Rick Steber and Shell Taylor
Two young office workers, Shell Taylor and Jeff Pope, left New York City in a canoe in April, 1936. In August, 1937, they arrived in Nome, Alaska after paddling, sailing, and portaging 7865 miles. This book is a fascinating account of their trip.
Shell Taylor was an early riser, a hard charger; Jeff Pope a laid-back late sleeper. Their difference lead to tensions which once erupted in a drunken fist fight, nevertheless they stuck it out together for the duration of their incredible odyssey.
Written 50 years after the fact, the book is a bit uneven. There’s a lot of detail about the start of the trip and their wintering over in the Northwest Territories, but relatively little about their trip down the Mackenzie and Yukon rivers. Nevertheless it’s a good travel book and a great account of the North when it was still vary much a frontier.