Aidan and Jim proudly standing in front of the cabin they helped build. We are still an oil-dependent nation and, for me, this book provides new insight for a better understanding of what we might lose if we do not insure to protect this fundamental and relatively unexplored Alaskan American resource. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge lies about 125 miles east of the National Petroleum Reserve, an area rich in coal and oil that is largely controlled by the oil and gas industry. This book is a tribute to a land that offers breeding habitat to caribou, geese, ducks, loons, and many other migratory species from five continents. They learn the tools of the survival trade from native Eskimo peoples that become close friends. They hunt game animals for meat, largely caribou and moose, despite the chill factors that often exceed 50 degrees below zero. The book describes the manner of how they each embrace the wild land and each other to complete their journey, as they are tested with the rigors of unfettered Alaskan nature. Jim Campbell and daughter, Aidan, on the Hulahula River, in front of the cook fire, 3 days south of the Arctic Ocean, August 2014. The also discover precious clean air, fertile forests, and a special kind of instinct for survival that all the plants and trees and animals have developed. They discover new wisdom and ingenuity in a land dominated by blue skies, howling and growling night animals, flowing rivers of ice-cold water, and harsh climate.

This true story provides extraordinary insight into the wild outdoors to be found hiking, crossing the Hulahula River, paddling the Arctic Ocean and finally, helping local natives build a cabin for winter survival.

In the beauty of the natural world found in the Refuge, they form new levels of heartfelt trust and inner strength. When James Campbell and his teenage daughter, Aiden, set off to visit Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, they discover untouched wilderness, bone-chilling cold, grizzly bears, polar bears, wolves, ubiquitous clouds of mosquitoes, compelling them to define new elements for survival and forming a sacred connection with each other and native peoples there. Jim Campbell and 15-year old daughter, Aidan, rafting in Alaska on the Hulahula River, August 2014.Īdventure above the view of our modern Western culture is not traditional. Guidebook for Conquering Fear as a Parent.Bone-Chilling Cold, Grizzly Bears, Polar Bears, Inner Strength.A Father and Daughter True Story of Adventure.

James campbell author braving it