In The Wake of the Jomon
Stone Age Mariners and a Voyage Across the Pacific
April 14, 2005
 If you ever move to a ski town, like Fernie, someone is bound to ask you why you intentionally abandoned centers of industry and commerce, why you foolishly risked your economic future to seek romantic adventure-ism in a small isolated mountain community. I’m a 59 year old writer, and have finally decided to answer these critics.
In 1999 and 2000, I sailed a small trimaran and paddled a sea kayak from Japan to Alaska. Paddler Magazine called this voyage: “One of the 10 All-Time Greatest Sea Kayak Expeditions.”
My new book, In the Wake of the Jomon (published by International Marine/McGraw Hill) tells the story of this modern expedition and looks backward in awe at Stone Age mariners who paddled these waters over 10,000 years ago. The book asks, “Why did people with primitive stone tools leave their homes in the lush temperate bamboo forests, with salmon in the rivers, seals in the bays, and deer and berries in the forests – to paddle into the frozen Arctic?” By examining this question, I explain my lifelong addiction to ski towns and seek to understand the adventurous spirit that lurks in all of us.
Jon Turk Published by: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
www.jonturk.net
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