The Emerald Mile -- Take 2

It took me forever to read this book.  However, one should not infer anything about the quality of the book from the length of time it took me to read it. In fact, when I first posted about it, I was struggling between reading the book and fulfilling the obligations in my life.  Unfortunately for the book, life won out.

Finally, I got time to get through it compliments of my recent bouts with insomnia.  Silver lining.

I was surprised by how little of the book is actually about the dory trip itself.  The title, the subtitle, and the cover photo all indicate that the speed run through the Canyon is the story.  It's certainly the heart of the story, but there's more to it than that.

The book starts with a long history of the Canyon's geology, which includes several wonderful passages describing the majesty of the place.  It then moves into a description of Canyon hydrology, specifically as it relates to the relatively recent damming of the Colorado River, the changes that has caused, and the many problems it has created.  Only then, several hundred pages in, do we meet our heroes and hear the tale of their wild ride.

I'll say again that the quality of this book is completely independent of the time it took me to read it.  Don't hold my delays against it; it's certainly worth a read.  I've even read a few other (shorter) things written by the same author since I finished it -- including a piece he wrote for Outside Magazine, "They Call Me Groover Boy."

What I really liked about The Emerald Mile is that, each time I got to a new section -- Canyon history, faults of the dam, the dory trip -- I was excited to get back to that part of the story.  Together they are braided together to tell a compelling tale.