One Man's Epic, Never-Done-Before (and Sort of Illegal) Hike Across the Heartland
February 15, 2016
One man's journey hiking the then-proposed path of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, from the Alberta tar sands of Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. After a stint as a dishwasher at Deadhorse Camp, a makeshift community of oil workers near the Arctic Circle in northern Alaska, Ilgunas (Walden on Wheels: On the Open Road from Debt to Freedom, 2013) realized that he was indirectly participating in the culture of oil dependence, and the subsequent industrial squalor he witnessed around him at camp, that he actively fought against. After a fateful if not disastrous hike to nearby Prudhoe Bay reinvigorated the author's spirit for adventure and wanderlust, he quickly set about planning a symbolic trek along the proposed path of the contentious and, at the time, still-tentative Keystone XL oil pipeline. In 2012, he began in the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, and continued southward for 1,700 miles through the plains of America to the Gulf coast of Texas. Along the way, the author, always following his free-wheeling philosophy (he has hitchhiked more than 10,000 miles across North America and canoed more than 1,000 in Canada), risked being shot by landowners for trespassing, battled niggling injuries and fatigue, and endured the harsh weather while sleeping outside. While rhapsodizing about the natural beauty of the environment, Ilgunas also injects his narrative with statistics, facts, and anecdotes about the global warming crisis (he quotes Wendell Berry, Bill McKibben, James Hansen, and others). Ending his journey at a refinery on the Gulf coast in Port Arthur, Texas, the symbolism of the author's journey does not add up to the gravitas that he intended. While the narrative is heartfelt and seemingly genuine, Ilgunas' multistate hike reads like an overextended think piece. An interesting and promising premise turns ponderous and occasionally preachy as the author narrates his cross-country trek.
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February 1, 2016
Five months, 1,900 miles, and three pairs of boots. What started as idle talk at an Alaskan working camp turned into a once-in-a-lifetime adventure: to hike the entire length of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, from Canada to Texas. Ilgunas' time on the road would test his endurance and challenge his assumptions about the Great Plains and their inhabitants. The proposed pipeline was already making its presence felt during his journey, and while Ilgunas disputes the plan on environmental grounds, it's clear that those he meets who would have it running through their backyards are more concerned with safety and property rights than global warming. His brief meetings with people on the road, many of whom helpfully warn him he'll get shot for trespassing, along with an engaging travelogue about the perils of his trek, make up the backbone of the book. The hike gives Ilgunas a more nuanced appreciation of the scope and impact of the pipeline, inviting us to consider the landscape before moving to change it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)