Grey Owl and Me Stories from the Trail and Beyond

About this book

Hap Wilson is back for another journey, this time on the lighter side of the adventure trail, where the bizarre melds with the sublime. Nurtured by the writings of Canadian environmentalist and wannabe-Native, Grey Owl, Wilson adopted a lifestyle similar to the 1930s conservationist but with his own twists and turns along a meandering path full of humorous misadventures. Wilson, too, learned many of his nature skills as a youth, paddling in Temagami, working as a wilderness canoe ranger and guide, and following in the footsteps of one of Canada's most revered outdoor icons.

The author recounts early days winter camping, motorcycling the Labrador coast, and teaching actor Pierce Brosnan how to throw knives and paddle a canoe for the Richard Attenborough film about Grey Owl. He also takes us to a few of his favourite places and shares intimate secrets of wilderness living. Here, Grey Owl has returned as an ever-present critic – a buckskin-clad spectre in a modern world of Gore-Tex, Kevlar canoes, and gear freaks.

Contents

Preface

- Introduction: Ride the High Country or "They Went Thataway"
- Cowboy Codes: Straight & Pure & All Boy
- When We were Young: Nostalgia & the Cowboy Hero
- Arms & the Man: The Friendly Gun
- Give Me My Boots & Saddles: Camp Cowboy
- Tall in the Saddle: Romance on the Range
- White Hats & White Heroes: Who Is That Other Guy?
- Virgin Land: Landscape, Nature, & Masculinity
- Corporate Cowboys & the Shaping of a Nation
- Postscript - The Frontiersman (1938)

List of Films Mentioned
References
Index

Customer Reviews