An eye-opening travelogue you don’t want to miss.
Sometimes the journey is the destination. For Susanna Oreskovic and her nature-loving team, they plan an ambitious adventure, recreating an authentic climb from the 1920s with a perilous, yet breathtaking journey to the ultimate destination, the so-called Mystery Mountain. With the goal of literally walking in the footsteps of Don and Phyllis Munday, the group determines they will travel the rugged path that led the Munday’s to the now infamous Mount Waddington. Only this group of daring trekkers want the experience to be as authentic as possible. No lightweight canvas tents or freeze dried meals. Susanna and her team go all in with period-appropriately heavy blankets, beeswax coated satchels, handmade hiking boots, and vintage safety equipment. With the Munday’s records as a guide and a hundred years worth of knowledge at their disposal, will this expedition be as successful as the legendary 1926 trek?
Expedition to Mystery Mountain is the documented literary account of an intriguing premise brought to life. Playing the roles of intrepid mountaineers from a century ago proves to be as grueling mentally as it is physically for Susanna and her crew. The underrepresented viewpoint of a female climber adds a balanced, yet vulnerable perspective as the group struggles to trust one another while fighting against the elements. As a woman, the expectations for Susanna feel more dramatic than the men in her group, as though she has more to prove. Not only is she representing mountaineers and adventurers everywhere, but she is specifically representing women of the 21st century, all while holding her own amongst a group of men physically stronger than herself. The comparisons between Phyllis Munday and Susanna Oreskovic in the struggles they share are insightful and heartwarming. One of the most moving aspects of the book is the inclusion of photographs captured by the author through the lens of a camera as old as the original expedition. The honest anecdotes and personal turmoil heighten the sense of wonder and discovery as the team moves through an unforgiving Canadian wilderness. If you love the outdoors, are interested in climbing, or are familiar with the history of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Expedition to Mystery Mountain: Adventures of a Bushwhacking, Knickerbocker-wearing Woman is an eye-opening travelogue you won’t want to miss.
