By Russ Lawrence
When Jon Turk set out on his historic effort to circumnavigate Ellesmere Island in the high arctic, he knew it would be his last fully-committed expedition, but he didn’t expect it to kill him. He just didn’t know in how many ways that would nearly come to pass.
His newest book, published this month, is “Crocodiles and Ice – A Journey Into Deep Wild.” In it, he writes of numerous adventures, undertaken by kayak and bicycle in places as varied as the south Pacific, the high arctic, and the Tibetan plateau. Brushes with death are a common topic, but they aren’t the point of the book, Turk asserts.
Instead, the Darby author’s themes are society’s loss of connection with the “subtle, intangible and inexplicable secrets of nature” through an over-dependence on technology; and the journey into ecstasy that can alter our consciousness, and thereby reform our relationship with the natural world.
Turk will introduce his book in a presentation at Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton on Tuesday, September 20, at 6 p.m. From there, he’ll be traveling in the U.S. and Canada to promote the book, but he promises that his Hamilton presentation will be different from the remainder of the book tour.
“Here in the Bitterroot most people have heard my stories, and I don’t need to repeat them,” Turk said. “I want to focus instead on the lifestyle choices we make.”
Early chapters in the book describe his rebellion against what society expected of him, and his choice to adopt a lifestyle that allowed him to follow his passions. Specifically, he eschewed the consumerism that our culture promotes, and the mindset that arose from it.
“If you shed all that stuff, then life changes,” he asserted, citing a lecture by Dr. Timothy Leary as a catalyst in his own journey.
“Fundamentally, do we choose consumerism or ‘Deep Wild,’ or more exactly Deep Passion,” Turk asks. “In my mind, the book is about the search for ecstasy on a personal or societal level, and I want to concentrate on that,” for his Hamilton audience.
“Crocodiles and Ice” also focuses on the theme of aging, as Turk undertook what he knew would be his last, “fully-committed” expedition in the company of Erik Boomer, a young adventurer whom Turk had met only once prior to setting out together. It was to be Turk’s farewell, at age 65, to such epic adventures, and the 26 year-old Boomer’s introduction to the same, a passing-of-the-torch moment for both.
The expedition took place in 2012. The passage of time, and the act of writing about it, have given Turk some perspective. “At 70, almost 71, I have definitely left any semblance of youth behind,” he mused. “If I attempted the Ellesmere expedition today, five years after the fact, I would either fail or die. No question. I am so happy to have squeezed that expedition in ‘under the wire’, and equally happy to accept the reality of being old,” he said. “The only other choice is to be unhappy with reality.”
Looking back, his view of the expedition has changed little. “It was a wonderful experience. At the time, I cherished that last totally intense immersion into the polar void, and looking back on it, I still feel exactly the same.”
Their 104-day circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island won Turk and Boomer recognition as “2012 Adventurers of the Year” from National Geographic magazine.
His final theme in “Crocodiles and Ice” is the need for a fundamental change in human consciousness, and the importance of personal journeys to effect that change.
“We care for our close human friends and family just because we love them, not for some economic or future reason. One of the basic premises of Deep Ecology is to love the Earth and all its creatures with the same unconditional love.
“As soon as you drag ‘Cost-Benefit Analysis’ or ‘how will the future unfold’ into the picture, you are missing the point,” he asserts.
Turk believes that can be achieved through the pursuit of passion or ecstasy, however an individual perceives it, whether it’s music, gardening, or dance.
Or polar expeditions.
Though the book is categorized under kayaking and adventure, that’s not the point, Turk emphasized. “Jon Turk has an adventure and doesn’t die – I’ve got to get away from that,” he said.
Instead, the adventure is a point of departure to explore his other themes. When a polar bear bit a hole in their tent, they didn’t shoot it, but instead drove it away with cursing and a show of bravado.
“You don’t hurt things that you don’t have to hurt,” he said, whether it’s a bear or a planet.
“The point is not to win, but to care.”
Turk’s presentation will be free, and the public is welcome. “Crocodiles and Ice – A Journey Into Deep Wild” is published by Oolichan Books, and is $19.95 in paperback. For more information on the event, call Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton at (406) 363-5220.