River of Mountains by Peter Lourie
Monday, January 14, 2008
Peter Lourie's web site
In June 1990 Peter Lourie almost the entire length of the Hudson River from its source at Lake Tear of the Clouds on Mt Marcy to its end at New York City. River of Mountains tells the story of his three week journey along the river, as well discussing a good deal of historical background and many of the more interesting people he met along the way.
Lourie started his trip by hiking his 18 1/2 foot canoe along 9 miles of trail to Lake Tear of the Clouds, along with his guide Ernie LaPrairie. Sounds nuts, but it's also the crazy kind of thing I could imagine getting involved in! After a brief paddle and photo-op on the Lake, they hiked the canoe back down and then set off to canoe the whitewater sections of the Upper Hudson River. After making it safely to the edge of the Adirondack Park, Lourie canoed the remaining river mostly on his own, though at times he had someone else paddling with him or alongside him. Along the way he camped out, was invited to stay in people's homes, and on a few occasions found a convenient motel to rest at. Three weeks after starting his journey down the Hudson, he reached its end at Battery Park in New York City.
I had a tough time putting this book down. Part of that is no doubt due to my interest in local history and folklore, and there's lots of that here. I'm also always fascinated to read about people doing these sorts of things in places I've been. For part of his trip, Lourie describes canoeing along the Glens Falls Feeder Canal and having to find a way around the Five Combines, the remnants of a system of locks connecting the Feeder Canal to the Champlain Canal - a few years ago I drove to Glens Falls on a sunny autumn afternoon and rode my bike along the Feeder Canal towpath and past the Five Combines. At one point he camps out at the Corning Preserve - a park along the river in downtown Albany that I've visited on many occasions.
I suppose another reason I really enjoyed this book is my renewed interest in paddling. Back in 1998 I spent the bulk of the summer paddling a bulky aluminum canoe around a variety of bodies of water in Columbia County and the Berkshires, in preparation for the 1998 Josh Billings Runaground. I'd never been in a canoe before that, and I swim like a brick (lifejackets are a wonderful thing!) so I was pretty awkward and uncomfortable at first... but by the end of the summer I really enjoyed my time on the water. This past summer I had the chance to use a kayak for a while during Ann's annual Labor Day weekend camping trip, and absolutely loved it. The logistics of owning a kayak are somewhat tricky right now (where do you store a 12 foot kayak in an appartment in the middle of Albany?) I have no doubt that I will get one someday and will have another recreational activity to enjoy in my free time...
Bottom line - I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it enthusiastically to anyone interested in paddling and New York state history. Lourie has also written a number of children's picture books about rivers and canals he's paddled - I may pick up some of those and see if they're as enjoyable as his book for "adults."
JMH
