A Canoe Quest
in the Wake of Canada’s
“Prince of Explorers”
by JOHN DONALDSON

Two hundred years after the Scottish-born explorer Alexander Mackenzie first crossed Canada to the Arctic and Pacific oceans by canoe, John Donaldson fulfilled a personal dream by making the same voyages. At the age of 60 he began retracing the voyages of his boyhood hero, armed with a little recreational canoeing experience, a wood and canvas canoe, and a grand sense of adventure.
His travels took him more than 12,000 kilometres from Mackenzie’s starting point at Montreal to the Pacific and then the Arctic Ocean. He encountered cranky bears and rabid coyotes, impenetrable fogs and raging rapids. He nearly capsized in the wake of a Lake Superior freighter and was marooned on dismal Lake Winnipeg without a paddle. A trigger-happy madman nearly ended his journey at Buffalo Narrows. But five summers in the wilderness retracing the routes of the great explorer brought about a healing of a wounded spirit and strengthened his determination to make Canadians aware of this country’s extraordinarily rich history, and the vulnerability of this great natural wonder.
A Canoe Quest in the Wake of Canada’s “Prince of Explorers” is the story of one man’s incredible journey – one day at a time.

ARTFUL CODGER PRESS ISBN 0-9736161-8-0
Available to buy online at www.canadabooksonline.com - Price: $23 CND

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, John Donaldson came to Canada in 1955. He went on to gain a BSc in chemistry, an MSc in microbiology, and a doctorate in experimental medicine at McGill University. He became a neurological biochemist, a head of molecular biology in the pharmaceutical industry, and a professor of pharmacology at the University of Manitoba and the Université de Montréal. He is a former Garfield Weston Scholar in medical research and the recipient of several awards from the American Parkinson’s foundation. Now a lay oblate of the Benedictine Order, he lives with his wife, Ishbel, in Kingston, Ontario.