Across the North: Ice Ghosts and The Great Northern Canada Bucket List [Review]

Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition by Paul Watson

• I read a book I already owned! Applause please. Ice Ghosts has been a long time coming.
• The first 50 pages or so offer a brisk recap of the Franklin expedition itself. I do not recommend this as your introduction to the expedition. That story alone has plenty of fascination to offer, but Watson glosses over a lot and casually drops information that hits hard if you don’t already know the story. Which is fair enough, as Franklin’s own journey isn’t the focus of Ice Ghosts. Best to read up on the Franklin expedition elsewhere before picking this up.
• Ice Ghosts focuses on the search for Erebus and Terror, and the decades of journeys that followed in hopes of answering the seeming unanswerable question: what happened?
• As a kid who grew up in Canada, I learnt about the expedition plenty of times throughout grade school. I thought it would remain one of those unsolvable mysteries, with nature holding it secrets close. So when the discovery of Erebus was announced in fall 2014, I was pretty excited. That’s why I added this book to my TBR. I was keen to learn about modern day search that accomplished that discovery.
• Roughly half the book covers the historical hunt (capped off with the death of Lady Jane), before moving in to developments from the 1950s onward. What I was most interested in was the scientific developments that enabled at long last the successful search. The last 25% or so of the book was what I was really interested in. But there was plenty to learn about before then. For example, it was pretty cool to read about all the folks committed to different facets of discovery (meaning historians, scientists, adventurers, geographers, geologers, etc.) and whose collaborations enabled the finding of Erebus and Terror.
• Recommended for readers interested in the history of Arctic exploration. Or if you’re interested in underwater archaeology, you can skip to that part. 😛

Based on information from salvors, who plumb the depths for wreck with the zeal of prospectors digging for the next motherlode, UNSECO estimates that more than three million shipwreckes lie on the bottom of the EArth’s rivers, lakes, and oceans. Some are more than a thousand years old. None have spawned so many search expeditions, spanning so many generations, or fules as much historical debaate and political intrigue, as Erebus and Terror.

xxx

The Great Northern Canada Bucket List by Robin Esrock

• I came across The Great Northern Canada Bucket List while browsing new library ebooks, so I added it to my winter holiday reading list. After finishing Ice Ghosts, I was especially keen to pick this up. I’d like to experience the north myself some day. And with how expensive it is (this coming from someone who has been lucky enough to travel around Ireland, Japan, and New Zealand), a trip through the Northwest Passage truly is a bucket list item for me.
  • It’s also still mind boggling to me that ‘a trip through the Northwest Passage’ is something tourists can easily do these days.
• I was already familiar with a number of the experiences described in this book. But that didn’t make them any less fun to read about. This isn’t a generic travel guide written by some unknown traveller. Esrock, a travel writer by profession, writes in first person, sharing and reflecting on each of his experiences throughout the three territories (Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut).
• I enjoyed his interviews with the folks who make bucketlist dreams a reality. I looked up a few of the companies mentioned afterward, to continue fuelling my daydreams… If I’m ever able to make such a trip, I’ll pick up this book again to help me plan.
• Virtually all of the experiences are land-based, focused on engaging with the natural environment. These are all incredible, stunning, and indeed bucketlist-worthy experiences. The Arctic landscape is unrivalled.
• I counted four culture-based experiences (out of 38). There are a few points acknowledging the value and necessity of Inuit land knowledge and the guides who work for some of the outfitters, but I felt like there was something missing, given the unique cultural identity of northern Canada.
  • This probably also stood out because I’d just finished Ice Ghosts, which does a great job at documenting the role of Inuit over the decades of the search and especially Louie Kamookak’s work, which played a critical role in the ships’ discovery.
• Recommend for readers who enjoy learning about unique travel experiences.

What location is on your travel bucket list?