"An engaging tale. [Lourie] vividly describes exciting whitewater rides—some hot, some slow—and the joys of crowded paddling, and throughout he provides a historical recounting of the development of the civilization along the river. . . . The many people he met along the way, including loggers, fishermen, guides, barge pilots, and a squatter, add to the richness of his tale."—Library Journal
"I bet this book will persuade many to rent a canoe and repeat at least portions of Peter Lourie's extraordinary trip. And for the rest of us it will give information we need to protect the river, restore it, and help see that it's loved by young and old, rich and poor."—Pete Seeger
"With the world explored, Peter Lourie chose his own backyard for a wonderful adventure. He has written an excellent book."—Robert Boyle, author of The Hudson River: A Natural and Unnatural History
Description
Lourie completed his trip. It took him three weeks and marked the first time anyone has traveled from the source of the Hudson to the mouth in a single vessel. The Hudson proved to be a very changeable river. It includes seven locks and nine power dams. The northern half is a true river with strong current, but the lower half is tidal, a sunken river from the days of glaciers. In its first 165 miles, it drops more than 4,000 feet to Albany. The second half falls no more than a foot.
Lourie’s account of his trip is a fresh look at one of America’s great and complex waterways, one of the few, in fact, that still contains its historical and biological species of fish. It is also the longest inland estuary in the world. Henry Hudson called it the “great river of the mountains.” Nowadays, too often the Hudson is stereotyped as a ruined, polluted industrial river. Its glorious past is compared to its present neglect.
In River of Mountains, Peter Lourie combines the Hudson’s rich history and descriptions of some of the region’s most impressive landscape with the residents of its mill towns, the loggers, commercial fishermen, and barge pilots-all of whom are proof that the river is still a thriving, vital waterway. So, come with Peter Lourie on his trip, come explore with him from a canoe one of this country’s great rivers, join him in his wonderful adventure.
Table of Contents
Illustration
Acknowledgments
Part One: Adirondack Hudson
Preparation
The Great Portage
Lake Tear of the Clouds
The Adirondack River
The Gorge
Adirondack Miners, Loggers, and Good-bye
Part Two: Dams and Locks
A Forgotten Town
Dams
The Feeder Canal
Lock 7
The Hudson River Champlain Canal
Part Three: The Tide
Canoeing the Tides
Albany
The Catskill Hudson
Catskill to Poughkeepsie
Home
Part Four: River of Mountains to the Sea
The Hudson Highlands
Big Bays and Big Water
Last Night on River TIme
Maximum Ebb to the Sea
About the Author
Peter Lourie has written books about his journeys on many rivers, from the Amazon and the Everglades to the Yukon and the Missouri. His most recent book is Erie Canal: Canoeing America's Great Waterway, describing a 500-mile paddle from Lake Erie to his home in Middlebury, Vermont. He has taught creative writing at Columbia University, the University of Vermont, and Middlebury College, and he is now working on two books, one about the Rio Grande and the other about Incan treasure.
Related Interest
May 1998