Alaska Solitude

"[An] illuminating memoir." —Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, The New York Times The story of a composer's life in the Alaskan wilderness and a meditation on making art in a landscape acutely threatened by climate change In the summer of 1975, the composer John Luther Adams, then a twenty-two-year-old graduate of CalArts, boarded a flight to Alaska. So began a journey into the mountains, forests, and tundra of the far north—and across distinctive mental and aural terrain—that would last for the next forty years. Silences So Deep is Adams’s account of these formative decades—and of what it’s like to live alone in the frozen woods, composing music by day and spending one’s evenings with a raucous crew of poets, philosophers, and fishermen. From adolescent loves—Edgard Varèse and Frank Zappa—to mature preoccupations with the natural world that inform such works as The Wind in High Places, Adams details the influences that have allowed him to emerge as one of the most celebrated and recognizable composers of our time. Silences So Deep is also a memoir of solitude enriched by friendships with the likes of the conductor Gordon Wright and the poet John Haines, both of whom had a singular impact on Adams’s life. Whether describing the travails of environmental activism in the midst of an oil boom or midwinter conversations in a communal sauna, Adams writes with a voice both playful and meditative, one that evokes the particular beauty of the Alaskan landscape and the people who call it home. Ultimately, this book is also the story of Adams’s difficult decision to leave a rapidly warming Alaska and to strike out for new topographies and sources of inspiration. In its attentiveness to the challenges of life in the wilderness, to the demands of making art in an age of climate crisis, and to the pleasures of intellectual fellowship, Silences So Deep is a singularly rich account of a creative life.

From the publishers of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World "A Tourist's Best Friend!" --Chicago Sun-Times "Indispensable" --The New York Times Four Great Features and Benefits offered ONLY by The Unofficial Guide: * Lodging and dining rated for quality and value * Great ideas for family travel * An insider's guide to the top outfitters for every activity * Complete planning information for escorted tours or travel on your own

"To live in a pristine land, unchanged by man; to roam a wilderness through which few other humans pass; to choose an idyllic site, cut trees and build a log cabin; to be a self-sufficient craftsman, making what is needed from materials available; to be not at odds with thye world, but content with one's own thougts and company. Thousands have had such dreams but Richard Proenneke lived them. He found a place, built a cabin and stayed to become part of the country. [This] is a simple account of the day-to-day explorations and activities he carried out alone and the constant chain of nature's events that kept him company"--Publisher's description.

Since Alaska is so large and its options so varied, this guide is organized primarily to help travelers zero in on the activity or activities that most appeal to them. The first ten chapters focus solely on adventure travel, each devoted to a single activity. The five regional chapters that follow focus mainly on the basics in a given area of the state — getting around, shopping, lodging, dining, and entertainment. The objective is not to provide the most information about destinations or attractions, but rather, the most useful information. Any destination or outfitter listed here has made the cut by proving itself a wonderful place to visit or a reliable company with which to do business.

All her life, Katherine Keith has hungered for remote, wild places that fill her soul with freedom and peace. Her travels take her across America, but it is in the vast and rugged landscape of Alaska that she finds her true home. Alaska is known as a place where people disappear—at least a couple thousand go missing each year. But the same vast and rugged landscape that contributed to so many people being lost is precisely what has gotten her found. She and her husband build a log cabin miles away from the nearest road and create a life of love. An idyllic existence, but with isolation and brutal living conditions can also come heartbreak. Chopping wood and hauling water are not just parts of a Zen proverb but a requirement for survival. Keith experiences tragic loss and must push on, with her infant daughter, alone in the Alaskan backcountry. Long-distance dog sledding opens a door to a new existence. Racing across the state of Alaska offers the best of all worlds by combining raw wilderness with solitude and athleticism. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the “Last Great Race on Earth,” remains a true test of character and offers the opportunity to intimately explore the frontier that she has come to love. With every thousand miles of winter trail traversed in total solitude, she confronts challenges that awaken internal demons, summoning all the inner grief and rage that lies dormant. In the tradition of Cheryl Strayed’s Wild and John Krakauer’s Into the Wild, Epic Solitude is the powerful and touching story of how one woman found her way—both despite and because of—the difficulties of living and racing in the remote wilderness.

An adventure-driven Alaskan memoir with an extraordinary dog. From a remote, abandoned cabin by the ocean where orcas breeched, beneath thirteen feet of rain, a remarkable yellow Labrador named Woody helped a runaway from the corridors of corporate America seek a fierce freedom in the Alaskan wilds. Award-winning director Ward Serrill (The Heart of the Game) discovered his Shakri-La, sixteen miles from the nearest town, and accessible only by boat, in the remote Alaskan wilderness. This little hut near a waterfall and next to the ocean is where he and Woody took up their vigil. This years-long experiment in solitude and immersion in the natural world, with Woody as his only companion, took Serrill down some dark paths, forcing him to confront the reality and the emotional cost of running away all his life. By facing his darkness, he discovers an unexplored region of his heart opened by grief that offers the true possibility of belonging.