Nahanni Trailhead

by Joanne Moore

The South Nahanni River of Canada's North west Territories has captivated canoeists and adventurers for decades. The author tells how they transported their provisions in to the remote area and built their cabin on the South Nahanni River, an area cut off from the outside world by mountain ranges, its only highway the wild river that carves its way through cliffs a thousand feet high. Here the Moores lived for a year, and travelled by canoe, foot, snowshoe, and ski on the isolated land they came to love. It was not always they fought against loneliness and dangerously cold temperatures, John narrowly escaped being crushed under their food cache and both fell through the ice into the freezing waters of the river. An engaging adventure story, this is also a blueprint for anyone wishing to make a wilderness-living dream come true. Included in this edition are the author's thoughts twenty years after the adventure as she and John embark on a return visit to the Nahanni with their two children.

Genres: Nonfiction, Adventure

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2000

Reviews

[Paul Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

High adventure and romance!

In an eloquent bit of understatement, RM Patterson called the savage South Nahanni River THE DANGEROUS RIVER. Despite this advance billing, John Moore proposed marriage to his fiancée and, at the same time, suggested that they spend their honeymoon homesteading for one year in the wildly remote Nahanni valley. Joanne accepted and the rest, as they say, is history.

Lovers of adventure reading will savor NAHANNI TRAILHEAD, the distillation of Joanne's journal from their wilderness year, compiled from diary notes written at the end of almost every challenging day. Courage, romance, hardship, excitement, cold, danger, peace, tranquility, fulfilment, loneliness and occasionally even tedium ... but all of it in an easy going style of writing that flows naturally from first page to last.

Read it once and, I guarantee it, you'll read it again. Highly recommended!

Paul Weiss

[Carley LaMalva · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a lovely and true story about a newlywed couple who built a cabin and lived for one year in the remote Nahanni Valley in northwestern Canada.

The book was originally published in 1980 but remains a delightful time capsule of journal entries depicting daily life and exploration in a small part of the world few have experienced.

The writing was lackluster at times, but still proved to be good read for getting lost in another time and place. What I really enjoyed was reading about the many interactions Jo and John had with wildlife, from charging moose to a pack of curious wolves.

"Nothing is more exciting than capturing even brief glimpses of animals in their natural habitat. Our good fortune at such sightings made me more aware of the need to "travel clean" - leave no marks of human visitation in the backyards of these wild creatures."

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed how practical and emotional this book is. It’s inspiring without romanticizing the wilderness. Falling through the ice and facing extreme cold were genuinely tense moments that made me pause and reflect.

[Caolan McMahon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two newlywed's build a cabin in the middle of nowhere and live in it for a year. It sounded like a fun adventure and I appreciate the packing list included at the back. Maple syrup, 2 gallons, check.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

[Donna Beckley · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read about a young newly married couple from on Ontario, who decide, in 1978, to head to the wilderness area of the Nahanni Valley in the NWT, close to the Yukon border, and live. Their plan is to build a log cabin and survive on their own for a year. They spend 9 months in preparation and at the back of the book is the list of supplies that they take. They had 4000 lbs. of supplies for survival and the building of their cabin. The book is based on the authors daily journal. They arrive by seaplane in early summer. Once their supplies are off loaded from the plane, they head out to find a suitable site for a cabin. The rest of the book tells of their successes and failures, building the cabin, surviving -40 degree temperatures in the winter, the ice breakup on the river in the spring and their final 6 week canoe trip back down the river to civilization again. The author writes of their encounters with wildlife, the wonderful scenery and their adventures hiking the mountains. A book for anyone who loves the outdoors or who has always dreamed about the same kind of adventure.

[Kristine Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this many years ago when I was much younger and I remember wishing I could do the same thing. I've since learned that I am not that much of an extreme adventurer, so have easily given up on the dream on living nature bound for a year...but thinking of this book brings back wistful memories of past dreams.

[Elaine Dahl LaRocque · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book for my dad who worked near the Nahanni Valley one summer. I looked it over and started reading it and couldn't put it down. Dad loved it and we have both read it several times now. Maybe I should borrow it again. A great read.