Vanished Beyond The Map
Exploring the Canadian Arctic
There is a rich and varied literature concerning the exploration of the Canadian North over the last 100 plus years. Some authors clearly spring to mind, Eric Morse, Sigurd Olsen and Farley Mowat, from the mid years of the 20th century, with some more recent authors such as Alan Kesselheim and Adam Weymouth, to name just a few. The reality is that if you are interested in canoeing, the Arctic, Canada, Inuit Culture etc there is always another book to discover.
I came across this recently published book, by Canadian explorer and geographer Adam Shoalts, a couple of weeks ago, a worthy addition to the northern literature. It is an attempt to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Hubert Darrell, in the autumn of 1910.
Darrell was born in Kent, in the 1870’s but in 1890, when just 16 years of age he moved to Canada to assist his older brother Charles, who had started farming in Manitoba. In the late 1890’s he visited the Klondike, one of the numerous prospectors seeking their fortune and like the majority he remained penniless. Rather than returning to Manitoba, he was to remain in the north, undertaking some amazing journeys, in one case just to deliver the post.
He gained the respect of some of the most significant names in exploration at the time including Vilhjalmur Stefansson and Roald Amundsen. Amundsen actually said, “With men like Darrell, I could go to the moon.” Unfortunately despite the respect of such famous explorers he basically slipped into obscurity, with very few people aware of his prodigious stamina and exploration of the Canadian north.
In a letter Darrell wrote, “You have no idea how enjoyable it is in the North to those who know how to adapt themselves to the surroundings.” Then he added, “To those who do not it is a life of misery.” How true do these words ring in the experience of those who have travelled to the Arctic. Many of us absolutely love it and adjust accordingly, returning frequently, whereas some people taste life in the Arctic and wish to leave as soon as possible, never to return.
This book by Adam Shoalts will go some way to addressing the situation. Darrell and his achievements deserve to be more widely known whilst the book also provides a possible solution to the mystery of his disappearance. Thoroughly researched “Vanished Beyond The Map” will appeal to anyone interested the Canadian North and/or canoeing. Highly recommended.
Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, best known for the song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”, spent time canoeing on northern rivers as a means of healing and recovery from the demands of touring. He had a yellow canoe, which I saw in the Canadian Canoe Museum. There were marks, clearly visible, on the hull of the canoe, which were the consequence of the canoeing wrapping around two rocks on the South Nahanni River.
If you are interested in the history of paddling then a visit to the Canadian Canoe Museum is must if you find yourself in between Toronto and Montreal.