National Outdoor Book Awards winner - Journeys ·   Nautilus Book Awards silver medalist -   Ecology & Environment ·  Independent Publisher Book Awards silver medalist - Travel Essay  ·   Foreword Indies finalist ·   Great Reads from Great Places choice for the Library of Congress National Book Festival · An Anchorage Daily News 2024 favorite "Engelhard locates life—biological, cultural, and geophysical—in every mile of this vast, wild landscape." —Robert Moor, author of On Trails: An Exploration A lyrical memoir that interweaves wilderness, homeland, cultural connections, historical figures, humor, and gritty experiences across northern Alaska, Arctic Traverse: A Thousand-Mile Summer of Trekking the Brooks Range takes readers along on a once-in-a-lifetime journey. From the award-winning author of Ice Bear: The Cultural History of an Arctic Icon comes an intimate exploration of Alaska's northernmost mountain range with observations on Indigenous cultures, conservation, and intense cross-country travel, all shaped by respect for the land. Follow author Michael Engelhard through tussock-studded tundra for a remarkable tale of bear encounters and white-knuckled river moments, as well as poetic reflections on a vast, untamed landscape. A trained anthropologist, Engelhard evokes classic writers like Edward Abbey, Barry Lopez, and Ellen Meloy with profound dives into human and natural history and vivid meditations on Alaskan wildlife, flora, and geology. When he embarked on this thru-hike, fewer people had completed it solo in a single push than had dived to the floor of the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of Earth's oceans. Much more than a captivating account of a human-powered solo thru-hike and float, Arctic Traverse illuminates the spirit of Alaska, drawing on encounters with Indigenous elders, guided clients, scientists, and others as well as on Engelhard's long-held dream and his experiences of the land itself. Buoyed by Engelhard's wry sense of humor and encounters with those he meets along the way, Arctic Traverse is a rare entry in the outdoor genre. A true Alaskan treasure. — Booklist (starred review) Captivating... A poetic memoir about a solitary trek across a remote and majestic wilderness. — Foreword Reviews (starred review) This is a marvelous work and is certainly deserving of a place among the best of Alaskan outdoor literature. —Ron Watters, National Outdoor Book Awards Foundation Engelhard locates life―biological, cultural, and geophysical―in every mile of this vast, wild landscape. — Robert Moor, author of On Trails Michael Engelhard shows us what maps don't: the Arctic's sights, sounds, and smells; its cultural backdrop; how its indifference humbles a person; the nature of memory and mortality. — Susan Sommer, editor of Alaska magazine Arctic Traverse shimmers with caring, connection, and poetic prose. — Hank Lentfer, author of Raven's Witness I've traveled just enough in this remarkable country to sense the truth and power of Michael Engelhard's epic account. — Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature Gorgeously documents the author's journey through a wild landscape. — Library Journal Engelhard is a writer who knows wilderness as well as he knows himself, who knows it will take days to quiet his mind and tune out the world. — Pete Fromm, author of The Names of the Stars Michael Engelhard's fine book captures the vastness and beauty of the Brooks Range. — Kenneth Brower, author of Earth and the Great Weather Amid the few soloists who have taken on the 1,000-mile traverse of the Brooks Range—to deal with bears, even hungrier bugs, and summer snowstorms—there aren't any who can write like Michael Engelhard: with humility, footnoted precision, and nuanced observations of the strange but beautiful landscape that marked his soul. — Jon Waterman, author of Into the Thaw Engelhard weaves rich human and natural history into lyrical prose — Roman Dial, author of The Adventurer's Son Lovers of far-north lands shouldn't miss this elegy to one of the world's last great wildernesses. — Shannon Polson, author of The Grit Factor An inherently fascinating and informative read from start to finish. — Midwest Book Review Grizzly encounters and brutal tundra slogs are punctuated by side treks into natural and human history and philosophical musings spiced with humor and literary wit—a meandering trail that demands the reader's attention and offers much in return. Arctic Traverse is a true adventure of the human spirit. — Nick Jans, photographer, and longtime Brooks Range resident It is a wilderness journal, prose poetry, a treatise in philosophy, a primer on northern ecology, and pure magic, all rolled into one seamless volume.... And that is what pushes the book from the realm of the merely good to that of the great. —BILL STREEVER, bestselling author of Cold An exceedingly well-crafted work.... With his significan