Tracks Across Alaska: A Dog Sled Journey (Traveler) - Softcover

Scott, Alastair

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0871134705 ISBN 13: 9780871134707

Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1994

Synopsis

Alastair Scott, the Scottish adventurer, is possessed only of chronic wanderlust and the perfectly beguiling pipe dream to dogsled his way across Alaska, following, for the most part, the Iditarod Trail. He arrives in Manley Hot Springs without dogs, sled, or experience. In amazingly short order, he outfits himself, begins to learn the rudiments of mushing, and one day lights out across the Land of the Midnight Sun.

Tracks Across Alaska is the entertaining, humorous, and humble account of Scott's journey through the Alaskan bush. Scott evokes the awesome magic of the landscape and encounters an extraordinary range of Alaskans, from the Iditarod champion Susan Butcher and other dog sled racers to trappers, Eskimos, a bush priest, the faceless fire and brimstone of KJNP (King Jesus North Pole) radio, and icefisherman on Little Diomede Island three miles from the Soviet Union, and F-15 pilots ever-watchful for encroaching MiGs. Scott's narrative recreates these characters in all their many lively and distinctive qualities, recording events and dialogue with crisp journalistic skill and an eye for the timeless, the transcendental, and the telling image.

His affection for the dogs adds an extra dimension to his tale. Each dog has its own remarkably unique personality, and the eight together make an unforgettable team. As Scott writes, "When dog sledding is perfect it is one of life's supreme sensations. It is the spirit and pleasure of travel in highest refinement. Man, animal, earth: a primitive trinity, beautiful in harmony." Tracks Across Alaska is a travel book like no other-this is as close as vicarious experience comes to the real thing.

About this title

From Library Journal

A novice from Scotland travels 800 miles by dog sled along the route of the Iditarod, the annual Alaskan dog sled race. Scott isn't trying to set any records: he is just fulfilling a lifelong dream to "mush" a team of sled dogs over Arctic tundra. On his journey Scott gets to know his dogs as individuals, meets many interesting characters, and treats the reader to digressions on such matters as the beaver and some painless Alaskan history. This is the best among recent polar narratives (e.g., Joseph Murphy's South to the Pole by Ski, LJ 8/90, and Paul Schurke's Bering Bridge, LJ 5/1/90) because travel writer Scott ( A Scot Goes South ) is a far better stylist. If libraries want one good contemporary Arctic adventure story, this is it. For another dog sled adventure, see also Norman D. Vaughan's With Byrd at the Bottom of the World , reviewed in this issue, p. 236.--Ed.
- Jonathan F. Husband, Framingham State Coll. Lib., Mass.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

The author, a Scotsman, arrived in Manley Hot Springs, west of Fairbanks, just before Halloween in 1987, thirsty for adventure. He had long dreamed of driving a dog team across Alaska and knew the history and literature of Arctic travel. Now, with the use of a cabin and an offer of professional advice on mushing, he had to acquire a dog team, learn how to handle and care for the animals, then travel more than 800 miles--all in one season. After acclimatizing to the weather, eight dogs and Alaskans, he started out the following March and arrived in Nome 32 days later. His trail crossed and occasionally joined that of the Iditarod Race, the famous annual dogsledding event. Awed by the landscape and people he encountered, Scott does full justice to both in this engaging travel adventure. Photos.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0871134705
• ISBN 13: 9780871134707
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256