Description
Canada’s mountain man shares his best wilderness adventure stories
Though Andy Russell has been many things in his life – hunter, trapper, trail guide, wilderness photographer and filmmaker, conservationist, and activist – he is, above all else, a master storyteller. This collection of twenty-four stories, selected and introduced by R. Bruce Morrison, includes Andy’s accounts of growing up on a ranch near the Rocky Mountains; hunting with a rifle, fishing rod, and camera; and encounters with wildlife large and small. He describes the warmth of a campfire shared with loved ones and the feeling of being part of something greater than himself. Andy writes about the animals he has lived and worked with, such as Seppi, his trusty hunting dog; Ace, his courageous trail horse; and Amos, the pack horse with a high I.Q. He also retells the stories of his friends and family, some that will make your hair stand on end, such as the time his father-in-law jumped off a log almost right into a grizzly’s lap or when his son stood eight feet from a grizzly and argued with it until they parted ways… intact. Some of the stories are funny, others are compelling and inspiring. This collection is a testament to over sixty years of living in Canada’s wild places.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Jim McLennan
Introduction by R. Bruce Morrison
part one
The Last of the Free Range
Life in Cow Country
By the River
Learning in the Horse Corral
Cows and CowboysPart Two
Pack-Train Personalities
Seppi: A Hunting Dog
Encounter at Grizzly Gulch
High Country Honeymoon
With Packhorse and RiflePart Three
The Wilderness Fisherman
There My Stick Floats
People Along the River
Take a Man Fishing
With Rod and ReelPart Four
Exploring with Cameras
A Successful Season
Return to the Toklat
Hunting with a CameraPart Five
White Sheep of the Arctic
The Otters
MuchMaligned Wolverine
Can Animals Think?
Understanding the WildPart Six
Why Man Needs Wilderness
Grizzly Country: A Vanishing Heritage
The Death of the River?
Mountain Streams
Epilogue by Andy Russell
Bibliography
Nature’s Advocate
