced wilderness travelers—they were named Adventurers of the Year by National Geographic in 2014—the Freemans completed this extraordinary odyssey over the better part of three years. Along the way they meet Indigenous water protectors and subsistence hunters and encounter painful signs of the legacy of colonization and environmental remote beaches covered with plastic, retreating glaciers, mountainsides stripped clean of all trees, infernal forest fires, Indigenous communities flooded by dams. Listening with humility to the land and those who live in close relation to it, and stopping to visit school assemblies and share online content with the Wilderness Classroom, a nonprofit organization providing resources for environmental education, the Freemans gain confidence along the way in their ability to survive in wild places, but they also come to feel increasingly small as human beings, mindful of our place in life on Earth.

At once an extraordinary adventure story and a clarion call for change in the way we live, North American Odyssey is an essential book for our times.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Nature, Memoir

288 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2024

About the author

Amy and Dave Freeman are the authors of A Year in the Wilderness, a rousing cry of witness activism and a beautifully illustrated account of their year living in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to raise awareness about the threats of sulfide-ore copper mining. They have traveled over thirty thousand miles by canoe, kayak, and dogsled through some of the world’s wildest places, from the Amazon to the Arctic. National Geographic named them Adventurers of the Year in 2014, and their images, videos, and articles have been published by a wide range of media sources from the CBC, NBC, and FOX to the Chicago Tribune, National Geographic, Outside, Backpacker, Canoe and Kayak, and Minnesota Public Radio. They also run the Wilderness Classroom, an educational nonprofit organization that introduces children to wild places and unique cultures.

Reviews

[Alex Curry · Rating 4 out of 5]

These people are wild. If you want to feel lazy, read this book. The level of willpower and determination needed to complete a journey like this is well beyond standard aptitude. Not only is the story impressive, but the authors display a thoughtful and compelling understanding of the environment that they are visiting and the gargantuan challenges that face it and all of us.

[Zach LaFond-Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book for Gunflint weekend!

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have neither the wilderness experience nor the courage to attempt a journey such as the one chronicled in this book, but I admire people who do. I enjoyed vicariously traveling with the Freeman's on this ambitious adventure. I kept searching Google Maps for where these lakes and rivers were located to track their progress. Another reminder to be better stewards of the earth before it's too late.

[Katelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Amy and Dave Freeman's journey from Alaska to the Florida Keys. Over the course of three years they travelled by kayak, canoe, portage and dog sled. While traveling they updated school children on their progress and shared what they were seeing and learning outside in nature. I love outdoor memoirs, and this one did not disappoint. I read this a little at a time, returning to it between other books. The Freemans' descriptions of coming across plastic trash in the most remote environments have stuck with me, and they also examine other ways humans are negatively impacting the environment. I previously read and enjoyed the Freemans' book "A Year in the Wilderness: Bearing Witness in the Boundary Waters." Recommended reading for nature buffs or those who, like me, are fond of armchair traveling.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting journal of the Freeman's long adventure from the Inside Passage into Alaksa, then across the continent and eventually down along the East Coast to the Everglades and Key West. This was more of a travelogue than the sort of book Natalie Warren penned on her joint canoe trip on the Cree trip, where you felt the passion between the paddling partners and learned to appreciate their growing together as friends. Perhaps that is on me and my expectations, for I learned nothing about either of the Freemans. Yet, reading about something I will never do in the backcountry I love kept me going. I was curious how the writers/adventurers would handle the paddle down the Atlantic coast, and how they skipped through that part was hardly a surprise. This was a good mid-winter read.

[Linda Spyhalski · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book! I just loved it! I recommend it to anyone who would love the story of 12,000 miles across the continent by Kayak, canoe, and dogsled!! Definitely a fantastic North American Odyssey! At the same time teaching children and adults the perils we face in the future! Thanks to Any and Dave Freeman for sharing their journey!

[Tim Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insight into an incredible journey that very few people will have the fortune to experience in their life. The book rekindled my hope in humanity and in our collective ability to change things for the better.

[Ew Lake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Escaping to tales of dogsledding across Norman Wells was just what I needed to soothe the stress of the last month. While the writing didn't knock my socks off, I thoroughly enjoyed following along on this adventure. Oh, to be in constant physical motion in nature.

[Lydia A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish there was a better map to follow along on their journey. I kept flipping back and forth from the book to Google maps and getting lost following rivers in Canada trying to see where their route took them.

[Csimplot Simplot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!!!!!