Way Out There: Adventures of a Wilderness Trekker

I got the sense that this gentleman found his calling early in life and in spite of some of the doubts he had sometimes, he always pushed through. His experiences truly turned out to be adventures. I envy his sense of risking it all to see the unseeable...

Engaging and personal accounts of diverse and challenging treks. Harris can really spin a tale! Though clearly in fantastic condition, he does not condescend to an average hiker; in fact, his tales are an inspiration to all. A terrific read.

Let me confess, I have never camped out overnight in my entire 75 years of life here on the planet earth. However, I’m okay with this, particularly after reading “Way Out There” which provided me with the opportunity to imagine trekking on a global basis without leaving the comforts of home. The book provides a vivid vision of flying into remote wilderness and uninhabited areas around the world, camping out overnight under the stars in extreme conditions and getting the opportunity to visualize panoramic views of the world seldom seen by human eyes in a setting untouched by human restructuring. I really felt like I was there walking in the Australian outback and bush areas, climbing the mountain ranges in North and South America and Europe and coexisting with wildlife with the understanding it is their world and I was a visitor never to be seen again.The chapter in the book entitled, “This Is No Picnic” dealing with the construction of the Canol Pipeline Project by the Army Corp of Engineers in northern Canada close the Arctic Circle was fascinating to read about as a backdrop to trekking through the Mackenzie Mountain range. This project built around 1942 to protect our borders from a Japanese WW II invasion, covered over 500 miles of challenging terrain, at a cost of 300 million dollars at that time, using some 53,000 workers to complete it in a 14-month period was hard to imagine. It’s noted that shortly after the project’s completion, it was abandoned, as the need for its construction to protect our borders against a Japanese invasion was no longer relevant. Roads, pipelines, bridges, equipment, fueling stations and all elements associated with the project were simply abandoned and left to rot. Wow!And how a by chance reading of a magazine discovered on a subway car was the spark that led to the Canol Heritage Trail spectacular exploration, was insightful in seeing how random events can lead to a person being in strange places throughout the world. Bob’s traveling along these trails and the historical story about Negro troops in a segregated US military system prior to Truman’s desegregation order was particularly of interest to me, and I was proud to know of our contribution to this project.And of course, all the website photos add to the adventure. Okay I’m ready to do some trekking, but it’s Winnebago for me.John H. Howell

A wonderful book! A quiet, introspective take on spectacular places. Explorers and adventurers will relate, but so will people like myself... people who live in the familiar, but with an interest in the exotic "other". JR Harris describes his treks with the same quiet care and attention to detail that he uses in preparing for them. It is clear that he has done extensive research before undertaking his trips. He notices everything, and shares illustrative detail about terrain, weather, history and his encounters with animals and people.He travels alone. The challenges that he faces are daunting, but the best parts of the book are his relation to the nature he finds and his observations on people and places. At the start and end of his adventures, we see him interacting with people on the road, in pubs, in buses, on planes and on the trail.He is keenly aware of the stereotypes that he shatters by being a black New Yorker in the wildest and most remote locations in the world, including Tasmania, Alaska, the Alps, Peru, several arctic explorations, and many more. He seems to say that anyone could do this. (Of course most of us could not.)He shares his thoughts, his preparation, his fears, his reasons for doing these treks. Ultimately, we do understand why he does it, why it is important to him. We finish the book with an extreme gratitude -- that because of people like JR Harris (and there are very few), that they will go to these places and we don't have to.

This was a fantastic read that takes you not only to different places but also through different times. You will learn about different cultures (here in US, North America, and the rest of the world), what its like to travel in some of the most dangerous areas, what its like to feel like you may not come back, and so much more. As a day hiker I've gained some great and practical tips from JR, learned about new places I must see and most importantly, I was able to escape Covid 19 and experience these journeys through him.This is a fantastic read that will pull you in and keep turning the pages. Perhaps the most unusual part of all of this is that he lives in NYC! He is a guy who belongs in nature, yet he is a New Yorker day and night! :)

I met Robert at a party. Speaking with him briefly I quickly recognized he was a warm-hearted, charismatic guy. Perhaps for that reason (though I'm not a wilderness trekker), I wanted to read "Way Out There". I bought the Kindle edition.Written in a conversational style, this is an easy book to read. It's rare to find a good story-teller who doesn't embellish his story. The pure honesty of his writing comes through clearly. I have no doubts that everything he's written happened exactly as he says. So I enjoyed the purity of his stories. Adding-in the background research he shares (history, geography, culture) of the places he's trekked, the stories held my interest.I couple of the chapters are real cliffhangers...had me on the edge of my chair...especially when he was pulling himself across a rusty cable over a raging river.Other chapters are repetitive to a degree, saying the same thing to an uneducated hiker like me. But it's clear, he loves being in nature and he knows what he's talking about. Throughout the book, what stands out is his appreciation of his fellow man...he's a golden-hearted guy…nice to find!