The Way to Gaamaak Cove

by Doug Pope

Pope writes about the Alaskan backcountry better than any writer I’ve ever read. The Way to Gaamaak Cove is more than just a great adventure, it is coming-of-middle-age in which one man confronts life’s big questions, reevaluates his priorities, and discovers the biggest adventure of all—love.- Jonathan Evison, author of All About Lulu, West of Here, and The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving

123 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series of vignettes can be read as a travel journey of the waterways of Alaska by kayak or canoe, taken on as part of the life of the author, as he meets and marries his wife and raises a family. It reminds me of the way the indigenous people traveled this country when it was the best way to travel any distance, with the same challenges of bears and other wildlife, getting enough to eat, and finding safe places to camp. However, after the adventure wears off, I am aware that this account, written in direct, unpretentious language, reveals the deeper, sometimes mysterious, connections we all have to each other, yes friends and strangers, and most particularly the people who become our family.

[Lia Keller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing stories of adventure in Alaska. Well written and entertaining. Fishing, bear encounters, paddle trips and family life.

[Matthew Komatsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doug’s essay collection is a fresh take on the way that adventure accompanies the undulating path that is a life’s journey. There is as much here for the literary reader as there is for the armchair adventurer, lover, angler, parent, hell—human. I started the book last summer here in Alaska, and finished this summer. I’m glad I waited to finish it until the days were long, the weather warm, and my kids want to know when we’re camping again. I can feel the pushes and pulls as Doug in the book. How special the Alaska summer is vs the calls of modern life and existence. It’s a lovely read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.