Considering the state of the world, and the fact that we’re planning a kayaking trip through the Gulf of California, I decided to reread Laurence Gonzales’ book, Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why.
Brought back a whole lotta bittersweet memories of our insane canoe trip in The Boundary Waters. Made me realize all over again why that trip went the way it went, why it bordered on disaster. One must deal with reality, not what one wishes was reality. (This is a good philosophy whether you’re on a wilderness trip or living your everyday life.) I can never forget Mr. Bob yelling at his GPS, assuming it was broken because the readings didn’t match what he wanted them to match. He was determined to make the coordinates match the incorrect coordinates stuck in his brain. He ignored reality, the evidence staring him in the face (and the words coming out of my mouth). We were going the wrong way. He was guiding us the wrong way. He was lost. Fortunately I was not. Doesn’t mean I won the battle. I lost the battle, but in the end I won the war.
I picked up two new, well, used books mentioned in Deep Survival–
Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost At Sea, by Steven Callahan
And Untamed Seas: One Woman’s True Story of Shipwreck and Survival, by Deborah Scaling Kiley
You know me, addicted to nonfic! Julia
P.S. Untamed Seas gets a 5-star rec from me! It’s a fast read and the book arrived before Adrift.