Into the Unknown: High Adventure and Hard Lessons Exploring the World's Great, Lost Wilderness Rivers

Into the Unknown: High Adventure and Hard Lessons Exploring the World's Great, Lost Wilderness Rivers

Veteran wilderness guide Michael P. Ghiglieri takes you into the unknown—among white-water rapids, crocodiles, hippos, gorillas, lions, and impossible waterfalls. His riveting memoir not only serves up true high adventure, it also presents the ecology, natural history, conservation (or the lack of it), and exploration history of nine far-flung wilderness regions across the globe—including the never-to-be-repeated white-water run on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon during the Bureau of Reclamation’s 1983 super flood of ninety-seven thousand cubic feet per second; the first summit-to-sea descent of the Alas River exploring Sumatra’s new Gunung Leuser National Park, a last redoubt for wild orangutans and other rare species; and the “impossible” run of the Alsek River from the Yukon to Alaska in the world’s largest international conservation area. Into the Unknown reveals what the natural world looks like through a professional’s eyes during “adventure” travel, when things start sliding toward the edge. This insider memoir recounts ten sagas of extreme expeditions into Earth’s most amazing wilderness regions to illustrate their realities, science, allure, history, risks to life and limb, and ultimate fates. Many of these regions have now vanished to “progress.” Others are imperiled. Only a few are protected. But all are, or were, places where exotic beauty and danger are inseparable. “What a venturesome life Michael Ghiglieri has lived—most of it in or on water—and what a gorgeous rhapsody to rivers he’s written! You can’t read this book without feeling a twinge of envy, but Ghiglieri’s wise and spirited accounts of his aquatic adventures just may inspire you to get out there more often, with an open mind and an explorer’s heart, to float the bold rivers of the world.”—Hampton Sides, New York Times best-selling author of The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook “Michael Ghiglieri has spent the last half century running forty of the world’s wild rivers, from the iconic Euphrates and Colorado to thrillingly unknown cataracts in New Guinea, uncharted stretches of white water in East Africa, and meltwater-flooded canyons in the Sierra Nevada. Along the way he’s faced a host of exotic dangers, from charging hippos to malaria and rapid runs gone awry. Whether you’re an armchair traveler or a longtime river rat, you’ll be glad to have Ghiglieri as your guide journeying into the unknown, with thrills, spills, and hair-raising tales of high adventure.”—Gregory McNamee, author of Gila: The Life and Death of an American River "Michael P. Ghiglieri's Into the Unknown is a sharp mapping of the ethics of guiding, oared by one who has navigated the world's rivers countless times. The thick volume intertwines adventure, history, and environmental commentary, making it a must-read for river runners and outdoor enthusiasts, and even those who just want to peek into the experience from a cozy living room, on solid ground. For those familiar with the unpredictable nature of wild waters, Ghiglieri’s book is the What to Expect When You’re Expecting of river guiding—a guidebook not just for practicalities but for mindset and meaning." -- Reg Hendricks ― Arizona Daily Sun “Storytelling through the words of a scientist with an excellent hand is the best kind of storytelling. Ghiglieri’s adventures are hard won and deeply considered, swashbuckling and relevant.”—Craig Childs, author of Tracing Time: Seasons of Rock Art on the Colorado Plateau “Wild rivers are merely reservoirs postponed. Yet without their currents, the stitches that hold the world together come undone. Michael Ghiglieri, equal parts adventurer, guide, and scholar, makes the compelling case for the freedom of flows, for the great unfathomable rides that rouse our lives and stir us into wonder and joy.”—Richard Bangs, author of The Art of Living Dangerously: True Stories from a Life on the Edge Michael P. Ghiglieri has worked as a professional wilderness river guide for fifty years on forty rivers around the world. His books include Canyon and, with Thomas M. Myers, Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon , winner of the National Outdoor Book Award.