Arctic Daughter

"This stark, philosophical work chronicles Aspen, an artist and daughter of the author-adventurer Connie Helmer?icks, who, at the age of 22, chose to sojourn into the wil?derness of Alaska, above the Arctic Circle, and live off the land. Aspen was accompanied by her first husband-to-be Phil; her harsh, relentlessly honest journal depicts two stoics who ate salted and dried horse meat, berries, eve?n under miserable circumstances raw, rubbery moose that contained 'the wriggly pearl of a maggot.' The couple encountered no other humans for almost a year, and in that time the author sought the 'essence of experience . . . that elusive something that makes the world sparkle.' Aspen believed that civilization snatches away more than it gives in return: 'I'm not certain that all our toys are worth what we pay for them.' Rather, she endured the brutal weather and exalted when the sun returned after a 60-day absence: 'Life isn't safe, no matter how carefully you plan. . . . You may as well enjoy the ride.' Aspen's journey isn't pretty reading, but her voice is memorable and her endurance marvelous." -PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Full of fine sense details . . . fascinating reading . . . joins that scant handful of good books by women about the challenge and hard-won joy of bush life lived to its fullest." -THE ANCHORAGE TIMES
"Very well written book of two peoples' adventure into the back woods of Alaska and truly living off of the land. Follow their story as this young couple travel the Yukon River in a dangerously overloaded canoe packed with winter supplies, food and building materials. Hunting and fishing along the way for food to survive. With the help of a old miner's cabin and cache they were able to add to their building materials to build a log cabin to survive the winter. Living off of the small supplies of food they were able to pack in the canoe and what they could kill for meat they more then once were on the verge of death from the cold, lack of food and the raging river." -Trish Schmidt, Alaska Historian
Tips from the author and husband on DIY cabin building in New Pioneer Magazine: