Trespassing Across America

Posted on 06 February 2018 by Ken Ilgunas

Winner of the Nebraska Center for the Book Award, Travel A Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award Notable Book Honoree of the Society of Midland Authors Annual Literary Award for Biography Memoir Now that President Donald Trump has revived the Keystone XL pipeline that was rejected by former President Obama, Trespassing Across America is the book to help us understand the kaleidoscopic significance of the project Told with sincerity, humor, and wit, Ilgunas s story is both a fascinating account of one man s remarkable journey along the pipeline s potential path and a meditation on climate change, the beauty of the natural world, and the extremes to which we can push ourselves both physically and mentally It started as a far fetched idea to hike the entire length of the proposed route of the Keystone XL pipeline But in the months that followed, it grew into something for Ken Ilgunas It became an irresistible adventure an opportunity not only to draw attention to global warming but also to explore his personal limits So in September 2012, he strapped on his backpack, stuck out his thumb on the interstate just north of Denver, and hitchhiked 1,500 miles to the Alberta tar sands Once there, he turned around and began his 1,700 mile trek to the XL s endpoint on the Gulf Coast of Texas, a journey he would complete entirely on foot, walking almost exclusively across private property.Both a travel memoir and a reflection on climate change, Trespassing Across America is filled with colorful characters, harrowing physical trials, and strange encounters with the weather, terrain, and animals of America s plains A tribute to the Great Plains and the people who live there, Ilgunas s memoir grapples with difficult questions about our place in the world What is our personal responsibility as stewards of the land As members of a rapidly warming planet As mere individuals up against something as powerful as the fossil fuel industry Ultimately, Trespassing Across America is a call to embrace the belief that a life lived not half wild is a life only half lived. Free Download [ Trespassing Across America ] by [ Ken Ilgunas ] For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr Ken Ilgunas hiked 1900 miles, from Canada down to Texas, along the Keystone pipeline proposed XL version That s amazing He learned a lot about the land mostly prairie and a lot about people mostly kind, some not so much And dogs Unfortunately, he didn t learn much about either the pipeline itself or global warming He does a lot of thinking But not about the pipeline Ilgunas has something of a writer s persona, in that he does a lot of listening and not much talking in this story Fo Ken Ilgunas hiked 1900 miles, from Canada down to Texas, along the Keystone pipeline proposed XL version That s amazing He learned a lot about the land mostly prairie and a lot about people mostly kind, some not so much And dogs Unfortunately, he didn t learn much about either the pipeline itself or global warming He does a...Walk across America and see, within us all, the deep reservoirs of goodness, the wellsprings of love, our unthinking diligence, and our scientific genius, and you can t help but believe that with nimble hands, inventive ...This was one of those books that Goodreads suggested that I read, and since I love travelogues, I figured I couldn t go wrong And boy, did I enjoy this book.For one thing, Ilgunas is a wonderful writer I ve read lots of books by people who have done a thing, and they re noteworthy because of this thing, so they write a book It doesn t mean they can actually write Ilgunas can write, and he writes well It was truly a joy to read his musings on the beauty of the plains, the majesty of our flyo This was...Ken Ilgunas graduated from college with 32,000 in loans to pay off To avoid further debt while in grad school at Duke, he lived in a 1994 Econoline van After graduating, he took a series of unusual jobs in order to pay off his college loans His first book was Walden on Wheels, which was a fascinating account of this period of his life In Trespassing Across America, he ditched the van and hiked the Keystone XL pipeline, which took him 146 days and 1,900 miles It s a tale of his adventures, Ken Ilgunas graduated from college with 32,000 in loans to pay off To avoid further debt while in grad school at Duke, he lived in a 1994 Econoline van After graduating, he took a series of unusual jobs in order to pay off his college loans His first book was Walden on Wheels, which was a fascinating account of this perio...Fell flat I guess I m confused as to the purpose of the trip He wrote for the first 20 pages that it was all about the Keystone XL, yet once the trip starts, he rarely engaged with anybody he meets about the pipeline He definitely has a what hike 1,700 miles on a route that s never been done But the why fell flat, when it existed at all Was he an environmental activist Or just a young twenty something with a major man crush on Chris McCand...A little less than half way through the book, a chapter ends with these sentences To travel alone, I d learned, isn t to rely on yourself To travel alone is to force yourself to depend on others It is to fall in love with mankind Those three sentences not only made want to keep reading but also said things to me that made me want to start travelingI would look back at travels I have taken and see them differently Having a forestry background, I felt that there is a lot to be said f A little less than half way through the book, a chapter ends with these sentences To travel alone, I d learned, isn t to rely on yourself To travel alone is to force yourself to depend on others It is to fall in love with mankind Those three sentences not only made want to keep reading but also said things to me that made me want to start travelingI would look back at travels I have taken and see them differently Having a forestry background, I felt that there is a lot to be said for looking past the job creation and instantaneous economic impact of many things I likened the Keystone XL to fracking in my community or those near me Did it bring jobs Yes but many were filled by outsiders and definitely the higher paying ones were filled by company men from out of the area It also broughtrestaurant use, higher rents and other impacts Does that make it good No but it doesn t necessarily make it bad either To wrap up the book, this quote says it all And as E O Wilso...After graduating college, Ken Ilgunas headed up to Prudhoe Bay to work as a dishwasher for the workers of the oil fields He spent his time cleaning for about fifty oil field workers who stayed at our camp Oddly enough, three of us had college degrees in English a degree that clearly did nothing to prepare us for the duties of succeeding in the professional world but did, however, empower us to have impassioned forty five minute conversations about whether the film Scream does or does not fit w After graduating college, Ken Ilgunas headed up to Prudhoe Bay to work as a dishwasher for the workers of the oil fields He spent his time cleaning for about fifty oil field workers who stayed at our camp Oddly enough, three of us had college degrees in English a degree that clearly did nothing to prepare us for the duties o... Thanks to Netgalley and Blue Rider Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.While trespassing is not a foreign concept to me, the idea of not being able to walk across your own country is indeed a very strange notion Over here in Portugal, and I believe the most of Europe, the countryside is out there for anyone who wishes to freely enjoy it Since I was born I spent all my summers on my grandmother s place in rural Portugal, and even though everyone had small patches of l Thanks to Netgalley and Blue Rider Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.While trespassing is not a foreign concept to me, the idea of not being able to walk across your own countr...I like to give thanks to my tax dollars for the support of public libraries that allowed me to borrow said book in exchange for an honest review, for which I returned well within the 3 week loan period.dude was too all over the place for my taste, so much so I d often forget about th...Following the Keystone XLHe went for a walk and ended up 1900 miles from where he began a stronger,hopeful person for the experience It s quite an astounding adventure, especially when you consider what a chore it is to get off the sofa for a snack.If Ken Ilgunas had done nothingthan recount the rigors of his trek, he would have a tale to tell worthy of a reader s time But Ilgunas hiked with a purpose in mind seeing that portion of North America before the Keystone XL wrought what Following the Keystone XLHe went for a walk and ended up 1900 miles from where he began a stronger,hopeful person for the experience It s quite an astounding adventure, especially when you consider what a chore it is to get off the sofa for a snack.If Ken Ilgunas had done nothingthan recount the rigors of his trek, he would have a ta...

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06 February 2018

Ken Ilgunas