Subject line: New book reveals subarctic cairn notes—penned by wilderness travellers.FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2014. Beaconia, Manitoba
Contact Brian Johnston, 204-754-2121,
Brian@JohnstonPursuits.caVisit
http://www.JohnstonPursuits.ca for book cover, praise, and In the Media.
New book reveals subarctic cairn notes—penned by wilderness travellers.
Witness over a century of travellers’ thoughts captured on top of a massive boulder on an otherwise barren landscape.Beaconia, Manitoba—By self-publishing On Top of a Boulder: Notes from Tyrrell’s Cairn longtime Arctic paddler Brian Johnston is helping to preserve a unique collection of notes that speak to the essence of far north wilderness canoe travel.
Johnston, a veteran far north paddler, traversed 1000 km eastward along the edge of the subarctic on route visiting Tyrrell’s Carey Lake boulder cairn on the Dubawnt River. There, Johnston found the cairn notes deteriorating. He decided to preserve and share them before the harsh environment eroded the historical record.
This is the Rirst substantial effort to preserve, protect, and publish these cairn notes. Johnston compiled the notes, together with transcriptions, and other relevant information, to form a nearly complete record. On Top of a Boulder: Notes from Tyrrell’s Cairn reveals the voices of those who visited the cairn and preserves their words for future generations. The intent of the project is to document and share the cairn notes.
For half a century, recreational paddlers have sought the rewards of the barrenlands. The Dubawnt River cairn is an old and a distinct cairn. This cairn is seldom visited and until now unrevealed. Dating back to 1893 when J.B. Tyrrell Rirst established the cairn, it is one of a few cairns with this length of accumulated history. The notes form a multilayered record of the echoes of history, including the ill-fated Art Moffat expedition.
It is “a wonderful little window on history and the lure of faraway places!” praised James Raffan, renowned author and Executive Director of the Canadian Canoe Museum.
The book is part of a larger project to protect and preserve the cairn notes. Johnston produced an all-weather version of the book that resides at the cairn site housed in a waterproof case. He acknowledges the support of Rite in the Rain for the all-weather paper and journal as well as Wilderness Supply Company for the protective waterproof case.
If you enjoy canoe travel or share a kinship with travellers in an unbounded land, then On Top of a Boulder: Notes from Tyrrell’s Cairn is a piece of history waiting your exploration.
To order your copy, please contact Brian Johnston, at
Brian@JohnstonPursuits.ca, 1-204-482-2121 work, or 1-204-752-2651 home.
Read more at
http://www.JohnstonPursuits.caContact Brian Johnston, 204-754-2121,
Brian@JohnstonPursuits.ca -ENDS-