Comments on: Book review: Alone in the Fortress of the Bears

By: Paul Mags

Paul Mags — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:04:41 +0000

In reply to Colter. Man..that sounds awesome. Excited for the HBO series to come out (if it ever does!)

By: Colter

Colter — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:03:50 +0000

In reply to Red.

Hey Red,
I’m going to attempt the Lewis and Clark route, walking and paddling, from the Mississippi up the Missouri, across the Lolo Trail then down the Columbia River system to the Pacific.
Buck/Colter

By: Colter

Colter — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:01:46 +0000

In reply to Red. That was a coincidence. I knew a guy named Red from Chisago County at one time. Another coincidence!

By: Paul Mags

Paul Mags — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 20:51:10 +0000

In reply to Red.

Buck will post here on occasion, but you should check out his very nice website, too: http://bucktrack.com/

By: Red

Red — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 20:49:57 +0000

Now that it is winter again, what is your next trip and book/movie?

By: Red

Red — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 20:47:43 +0000

Very enjoyable reading. You could smell the salt air, feel the mist on your face and feel the water running down your arms picking berries. You could feel his pain when the jars cracked in canning, have done that myself in the luxury of my home. I have enjoyed all his books and movies. Did Buck pick the location because a fellow former resident of Chisago County had gone there before?

By: scott

scott — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 15:21:04 +0000

I remember reading the blog posts and thinking that it was a very cool experience. I just looked at Buck’s page and got sucked into the posts again, I guess I am adding another book to the stack

By: Daniel

Daniel — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 00:32:41 +0000

Thanks for the review… I didn’t realize there was a book about this adventure. Buck gives a thorough account in his blog as well. He brings a great perspective and awesome humility to a sincere and formidable test of an adventure. I loved reading the blog posts and will have to seek out the book now. Cheers!

By: Buck Nelson

Buck Nelson — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 14:54:30 +0000

Thanks for the review, Mags!

I absolutely agree with you about excessive hype in reality shows and books nowadays.

In telling this story I wanted the experience speak for itself. For example, not bringing any food for a two month trip in unfamiliar country was a big challenge and I don’t think there was a need to over-dramatize it.

Things never go quite like you planned! The two main foods I’d planned for on my arrival, the “sure bets,” salmon and berries, were almost completely absent at first. With no food, it was a scramble for a “Plan B.”

Likewise, was the commo issue. The first long Alaska trip I did I had no satellite phone, no Spot. For over month I was completely out of touch with the outside world. Nowadays that would create far too much stress on friends and family. On this trip, my research told me there would be pockets of cell phone coverage. It was sinking feeling when I got out there and found there was none. Now what? People would worry terribly. That resulted in the hours-long paddle every two weeks to the fishing lodge so I could let people know I was OK. Only once in 70 days did I communicate with anyone other than an hour at a time on those lodge trip days.

Can you imagine what reality shows would have done with my brown bear encounters, the breaching humpback whales, the risk of bears destroying my camp and kayak? It would have been imminent death at all times. 🙂

Mags, I hope someday I’m walking down a trail and run into you once again. I enjoy your blog.

Buck