Any book that is even tangential to Peter Matthiessen”s The Snow Leopard is entirely worth a read, so William deBuy’s The Trail to Kanjiroba was inevitable. deBuys is a local boy, but like the snow leopard, rarely seen. He spends his time in the wild, and in places like the Upper Dolpo in Nepal where this little story takes place. Think Walter Mitty and “ungoverned Afghanistan.” I’m a sucker for travelogue, and yes I can’t stop thinking about visiting this region, but this book is more than that. This book touches on plate tectonics, Darwin, and oddly enough the cleansing of feet. These first two might seem on par, and the last might seem odd but hear me out.
deBuys is part of a medical expedition to treat rural villagers. He’s there to write and record but also joins in the various tasks required to undertake such an endeavor. There is a passage about cleaning feet which is, as you would imagine, slightly unsavory, and yet there is another side of this experience that reveals something poignant about human nature and connection.
There is a climate twist here too, something that must be entirely frustrating to those involved in the fight, but it never dominates the narrative. This book is also comprised of short chapters, some might say extremely short, so if you are having issues with book length material, this is a good place to start.(Just had a conversation with a friend who admitted this was a real challenge when he first returned to reading.) This region and these adventures are what get me up in the morning. Sure, I then spend the day organizing urban photo walks and assisting people with their publishing schemes, but stories like this haunt my upper reaches, and in a good way. Get it, read it.
Comments 4
I freely admit to living vicariously through this type of writing. as a married guy with a 2 nine-to-five career household, the lure of adventure is in my subconscious a lot, but so utterly unfeasible. I’m taking a lot of liberties with the word “adventure” here as I mean it to be something a lot more than a simple vacation or “taste” of a given place.
Author
Same for me. Would love to do something like this but not likely with current schedule.
Listening to it now. It’s start with some premisses that are a bit sad in 2024, namely believing we know more today about where humans come from, compared to ancient tribes or civilisations. Also believing in Darwin theory today is just nonsense, nobody does anymore. That alone should be enough to stop listening, but doing my best to listen through this neo-theology that fuels the author and hoping to reach the core of the book.
Author
I don’t know anyone who dismisses Darwin that causally. Sure, have things changed, yes, buy some of this basic finch discoveries are still being utilized today. And I’m confused about the not knowing anything more in 2024. I know just a few years ago they realized Native Americans in the Southern US were communicating with Native Americans in Northern Mexico via stone pillars with fire. That certainly wasn’t in my textbook from 1992.