You mentioned Mike Hurley gave you the axe. He is a gifted writer, and Hurley's Journal was a favorite. His compendium book "Letters from the Woods, Looking at life Through the Window of Wilderness" is a little-known gem, one of my all-time favorites. Wish I had met him back in the day when he was into canoe tripping. He has to be a funny, witty guy and a pleasure to trip with. His other book, "Once upon a Gypsy Moon," about sailing adventures, is also a good read, as is his lamentations on the imminent death of literary fiction, in a recent blog entry. As I said, a gifted, gifted writer.