Greenland’s fleet-winged ghosts

New story in Hakai Magazine: The Fleet-Winged Ghosts of Greenland

A mysterious population of peregrine falcons in the Far North has inspired environmental action and scientific research around the world.

Read (or listen) to an article featuring our family’s encounters with Greenlandic peregrines and the lessons these far-flung falcons can teach us about our past and our future.

“Unlike many of my other ventures as a field biologist searching for birds in far-flung locations, this isn’t a scientific assignment. Over the previous year, I’ve been sailing with my family from the Mediterranean to the Arctic, slowly connecting the dots between Greece and Greenland. Somewhere along the way, sparked by a passing comment from a colleague, I’d learned about a population of peregrines that call Greenland home. My initial curiosity soon evolved into a minor obsession, revealing as it did a tale of recovery, resilience, and change that transcends this small polar population.”

Sailing to the Arctic...or somewhere

Hello, again! It’s been many months since I’ve visited your inbox but I’m finally back online and here to update you on our latest family adventure—sailing to the Arctic, or wherever the winds might take us.

Sunset on the coast of Spain.

Crossing the Bay of Biscay.

For those of you who’ve been following (or attempting to follow) our family’s recent whereabouts via social media, odd-hour messages, and my other sporadic forms of communication, apologies for being so hard to track! I’m finally getting organized and plan to share trip updates here, along with photos and other postings via the usual social media channels—see links on my main page if you’re interested in the latter. I hope you’ll join us as we set off on another adventure, this time aboard Turnstone, our 43-foot, high latitude sailboat.

Warm evening sail.

Leaving land in our rearview.

Status update: We’re currently in Scotland getting ready to launch north. If you’re wondering how we got here, that’s because I have a bit of catching up to do! We left Greece last September and sailed ~4,000 miles over the following several months, slowly transitioning from swimsuits and rock shoes to Xtra-Tufs and parkas. After the clear waters of the Mediterranean, we headed north (backwards by most sailing plans!) to hopscotch along the Iberian Peninsula, Bay of Biscay, English Channel, and Irish Sea, finally blowing into the Corpach marina on the winter solstice. The North Atlantic in December proved to be as wet, dark, and stormy as you might imagine but our Scottish welcome has been an overwhelmingly warm one.

Welcome to Scotland!

Happy to see the sunrise after a long night on watch.

Now, after several months of boat projects, family visits, and the usual chaotic flurry of life logistics, we’re anxious to get underway again. By definition, there’s no fixed itinerary with sailing so I won’t say exactly where we’re headed. But if Neptune allows, we hope to catch a bit of the spring ski season in Norway.

Sailing companions.

Brothers.

Before we dash toward the snow, some of you might be interested in the more southerly locales we visited en route from Greece, so I’ll send another post soon with photos and belated updates. In the meantime, wish us godspeed in packing and finishing boat jobs. For anyone who’s ever tried to push off the dock (literally or metaphorically), you’ll know what I mean. It’s not especially fun—more on that topic later!

Thanks for joining us!

- Caroline & the raggedy crew of Turnstone

Meeting the neighbors.

Haul out jobs. With a lifting centerboard, beaching on the mud is an option.

New writing: It’s no fun to wake a sleeping bear

Article published today in Outside. Link below to read about a backcountry day gone terribly wrong, the responsibility and privilege of living with bears, and a community struggling to coexist. It’s no fun to wake a sleeping bear

And for a glimpse into traveling Alaska’s Lost Coast as a new mother, a recent piece in Alaska Magazine.

Wishing everyone a safe and healthy end of summer!

All my best,

Caroline

Unusual times

Dear friends,

I hope you are staying safe and healthy during these challenging times. So much has changed in a month and, like you, I’m scrambling to make sense of our new world order. In these unprecedented times, I’ve found myself turning toward the natural world and the collective humanity of our experience for signs of clarity and grace.

I wanted to share some recent work with you, as well as a deal on the Kindle version of The Sun is a Compass, available for just $2.99 on Amazon and other retailers this Sunday (April 12th) only. If anyone you know is looking for an escape to wild places, please pass it on! Wishing you all a peaceful weekend.

What the caribou taught me about being together, and apart (New York Times, in print April 12th)

Good research isn’t enough: we have to tell our stories (Los Angeles Times)

The award-winning book that adventure travelers need to read (Forbes review of The Sun is a Compass)

And for an insightful, compassionate view from the frontlines of an ICU unit in New York City, my sister-in-law, Colleen Farrell, wrote this piece for the Washington Post: My hospital used to have all kinds of ICUs. Now we just have the COVID-19 one.

All my best,

Caroline

New work and upcoming events

Happy spring! And happy leap year! I hope you’ve been enjoying the sunshine and lengthening days. Now that we’re all emerging from hibernation, I wanted to share some exciting writing news and upcoming events.

February has been a full month! First, the paperback version of The Sun is a Compass just launched this week. You can find it online or at your local bookseller. I was also recently honored to receive the Alaska Literary Award and have essays published in the Washington Post and Chatter Marks, a beautiful new journal of the Anchorage Museum. You’ll notice that my current muses are mostly under the age of 5…being a parent teaches me lessons in humility and grace every day.

I have March book events scheduled in Seattle, Olympia, Portland, Tucson, and Los Angeles and I’d love to see you there! Please also share with friends and family. Thanks as always for reading!

UPCOMING EVENTS

March 2nd — Seattle, WA

March 3rd — Olympia, WA

March 4th — Portland, OR

March 13 — Tucson, AZ

March 14 — Tucson Festival of Books

March 16 — Los Angeles, CA (Arcadia)

March 17 — Los Angeles, CA (Woodland Hills)

March events in Pacific Northwest

Happy February! Our Alaskan days are growing noticeably longer and brighter, the chickadees are beginning to sing, and we’re still holding onto our snow (yay!). If you’re like me, you might even be feeling the first twinges of spring fever—or, in bird terms, Zugunruhe (migratory restlessness). In celebration of the changing of the seasons AND the paperback release of The Sun is a Compass on Feb. 25th, I’ll be doing events in Seattle, Olympia, and Portland March 2nd-4th. Stay tuned for Tucson and LA visits, too! Details at: www.carolinevanhemert.com/events.

Please help spread the word to your Pacific Northwest friends and family. I hope to see you there!

With gratitude,

Caroline

Happy 2020!

Dear friends,

Wishing you all a happy (and perhaps chilly!) start to 2020! After record-setting high temperatures to round out an already warm year, we’ve dipped below zero (which is just fine by me!). I’m grateful for snow, friends, family, and the slowly lengthening days.

Our family spent the holidays at our cabin on Lynn Canal with blizzards, gales, and a few glorious hours of sunshine. This trip was a good reminder of how sometimes doing nothing is exactly what we need. Our only company was the lone wolf that trotted by unseen in the long dark mornings, the river otters that dragged their bellies and tails along the sand, the sea lions and sea ducks that dove in the ever-present surf, and the moose Pat spotted several miles from our cabin. (This was only the third moose we’ve seen out here, and only the second one alive—the first moose sighting we had was the remains of a wolf kill three winters ago.) Reading, writing, exploring the woods, pounding our feet on the sand as the rain pounded us, and spending hours in the workshop rattling in 40 knot gusts was mostly enough to fend off cabin fever.

Book updates: The paperback is coming out in February and I’ll be doing spring events in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, and Alaska to celebrate. Please share with friends and family who might be interested. Several lovely reviews/interviews also just posted in The Globe and Mail, Anchorage Daily News, and Explore Magazine. Thanks, as always, for the amazing support!

With love and best wishes for a happy, peaceful new year,

Caroline

Holiday wishes

Sending wishes for a peaceful, happy holiday season (and hopefully a snowy one for those of us up north:)! We’ve had several brief bursts of winter, followed by sloppy, dramatic meltdowns that sadly seem to be our new climate reality. In characteristic Alaskan fashion, the kids have been embracing the adverse weather with rain gear layered over snow pants, skating on the icy streets, and unabashed joy when the snow does make an appearance. Small reminders to take the good moments as they come…

It’s been a quieter month for me after a busy fall of travel. Our family will spend the holidays at our cabin (assuming the weather gods cooperate), communing with wind, waves, and the occasional four-legged or finned visitor. I’m looking forward to time spent at the place I love most, with Pat and two wild boys. It might not be a retreat, exactly, but it will certainly be an adventure!

I’m very grateful for all the support I’ve had along this book journey so far—what an amazing (and growing) community! Thanks again for reading, sharing, and offering your feedback. If you’re looking for gift ideas and would like a signed copy of The Sun is a Compass, please let me know. I’d be happy to send with a personalized note.

With gratitude,

Caroline

Loving it while it lasts!

Strange December days.

Poor Frosty.

Huxley holiday shopping for his cousin…“I don’t have any of the number three bills!” Apparently we haven’t gotten to the currency part of the kindergarten lessons yet.

Anchorage Museum events this week!

Friends, I’ll be at the Anchorage Museum on November 7th and 8th as part of Wilderness Week! Please join me with a crew of other fantastic storytellers on Thursday for Trail Tales and on Friday for a presentation about the Evolution of Adventure—I’ll be sharing stories, images, video, and new writing…as well as some classics from the archives (like the time Pat and I hiked into the Wind River to build a birch bark canoe and found no birch trees!). Event details below, hope to see you there!

Trail Tales Nov 7th, 7pm

Evolution of Adventure Nov 8th, 6pm

Festivals and more

On the road in Canada! It’s been a wonderful whirlwind of a trip so far. The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival is an inspiring gathering of writers, filmmakers, and adventurers in a spectacular setting. I was thrilled to receive the Adventure Travel book award and also had the honor of speaking to a full house in a venue shared with quite a lineup—Mark Synnott, Corey Rich, Craig Childs, Frank Wolf, Mark Twight and more. Best of all, Pat joined me for the week (thanks, Grandma Jo!). I’m headed next to Toronto for a panel at the Toronto International Festival of Authors with Kate Harris and others on Nov 3rd and an evening presentation at Patagonia on Nov 4th (free food and drink!). For anyone in Toronto, I’d love to see you there (event details below).

Toronto International Festival of Authors Nov 3rd 3pm

Patagonia Toronto Nov 4th 7pm

**I’ll be back in Anchorage for upcoming events at the Anchorage Museum’s Wilderness Week Nov 7-8th. More details soon!

On stage to receive my award. What a surreal experience!

Look who I bumped into by the elevators!

Meanwhile, back at home…the trick-or-treaters ready for work. Pat’s mastery with cardboard is impressive!