What do you think?
Rate this book
Snowshoeing Through Sewers: Adventures in New York City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia
When Daniel Boone heard a neighbor's dog bark, he moved West. But when there's no Wild West left, where is adventure to be found? Michael Aaron Rockland looks for adventure in the megalopolis, "not where no one has been but where no one wishes to go . . . across traffic-clogged cities, the parking lots of wall-to-wall suburban malls, and the sinister waterways that seep through rusting industrial sites."
In these ten alternately poetic and comic tales of adventure in the New York/Philadelphia corridor, the most densely populated chunk of America, Rockland walks and bikes areas meant only for cars and paddles through waters capable of dissolving canoes. He hikes the length of New York's Broadway, camps in New York City, treks across Philadelphia, pedals among the tractor trailers of Route 1 in New Jersey, and paddles around Manhattan and through the dark tunnels under Trenton.
Whereas Henry David Thoreau built his cabin on Walden Pond to get out of town, for Rockland, the challenge is to head into town. As he writes, "in the late twentieth century, a weed and trash-filled city lot . . . may be a better place than the wilderness to contemplate one's relationship to nature."
In these ten alternately poetic and comic tales of adventure in the New York/Philadelphia corridor, the most densely populated chunk of America, Rockland walks and bikes areas meant only for cars and paddles through waters capable of dissolving canoes. He hikes the length of New York's Broadway, camps in New York City, treks across Philadelphia, pedals among the tractor trailers of Route 1 in New Jersey, and paddles around Manhattan and through the dark tunnels under Trenton.
Whereas Henry David Thoreau built his cabin on Walden Pond to get out of town, for Rockland, the challenge is to head into town. As he writes, "in the late twentieth century, a weed and trash-filled city lot . . . may be a better place than the wilderness to contemplate one's relationship to nature."
- GenresNonfictionNatureTravel
184 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1994
1 person is currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Michael Aaron Rockland
17 books9 followersMichael Aaron Rockland is professor of American Studies at Rutgers University. His early career was in the U.S. diplomatic service, during which he was a cultural attaché in both Argentina and Spain.
He is the author of twelve books, three of which have received special recognition. His first book, Sarmiento’s Travels in the United States in 1847 (Princeton), was chosen by The Washington Post’s Book World as one of the “Fifty Best Books of the Year.” His novel, A Bliss Case (Coffee House) was a New York Times “Notable Book of the Year.” A book he co-wrote, Looking for America on the New Jersey Turnpike (Rutgers) was chosen by the New Jersey State Library as one of the “Ten Best Books Ever Written on New Jersey or by a New Jerseyan.” His latest books are Stones, a novel (Hansen Publishing Group) and The George Washington Bridge: Poetry in Steel (Rutgers).
Rockland has won five major teaching/lecturing awards, including the National Teaching Award in American Studies. He has lectured in some twenty-one countries around the world. A regular contributor to "New Jersey Monthly magazine", he has also worked in television and film production, mostly for P.B.S. He is regularly interviewed on N.P.R.
He is the author of twelve books, three of which have received special recognition. His first book, Sarmiento’s Travels in the United States in 1847 (Princeton), was chosen by The Washington Post’s Book World as one of the “Fifty Best Books of the Year.” His novel, A Bliss Case (Coffee House) was a New York Times “Notable Book of the Year.” A book he co-wrote, Looking for America on the New Jersey Turnpike (Rutgers) was chosen by the New Jersey State Library as one of the “Ten Best Books Ever Written on New Jersey or by a New Jerseyan.” His latest books are Stones, a novel (Hansen Publishing Group) and The George Washington Bridge: Poetry in Steel (Rutgers).
Rockland has won five major teaching/lecturing awards, including the National Teaching Award in American Studies. He has lectured in some twenty-one countries around the world. A regular contributor to "New Jersey Monthly magazine", he has also worked in television and film production, mostly for P.B.S. He is regularly interviewed on N.P.R.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 9, 2019
An interesting concept for a book- exploring areas of urban “wilderness”. The author and his next door neighbor Phil, head out in densely urban landscapes to canoe, bike and hike. Though definitely not adventures in pristine wilderness, they did manage to find some unusual experiences in nearby neighborhoods.
I loved the novelty of the idea behind exploring cityscapes as one would a wild forest or river. The adventures, however, were less interesting than I had hoped. For me, there seemed to be too much narrative about where they were in the urban landscape and not enough in the realm of true adventure to hold my interest.
I loved the novelty of the idea behind exploring cityscapes as one would a wild forest or river. The adventures, however, were less interesting than I had hoped. For me, there seemed to be too much narrative about where they were in the urban landscape and not enough in the realm of true adventure to hold my interest.
March 20, 2016
I started this book during a stretch in February when nearly everyone I know was on vacation in some exotic locale or another. After a month of Facebook photos of day-glo aqua waters, blinding white sand beaches and impossibly green tropical forests, I was ready to give up FB for a spell and spend head time in a setting that didn't feel totally out of reach.
After perusing my wanna-read list, I decided that the best remedy for the unrelenting gray outside my own window would be a travel book that focuses on the adventure inherent in exploring those places that are, as Rockland writes, "not where no one has been, but where no one wishes to go."
Rockland, a professor of American Studies at Rutgers University, made a project of traveling through places that would make most of us think, "Ewwww!" His trips included canoeing around the circumference of Manhattan, hiking the entire length of Broadway, bicycling the New Jersey turnpike and kayaking the abandoned canals and waterways of Jersey and Phildelphia. His observations regarding the people he meets, the places he encounters and the detrius (we archaeology enthusiasts would call the items artifacts) he finds along the way are more entertaining than most of the "Yuppie lands in Tuscany/Provence/Greece and finds himself buying an abandoned farmhouse" memoirs I've read. He gives a glimpse into an America that most of its upper crust might prefer to forget or ignore but is an undeniable part of who we are.
I hope that someday some intrepid young traveler will attempt a West Coast equivalent of this book - maybe a bike trip through the industrial wastelands south of SeaTac Airport, a hike on Marine Drive from Troutdale through North Portland or a rowing jaunt around the perimeter of Vancouver Lake, including visits to points around the Port, such as the recycling plant...places where real people work and live out a large portion of their lives. Meanwhile, I'm simply glad to know that at least one author was curious enough about these folks to make the effort to meet them on their ground.
After perusing my wanna-read list, I decided that the best remedy for the unrelenting gray outside my own window would be a travel book that focuses on the adventure inherent in exploring those places that are, as Rockland writes, "not where no one has been, but where no one wishes to go."
Rockland, a professor of American Studies at Rutgers University, made a project of traveling through places that would make most of us think, "Ewwww!" His trips included canoeing around the circumference of Manhattan, hiking the entire length of Broadway, bicycling the New Jersey turnpike and kayaking the abandoned canals and waterways of Jersey and Phildelphia. His observations regarding the people he meets, the places he encounters and the detrius (we archaeology enthusiasts would call the items artifacts) he finds along the way are more entertaining than most of the "Yuppie lands in Tuscany/Provence/Greece and finds himself buying an abandoned farmhouse" memoirs I've read. He gives a glimpse into an America that most of its upper crust might prefer to forget or ignore but is an undeniable part of who we are.
I hope that someday some intrepid young traveler will attempt a West Coast equivalent of this book - maybe a bike trip through the industrial wastelands south of SeaTac Airport, a hike on Marine Drive from Troutdale through North Portland or a rowing jaunt around the perimeter of Vancouver Lake, including visits to points around the Port, such as the recycling plant...places where real people work and live out a large portion of their lives. Meanwhile, I'm simply glad to know that at least one author was curious enough about these folks to make the effort to meet them on their ground.
January 5, 2011
Informal. Goofy. Fun. Great stories. You don't have to be a crazy 20-something to engage in urban exploration. Or some sort of artist. You can just be a middle-age guy with a family and a spirit of adventure.
May 1, 2022
Interesting concept, poor execution. For one thing, the book was written in 1994, so it is quite dated. The author has a superior, snotty tone, often looking down on the people and places he encounters. Lots of uninteresting tangents. Not recommended.
November 18, 2021
There's a fine line between urban explorer and nutjob with a death wish.
December 3, 2013
Some cool ideas, dropping a canoe in a piddly stream in central jersey and pushing yourself along till you're in the ocean sounds awesome, as does eventually getting towed into the city by a bunch of Staten Island Guidos on a sportfishing boat, chucking full cans of beer back to them the whole time.
Also I am FURIOUS that they don't do that raft race on the Delaware anymore, and madder that we never went to see it when we were kids. Don't think I'd have appreciated the drunken ridiculousness then, but like that time my dad took me to the infield at Pocono Raceway one time, it'd be cool to look back on and realize how completely fucked things were around me, but I had no frame of reference for realizing it.
Some of them are kind of lame. You walked from the top of Manhattan to the bottom. Big. Frigging. Deal. You went 14 miles, downhill, along well paved streets. If you hadn't worn hiking boots and a pack, you'd probably not have had foot problems either.
Also I am FURIOUS that they don't do that raft race on the Delaware anymore, and madder that we never went to see it when we were kids. Don't think I'd have appreciated the drunken ridiculousness then, but like that time my dad took me to the infield at Pocono Raceway one time, it'd be cool to look back on and realize how completely fucked things were around me, but I had no frame of reference for realizing it.
Some of them are kind of lame. You walked from the top of Manhattan to the bottom. Big. Frigging. Deal. You went 14 miles, downhill, along well paved streets. If you hadn't worn hiking boots and a pack, you'd probably not have had foot problems either.
June 6, 2013
Between Philadelphia and New York City lies New Jersey. Some believe that the entire state has been paved and is only fit for providing a path between those big metropolitan regions. A recent New Jersey Governor may have bought into that by suggesting a new state motto: "Welcome to New Jersey - Keep moving."
Rockland knows his state better and he shares it with us as he has with his students. He leads us through hiking, biking and even waterway adventures. Because there is little if any plot, each adventure can be enjoyed on its own. His enthusiasm and inventiveness are infectious. Though it is helpful for specific NJ adventures, its his open approach to opportunities that delighted me.
No need to rush. Keep the book bedside to produce some good dreams.
Rockland knows his state better and he shares it with us as he has with his students. He leads us through hiking, biking and even waterway adventures. Because there is little if any plot, each adventure can be enjoyed on its own. His enthusiasm and inventiveness are infectious. Though it is helpful for specific NJ adventures, its his open approach to opportunities that delighted me.
No need to rush. Keep the book bedside to produce some good dreams.
February 2, 2010
I like the premise more than the prose. Inspired me to be an urban explorer!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews