Starting Out in the Afternoon: A Mid-Life Journey into Wild Land

Christine Hughes is manager, Policy Coordination, Developmental Services
Branch, Ontario Ministry of Community, Family and Children’s Services.

While most people only dream of packing up and putting their work and
family life temporarily “on hold” as they head off for some
interesting or exotic locale, Frayne has actually done it, and this book
describes her three-month solo trek from Ontario to the Yukon in 1990.
Written in a travel-diary style, the book offers readers rich, evocative
imagery of the places she visited along the way. As part of her trip,
Frayne went on a two-week sea-kayaking trip in British Columbia’s
Queen Charlotte Islands, despite never having been in a kayak before.
Her descriptions of the rugged beauty of the landscape stand out as one
of the book’s highlights. She also took ferry rides up the Inside
Passage and relates some interesting tales about using her bicycle and
tent to explore the wilderness of Alaska and the Yukon.

Frayne embarked on this trip when she was 45 years old, emerging from
the break-up of a longtime relationship and facing her daughter’s
graduation and leaving home. Traveling on her own for most of the three
months left plenty of time to reflect on past experiences and future
possibilities, and these personal spiritual explorations are as much a
part of this memoir as are the vivid descriptions of the actual places
she visited.

Since going on her journey, Frayne has moved into a rustic home on a
bush lot at the top of Algonquin Park and has made several return trips
to the North. This is her first book.