Expecting a mild adventure read, I ordered this book based on some comments in the Outside book club Facebook group. Three whitewater guides, one wooden dory, and the Colorado River, swollen by record snowmelt and raging with a fury that boatmen hadn't seen since the days of John Wesley Powell. The fascinating characters are pretty much universally attached to this river and canyon at the hip. Three days later as we approached the Redwall Cavern . The article was originally published on Canoe & Kayak. Some of it, like the struggle for protection of the grand canyon itself and how it almost got turned into a reservoir, was very cool and helped provide context for the attitude of the people who were sort of the spiritual forefathers to the rafting guides. Whats one of the best memories from your speed runs? Once the book was talking about present day activities the pace picked up and the writing style became more casual. I picked up this book for my teenage son while my husband and I visited the Grand Canyon. While some visitors undertake back-country hikes, most people are content to enjoy the views from the South Rim, and do not venture much below the rim. The people rafting downriver through the Canyon (out of touch with the rest of the world) were receiving warnings about high water levels from park service helicopters. This is a fantastic combination of storytelling and research. While some visitors undertake back-country hikes, most people are content to enjoy the views from the South Rim, and do not venture much below the rim. In addition to his travel narratives in Outside, where he worked as a senior editor, Fedarkos work has appeared in Esquire, National Geographic Adventure, and other publications, and has been anthologized in The Best American Travel Writing in 2004 and 2006. This was a fantastic book! Triple 7 Expedition Completes Record-breaking Skydive Attempt, Follow as Former Special Operators Attempt to Skydive 7 Continents in 7 Days, Drop Zone: Everest Features the First Skydiving Mission of Its Kind, Triple 7 Jump Team Honors Americas Fallen Heroes: Part 2, Triple 7 Jump Team Honors Americas Fallen Heroes, The Ultimate Way to Explore Norways Fjords Is by Bike, Cyril Derreumaux Kayaks 2,400 Miles Across the PacificSolo and Unsupported, Captagon War: Violent New Drug Trade Setting the Middle East on Fire, We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Men's Journal and its partners. It's a story about how the El Nino event and the inherent wildness of the Colorado River fought against man's attempts to tame the river and almost won, almost causing a huge disaster. Clearly he interviewed everyone from river guides to Bureau of Reclamation and National Park Service officials, but he never really seems to take sides. Against that backdrop, three river guides pushed their dory, the Emerald Mile, into the torrent. They floated the 277 treacherous miles along the Colorado River in a blistering 36 hours and 38 minutes. When all was said and done, the pent-up fury of the Colorado wreaked havoc on the dam to the tune of $32 million. Emerald Mile : the Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon Item Length: 8.4in. I could picture the landscape, the rapids, the boats and remember the feeling of being free from the outside world for just a little bit, as I read. "The Emerald Mile" by Kevin Fedarko is now on my short list of all-time favorite books, 5 stars plus! This one is, and Fedarko's book is as inspiring as a dory itself, flying down a wild river. Fedarko earned a Masters of Philosophy in Russian history at Oxford in 1990. Enjoy a great reading experience when you buy the Kindle edition of this book. My only regret is that I didn't read this book before going. Kevin Fedarko is a painter - he just uses words instead of paint. Still, in this case, I remain super-skeptical. Can an adventure story be as beautiful as it is heart-stopping and exciting? I just completed this Epic Novel on the Grand Canyon Dory speed run in 1983. In the midst of this crisis, the decision to launch a small wooden dory named "The Emerald Mile" at the head of the Grand Canyon, just fifteen miles downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam, seemed not just odd, but downright suicidal. He then said, "I was here for the memorial service and his cremated remains were spread here. . Kenton felt (I disagreed) that such a dory custom-designed for this purpose would allow him to break 24 hours on a solo run. The last time I rowed was back in Boy Scouts. But once I started reading I was enamored by the stories of the history of the canyon and those that experienced and changed it over the years. There is also a lot of information about dams and the environmental aspect of building them. Some of the information about the specifics of how the dam works I could've done without. Click Here : https://clickhere-03.blogspot.com/?book=1439159858 From one of Outside magazine?s ?Literary All-Stars? Rudi Petschek: I have written congratulatory messages to Matt Klema and Ben Orkin expressing my admiration. Publisher: Scribner Publication Year: 2014 Format: Trade Paperback Language: English Item Height: 1in. It's also a rare and fascinating glimpse into what could have been one of our nation's biggest environmental disasters everthe failure of the Glen Canyon Dam. Any of my peeps that are into the outdoors or history -- read this. At age 12, Grua was enthralled by a whitewater rafting trip taken with his father on the Green River, a tributary of the Colorado River. As a writer, he'll make you understand it, savor it, and ultimately love it as you never have before. I told the guide my storyhow Tom had given me the book and how Kit and I had gone to Oars Dories to see the Emerald Mile. The Emerald Mile is the exhilarating true story of that epic attempt to capture the speed record for the fastest boat ride through the Grand Canyon ever. As I sit in my office and stare out at the Jeffrey Pines in my back yard, in late November as we all wait for precipitation patiently, the big winter this story relies on feels ephemeral, like a thing of the past. re-creates an incredible voyage through the flood-swollen Grand Canyon in such heart-pounding detail that you need to pause every few pages to catch your breath that your favorite reading chair becomes a spray-soaked perch on a bucking boat hit hard by a river running high and fast." Product Identifiers And on one of the biggest rapids on the river, boats were being torn apart and people were dying. That these came as a bonus and lasted a third of a century was truly unexpected. -- Hampton Sides editor-at-large at Outside magazine and author of Blood and Thunder and Ghost Soldiers. For more information please read our. Was it possible to compare the kayakers who made the 277-mile speed run to the previous record which was set in a wooden dory? The two back-to-back speed records set in the Grand Canyon last week sparked off a series of debates across social media and in river runners living rooms: Could racing through such a beautiful place ever be justified? The story of this epic run became widely known through Kevin Fedarko's 2013 book also called The Emerald Mile, which relied heavily on interviews conducted with Petschek. I was not roughing it, I was experiencing life!! The author personally knew most of the "characters" that appear in this well researched, beautifully written, appropriately humorous expose on all things Grand Canyon. Neither experimental flows nor the big flood were considerations, as at the time these were beyond even our imagination. Brilliant! I had an 8 day journey that I will never forget. Kevin Fedarko lives in northern New Mexico and works as a part-time river guide in Grand Canyon National Park. What are your thoughts? In the midst of this crisis, beneath the light of a full moon, a trio of river guides secretly launched a small, hand-built wooden boat, a dory named the Emerald Mile, into the Colorado just below the dam's base and rocketed toward the dark chasm downstream, where the torrents of water released by the dam engineers had created a rock-walled . A must read if going on a white water river rafting trip!! This was a book that told the story of an incredible 36 hours by backing up and providing as much context as humanly possible to make it into the length of a novel. It is spiritual and there is no better place to connect with God than the Grand Canyon. I noticed a Dory painted in the colors of the Emerald mile. It was an amazing trip that I hope everyone has an opportunity to experience. The book provided the exploration history of the Grand Canyon, and while interesting, was a struggle to read through. The Emerald Mile, at one time slated to be destroyed, was rescued and brought back to life by Kenton Grua, the man . I would have rated it higher except for the fact that the first 100 pages were a struggle. Theres a rumor that Kenton built another dory specifically for a speed attempt. Lots of analogies and philosophising that long nights gazing at the night sky from the bottom of the Canyon leads too. Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2022. Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2022. He juxtaposes the Glen Canyon Dam engineers' race to avoid catastrophic failures during the huge 1983 spring runoff with what was happen. This was a book that told the story of an incredible 36 hours by backing up and providing as much context as humanly possible to make it into the length of a novel. The Emerald Mile is the best combination of journalistic reporting and eloquent storytelling. This lost treasure still evokes wonder in what lies in Glen Canyonthe 170-mile natural paradise legendary for its secret grottoes, waterfalls, beautiful ravines and isolated side canyons like Hidden Passage before it was flooded by Lake Powell upon the completion of the Glen Canyon Dam in 1963. The production company behind the blockbuster Transformers franchise, which maintains a long-standing first-look deal with Paramount, is currently in development with fifth installment of Michael Bay's Transformers series, the Transformers projects, Die Hard: Year One, and the prehistoric shark pic Meg. Recommended! In the midst of this crisis, the decision to launch a small wooden dory named "The Emerald Mile" at the head of the Grand Canyon, just fifteen miles downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam, seemed not just odd, but downright suicidal. As soon as fluctuations gave way to a steady flow, Kenton called Wally and told him the time had come to do it. In the midst of this crisis, beneath the light of a full moon, a trio of river guides secretly launched a small, hand-built wooden boat, a dory named the Emerald Mile, into the Colorado just below the dams base and rocketed toward the dark chasm downstream, where the torrents of water released by the dam engineers had created a rock . For those who are not able to travel the Colorado River through The Grand Canyon, this book will take you there and show you great adventure, some incredible history and the stories of many people who have traveled there before you. Fedarko has supplied astonishing facts, lyrical, magical atmosphere, and extreme One of the most enthralling books I have read in a long time. There is a Kindle version on Amazon for The Emerald Mile. . We won't post to any of your accounts without asking first. The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon is a 2013 non-fiction book written by Kevin Fedarko. Grua resting in the Emerald Mile. From dam technology and politics, to wooden dory building, to reading rapids - you name it - all tied together and culminating in the most amazing feat by an unlikely crew of 3 fascinating and very different individuals. Slept under the stars every night and cruised, swam and hiked during the day. The last time I rowed was back in Boy Scouts. This is almost a perfect book it combines the story of an event (a speed-run through the Grand Canyon in a dory) and backstory, both near and old in an extremely readable way. If you are lucky, you might even feel some of the magic of the Canyon! Fantastic read, both in terms of the history of the canyon and the record breaking descent. This resulted in a temporary steady release of 37,000 cfs, which brings us to factor number two: OPPORTUNITY! ${cardName} not available for the seller you chose. Perhaps even more so as this story focuses on one single individual. Try again. Kindle readers can highlight text to save their favorite concepts, topics, and passages to their Kindle app or device. One of the best non-fiction books Ive had the privilege of reading. .orange-text-color {font-weight:bold; color: #FE971E;}View high quality images that let you zoom in to take a closer look. So we gave up. This past August 2018, I had the great privilege to take a 5 day journey down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. The author personally knew most of the "characters" that appear in this well researched, beautifully written, appropriately humorous expose on all things Grand Canyon. It details the setting of the rowing speed record through the Grand Canyon during the 1983 flood at Glen Canyon Dam by river guides Kenton Grua, Rudi Petschek, and Steve "Wren" Reynolds. Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2022. For many boaters, Im sure hearing about Orkins swim puts him in a super-human category, but swimming Crystal Rapid at 72,000 cfs sound equally terrifying! This book started out slowly, and I found some of the flowery prose to be ponderous, but the second half was much better than the first. First, the idea of breaking the record set by the Rigg brothers originated with Wally Rist as far back as 1973. Experience a 3 to 7 day expedition filled with whitewater excitement, spectacular waterfalls waterfalls and starry nights. Wed love your help. This was his fantasy a sub-24 hour solo dory run. Matt and Ben could intermittently relax their minds because of so much flat water, but not their bodies. Once I get my mind into that mode, I then try to make myself believe that this is only my second or third trip, and my admiration for Bob and Jim Rigg goes up another notch. Emerald Mile Oarsman Rudi Petschek on the Breaking of his Grand Canyon Speed Record. I had wanted to pay my respects to Kenton Grua and had resolved my self that I would not. For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube! This is a great story interrupted for most of the book by endless meandering. The saga of The Emerald Mile is a thrilling adventure, as well as a magisterial portrait of the hidden kingdom of white water at the bottom of the greatest river canyon on earth. By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy. I have no doubt it will become an instant classic, a timeless chronicle of what can still be legitimately called the American spirit." Best book about a true story that I've read in a long time! There was a problem loading your book clubs. 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. The Emerald Miles 1983 record run was perhaps more risky on account of our scant familiarity with the extreme turbulence of 72,000 cfs, which kept us constantly on edge. The Emerald Mile, at one time slated to be destroyed, was rescued and brought back to life by Kenton Grua, the man at the oars, who intended to use this flood as a kind of hydraulic sling-shot.