The Wolf Faces Backwards

This book, from first-time author and avid canoe paddler and builder, Peter Macfarlane, is a travel journal laced with memoir. It recounts a pair of odysseys undertaken by solo canoe along the USA's longest marked inland water trail, the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail, and much more besides.

The Background

In 2018 Peter became the first person recorded to through-paddle the Northern Forest Canoe Trail from east to west. As he had, five years earlier, completed a through-paddle in the conventional direction, west to east, he became the first person known to have paddled this trail in both directions. He achieved this in a solo cedar-strip canoe that he both designed and built.

The Reality of the Through-Paddles

Peter's first through-paddle in 2013 was characterised by some remarkably inclement weather, enormous quantities of rain, strong winds and very cold temperatures. He also added some side-trips, resulting in a total distance of over 750 miles. His second was characterised by a significant amount of upstream paddling (the reason that most opt to go the other way) and some mind-bending headwinds. Not one to shirk a challenge, he met these challenges head-on with with fortitude and determination, but the adversity left its mark.

The Origins of This Book

Peter kept a journal on each of his through-paddles, a small notebook in which he pencilled events and thoughts. The idea of writing a book had flitted across his mind, but it was the suggestions of several other people, largely strangers he met along the way, that crystallised the notion of devoting some thousands of hours to this project. This book draws on his journals to give accounts of each day, but is also punctuated by interludes, which step sideways for a while to dwell on related topics, such as navigation, upstream progress, weather forecasting, accommodation and more. It also presents elements of memoir, which offer a sense of what has shaped Peter into a paddler who might undertake such a challenge.

The Book Itself

The book comprises two halves. Part 1 sets the scene with some personal background, and describes the first through-paddle in 2013. Part 2 builds on Part 1, identifying, for instance, some elements to be improved for the second through-paddle, and then describes this journey in 2018. A set of maps allows the reader to follow along the waterways, and to see where Peter camped each night on both trips, and a selection of interspersed black-and-white photos gives the reader a sense of the paddler's view. Each day's journal entry includes start and finish locations, the daily mileage and the cumulative mileage.
524 pages
ISBN: 979-8-31781-802-9

To Purchase the Book

Currently the book is available only in soft cover (a real book). If there is sufficient demand, it may be converted into e-book format, and possibly even an audio-book.

Order directly from me
The book costs $34 (not bad, considering that it's effectively two books in one).
For shipping within the USA, please add $6.
For overseas purchases, please contact me for shipping rates.

Either: Mail your request with a check for $40, payable to Peter Macfarlane, to 1379 Mountain Rd, Vergennes, VT 05491.
Or: Order through PayPal ("Buy" button coming soon - please check back.)

Order through BookBaby
Having used the self-publishing and the printing services offered by BookBaby.com, their print-on-demand service is now the sole online source of this book. If you buy through BookBaby, they will print your book immediately and mail it to you. ("Buy" button coming soon - please check back.)