Paddle to the Arctic: The Incredible Story of a Kayak Quest Across the Roof of the World

Janet Money, formerly the sports editor of the Woodstock Daily
Sentinel-Review, is a freelance writer and editor in London, Ontario.

Don Starkell spent three years crossing the Northwest Passage by sea
kayak. In September 1992, he was rescued less than 50 miles from
Tuktoyaktuk, his destination, nearly out of food, with no water, and
suffering from frostbite. Paddle to the Arctic is a testament to his
incredible ego and stubbornness.

After 300 pages of this amazing story—which documents arguments with
paddling partners; encounters with polar bears, grizzly bears, muskox,
and caribou; plunges into icy water; and delirium from exposure and lack
of food and water—one can only conclude that the journey was not worth
the hardship. Victoria Jason, who paddled with Starkell for two summers,
putting up with his navigational blunders and demanding pace (he timed
her rest breaks with a stopwatch), pulled out with a serious injury in
1992. “He’ll kill us all,” she told a reporter.

Starkell’s account offers virtually no reflection on what the journey
meant, why he did it, and whether it was worth losing the tips of all of
his fingers and most of his toes. At one point, he speaks of being
“humbled”; frankly, it’s hard to believe him.