The Only Kayak: A Journey into the Heart of Alaska

Heacox's book isn't one to devour at high speed; it was one to be sipped, calming and grounding. It's about love of place, wherever that is, and preservation of the world through wildness. It's about how our collection fascination with conquering nature, with being the only kayak, has contributed to sprawl and to material excess. It's a love poem to a dying habitat, and a rage against the government that wants to drill holes in sacred places. It acknowledges that Alaska has teeth, that it can kill the careless, but that its danger is its beauty. I love this book, I love the sentiment behind it, I love its wisdom. I want to buy a hundred copies and give it out like matchbooks in a bar: a small way to light a thousand fires.

I recently took a trip to Alaska and asked two different park rangers there (one male and one female) what their favorite book about the state was and they both quickly answered "The Only Kayak". That was good enough for me, so I bought it. They certainly didn't steer me wrong. This is nature writing at its finest. If Muir were still with us, he'd own a worn copy of this book and be honored to be featured in it. This book is even more important today than it was when it was copyrighted in 2005. Read it and buy another copy for someone you love.

What a wonderful account of the author's 25 years living in Glacier Bay Alaska. It should be made into a movie. I read it prior to a trip to the Inside Passage in Alaska. It added so much to my understanding and feelings for the "Heart of Alaska." Beautifully written and inspiring. Let's keep wild places wild!!

In this coming-of-age memoir, Kim Heacox discovers an Alaska reborn from beneath a massive glacier, where flowers emerge from boulders, moose swim fjords, and bears cross crevasses with Homeric resolve. I such a place Heavox finds that people are reborn too, and their lives begins anew with incredible journeys, epiphanies, and successes. All in America free of crass commercialism and overdevelopment.
Braided through the larger story are tales of gold prospectors and the cabin they built 60 years ago; John Muir and his I tepid terrier, Stickeen; and a dynamic geology professor who teaches earth science “as if every day were a geological epoch,”
Nearly two million people come to Alaska every summer, some on large cruise ships, some in show more single kayaks-all in search of the last great wilderness, the African of America. Timid exactly the American Heacox finds in this story of paradox, love, and loss. show less

This book is equal parts: memoir, history, environmental activism, philosophy, ecological education, big business scandal and tribute to a famous wildlife photographer and friend.
I loved Mr. Heacox's easy writing style. He has led such an interesting life that his retelling of his experiences is captivating. There are several breath-taking photos in the books to help visualize the places and faces.
I love this book so much that I give it as a gift.

Here's what I wrote about this read in 2016: "Guy goes to Glacier Bay, falls in love with it and the right woman, and that is his home. He's seems a bit insecure and needy but valuable, different angle to learn about this amazing place." Quotations in the comments section are my exact Kindle highlights. Re-Reading those comments now in 2024 I see that they contain some very good wisdom and sad truths.