Book Review: A Guide to Paddling in the Yukon

Like a canoe that tracks straight and maneuvers well, Ken Madsen and Peter Mather’s A Guide to Paddling in the Yukon is a fine book for two reasons: it’s a helpful guidebook for canoeing and kayaking in the Yukon territory and it’s a worthy “coffee table book” thanks to its striking collection of color photos.

Printed on high-quality, glossy, stock, the book is a worthy investment for its depictions of the Yukon’s wilds alone. Madsen and Mather’s photos capture both the grandeur and the subtle charms of the region, as well as record the simple pleasures and adrenal moments of wilderness river tripping. The photo collection gives the reader not only a sense of what the Yukon will look like, but also what tripping in the region can feel like.

As a guidebook, Paddling is nicely constructed. For each of the 73 rivers included in the book, the authors include easy-to-find information on distance, paddling duration, whitewater difficulty, access and logistics, and the topo maps required. Their descriptions of the rivers are clearly written with just enough trip-enhancing information about the human and natural history of the area in question. Madsen and Mather are unapologetic conservationists, which shows, appealingly, in their writing.

Madsen and Mather also include an italicized anecdote for each of the rivers they’ve paddled. It’s a nice touch – the stories offer additional insights about the rivers and the authors but are easy to skip for the just-the-facts-ma’am guidebook reader.

If there’s a quibble about the book it’s that the maps, what few there are, fall below the standard set by the rest of the book. There are only four maps in the book, each covering wide regions. While they show the rivers and roads, there’s no topography and little other detail besides town names. They sport a cold, Google Maps-y look where something hand-drawn and more concerned with terrain would have been a better fit.

As a whole, however, the book is a winner. It’s both the wonderfully illustrated volume that could inspire a Yukon trip as well as the detailed guide to use when it’s time to plan the expedition.