Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Now THIS is a hiker . . .

Just finished a biography of John Rae ("Fatal Passage" by Ken McGoogan), and was absolutely astounded. I had never heard of the guy, but he has got to be one of the all-time master hikers.

Long story short, he wandered the arctic region of Canada in the early 1800s, usually at the behest of the Hudson Bay Company. He discovered the fate of the long-lost Franklin Expedition to find the Northwest Passage, and was demonized in England for it - probably why he's not in any history books. In his years wandering Canada, he covered thousands of miles on snowshoes - usually alone - and didn't think twice about it. Learned how to survive the country and do it right from the Inuit, but no one would listen to the learnings that he tried to pass on. Very similar to the general reaction to the use of dogs in the Antarctic by Amundsen.

Anyway, I'd never heard of the guy till I picked this book up, and was blown away. Heartily recommended for those who enjoy the genre.

Thanks for the review and recommendation . I just started reading Early Days In The Range of Light. Fascinating book retracing the ways of the early pioneers of hiking the Sierras. Without ropes,harnesses,special boots, packs,maps, compasses, sleeping bags, rain gear etc. from the days of 1894 to 1931.FASCINATING.Basic methods of ropes began being taught at Garnet Lake in 1931.They carried pockets full of bread crusts.Great read.

Thanks Rod. That one's on my to-do list. I've followed some of the thread over on WPS. Sounds fascinating. Even though I'm an avid hiker and not a mountaineer, I gobble up the mountaineering books. And the Ant/arctic exploration books. And the Western frontier books. And the early African explorer books. And . . .

'Preciate it!

Well these guys were hikers,mule packers and the earliest mountaineers.They started off just hiking the Sierras for weeks with less than BobR's lighest packs.Yet I think Bob could have hung and fit in well with these guys.