Arctic Traverse - by Michael Engelhard (Paperback)

About the Book

A lyrical memoir of wilderness, cultural connections, and gritty adventure across northern Alaska

Book Synopsis

National Outdoor Book Award Winner in Journeys
Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist in Nature
Nautilus Book Award Winner

"Engelhard locates life--biological, cultural, and geophysical--in every mile of this vast, wild landscape." --Robert Moor, author of On Trails: An Exploration

A lyrical memoir that interweaves wilderness, homeland, cultural connections, historical figures, humor, and gritty experiences across northern Alaska, Arctic Traverse: A Thousand-Mile Summer of Trekking the Brooks Range takes readers along on a once-in-a-lifetime journey.

From the award-winning author of Ice Bear: The Cultural History of an Arctic Icon comes an intimate exploration of Alaska's northernmost mountain range with observations on Indigenous cultures, conservation, and intense cross-country travel, all shaped by respect for the land. Follow author Michael Engelhard through tussock-studded tundra for a remarkable tale of bear encounters and white-knuckled river moments, as well as poetic reflections on a vast, untamed landscape. A trained anthropologist, Engelhard evokes classic writers like Edward Abbey, Barry Lopez, and Ellen Meloy with profound dives into human and natural history and vivid meditations on Alaskan wildlife, flora, and geology. When he embarked on this thru-hike, fewer people had completed it solo in a single push than had dived to the floor of the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of Earth's oceans.

Much more than a captivating account of a human-powered solo thru-hike and float, Arctic Traverse illuminates the spirit of Alaska, drawing on encounters with Indigenous elders, guided clients, scientists, and others as well as on Engelhard's long-held dream and his experiences of the land itself.

Review Quotes

This is a marvelous work and is certainly deserving of a place among the best of Alaskan outdoor literature.--Ron Watters "2024 National Outdoor Book Award Judges"

Arctic Traverse shimmers with caring, connection, and poetic prose.--Hank Lentfer "author of Raven's Witness"

Amid the few soloists who have taken on the 1,000-mile traverse of the Brooks Range--to deal with bears, even hungrier bugs, and summer snowstorms--there aren't any who can write like Michael Engelhard: with humility, footnoted precision, and nuanced observations of the strange but beautiful landscape that marked his soul. Reading Arctic Traverse is the next best thing to being there.--Jon Waterman "author of Into the Thaw"

Engelhard is a writer who knows wilderness as well as he knows himself, who knows it will take days to quiet his mind and tune out the world.--Pete Fromm "author of The Names of the Stars"

Engelhard is an evocative writer, and Arctic Traverse is very much his love letter to this wild, remote place.--Lisa Gresham "Cascadia Daily News"

Engelhard locates life--biological, cultural, and geophysical--in every mile of this vast, wild landscape.--Robert Moor "author of On Trails: An Exploration"

Engelhard weaves rich human and natural history into lyrical--Roman Dial "author of The Adventurer's Son"

Grizzly encounters and brutal tundra slogs are punctuated by side treks into natural and human history and philosophical musings spiced with humor and literary wit--a meandering trail that demands the reader's attention and offers much in return. Arctic Traverse is a true adventure of the human spirit.--Nick Jans "photographer, and longtime Brooks Range resident"

I've traveled just enough in this remarkable country to sense the truth and power of Michael Engelhard's epic account.--Bill McKibben "author of The End of Nature"

It is a wilderness journal, prose poetry, a treatise in philosophy, a primer on northern ecology, and pure magic, all rolled into one seamless volume.... And that is what pushes the book from the realm of the merely good to that of the great.--Bill Streever "author of Cold"

Lovers of far-north lands shouldn't miss this elegy to one of the world's last great wildernesses.--Shannon Polson "author of The Grit Factor"

Michael Engelhard shows us what maps don't: the Arctic's sights, sounds, and smells; its cultural backdrop; how its indifference humbles a person; the nature of memory and mortality.--Susan Sommer "editor of Alaska magazine"

Michael Engelhard's fine book captures the vastness and beauty of the Brooks Range.--Kenneth Brower "author of Earth and the Great Weather: The Brooks Range"

[Engelhard] writes with precision and poetry, taking readers on a literary journey into a wild environment few humans dare to explore. It's a worthy trip.--Steve Fagin "Appalachia"

As amazing as his solo journey was, what makes his account of that traverse singularly appealing are the stories that Engelhard shares along the way. As readers, we are blessed that this former outdoor instructor and wilderness guide schooled in cultural anthropology appears to be, above all else, a wonderful storyteller.--Bill Sherwonit "ArcticToday"

Each day's events trigger explorations of subjects that arise from [Engelhard 's] reflections along the way, and in the process of detailing his trek, he often goes off on a delightful tangent.... The stories and knowledge the author has shared remain with us long after finishing the book.--Cathy Grinstead "Adventures Northwest"

An exceedingly well-crafted work.... With his significant knowledge of the region from both guiding and anthropological work and with impressive observational skills, research and insight, Engelhard has fashioned a text that should appeal to multitudes of readers.--Nancy Lord "Anchorage Daily News"

Engelhard captures the highs and lows of such an expedition, and he's by turns cranky and euphoric. He doesn't shy away from confronting his own contradictions.--Matthew L. Miller "The Nature Conservancy's Cool Green Science"

A tale of a traveler who has Seen Some Things, has a healthy respect for wildlife and the elements, and knows that humans are just a small part of this large world. Engelhard's observations about nature in his daily entries are down-to-earth and a delight to read.... Engelhard has created a love letter of sorts to the Brooks Range.--Jaime Herndon "Eastern Mountain Sports goEast"

Each day is an adventure of its own, in which Engelhard describes the terrain, the rain and sunshine, and the mosquitoes so clearly that the reader may feel relief to not actually be there.--Margaret Bauman "The Cordova Times"

An inherently fascinating and informative read from start to finish.-- "Midwest Book Review"

Captivating.... A poetic memoir about a solitary trek across a remote and majestic wilderness.--Kristen Rabe "Foreword Reviews (starred review)"

This book gorgeously documents the author's journey through a wild landscape.--Margaret Atwater-Singer "Library Journal"