Where the Falcon Flies

Where the Falcon Flies

by Adam Shoalts

Published by Allen Lane, 2023, 368 pages

A Carolina Paddler book report by Zach Schiada

-I was scrolling through Facebook one day and I came across a video of this guy talking about paddling on long trips in Canada. I was intrigued. Digging further I discovered he’s done quite a few long trips and has written several books about his adventures, mostly on Canadian rivers and lakes. I like to read to help me fall asleep, so I chose this book because it seemed like his trip didn’t make a whole lot of sense. I was curious to see logistically how he would do it. I’m not familiar with Canadian geography or really any geography outside the Southeastern USA, so I was interested in expanding my knowledge.

The goal of Adam Shoalts’ trip was to start in a canoe near his hometown at Lake Erie and paddle up to the Arctic. The motivation for the trip was to follow the route falcons use, migrating from Southern Canada to the Arctic Mountains. I’m not particularly interested in birds, but I was excited to read about adventure and how he would make it from Lake Erie to the Arctic in a canoe. The objective seemed impossible to me even though I am unfamiliar with the country. I discovered the author is very thorough in explaining his struggles, successes, interactions with people along the way and giving a very detailed history of each spot he passes. I chose the book based on the descriptions of the physical surroundings of an area completely foreign to me. I’d like to think that I learned a lot about Eastern Canada’s geography along the way.

The author describes long portages, including one around the famous Niagara Falls. It is inspiring to hear about his dedication to his goal while managing his food rations, difficult weather, and the constant challenge of trying to find a suitable place to camp away from private property. Decisions are sometimes made that are not ideal, but necessary to achieve his goal, a situation familiar to even us non-expedition paddlers.

There are occasions when he comes across people expecting them to be upset with him, for trespassing or otherwise being a burden. Time after time he is surprised by their kindness and how willing and supportive they are to him, even when language is a barrier. This was reassuring to me, considering at times it seems like people are looking for conflict.

If one looks at a map of Eastern Canada, it becomes apparent that one cannot travel to the Arctic from Lake Erie without doing some significant ocean paddling after the St Lawrence River. Without giving away too much, the author did not venture into the ocean, choosing instead to do a long portage by foot from the banks of the St Lawrence River to a small inland Newfoundland town. Shoalts did his crossing entirely on foot. I found his decision to be very inspiring.

My favorite part of this book is his journey after the long trek. At a small town inland, Schoalts convinces a local person to sell him a canoe to continue his trip. I found his purposely limited planning and willingness to improvise very exciting to read about. I liked this part of the story best because he doesn’t follow a straightforward river as an obvious route to the Arctic; his trip involves running a maze of connecting lakes and streams, some of which have difficult rapids to run or portage.

As I followed on Google Earth satellite view, I found it difficult to understand how his route was possible. Schoalts managed to make the transition from Atlantic to Arctic basins with minimal portaging. As a fan of unconventional river trips through mazes and weird spots, this really fed my niche for daydreaming of the unusual. Part of me wished he would run some of the rapids that he portaged, but no respect is lost considering the risks involved if something went wrong. He details history of previous explorers getting in over their heads on these rapids, some losing their lives doing so.

Overall, I found the book inspiring and entertaining. I don’t think I appreciate the history covered as much as others might, but it was not overly dense as to lose my interest. While I’m not into expedition paddling myself, having only completed one long trip on the Cape Fear River, the book kept me interested throughout, including the sections with less action. Schoalts makes even the most basic areas of flatwater paddling entertaining. You really do feel like you’re on the trip with him as he contemplates his options and struggles to complete his goal. People interested in long trips should be entertained and others like me who only day-paddle will still enjoy this book.

I tend to start books and not finish them, but I didn’t feel the urge to drop this one. I would have liked for Schoalts to include more pictures of the areas he traveled, especially since the rapid descriptions are limited to, “easy enough” or “too difficult.” I don’t anticipate ever traveling to these places, so it would have been satisfying to have a photo reference of the rapids he decided to carry. Nevertheless, this book is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys reading about inspiring trips.