Liminal Zones

After the death of his paddling companion, a German shepherdlabrador retriever mix namedJasper, Kim Trevathan began a series of solitary upstream kayaking quests in search of whathe calls ';liminal zones,' transitional areas where dammed reservoirs give way to the currentof the rivers that feed them. For four years he scoured the rivers and lakes of America, whereenvironmentally damaging, and now decaying, man-made structures have transformed thewaterways. In this thoughtful work, he details his upriver adventures, describing the ecologicaland aesthetic differences between a dammed river and a free-flowing river and exploring theimplications of what liminal zones representa reassertion of pure, unadulterated nature overengineered bodies of water. Trevathan began by exploring the rivers and creeks of his childhood: the Blood River andClarks River in western Kentucky. He soon ventured out to the Wolf River, the Big South Forkof the Cumberland, and other waterways in Tennessee. In 2008, he looped around the countrywith trips to Indiana's Tippecanoe River, Montana's Clearwater River, Oregon's Deschutes andRogue Rivers, and Colorado's Dolores River, as well as adventures on such southeastern riversas the Edisto, the Tellico, and the Nantahala. To Trevathan, paddling upstream became a sort ofreligion, with a vaporous deity that kept him searching. Each excursion yielded somethingunexpected, from a near-drowning in the Rogue River to a mysterious fog bank that arose acrossthe Nantahala at midday. Throughout Liminal Zones, Trevathan considers what makes certain places special, whysome are set aside and protected, why others are not, and how free-flowing streams remainvaluable to our culture, our history, and our physical and spiritual health. This contemplativechronicle of his journeys by water reveals discoveries as varied and complex as the riversthemselves.