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by Nancy Pfeiffer
by Nancy Pfeiffer
Beside a rain-swollen river in Patagonia, a man approached on a horse. His mount, a rusty red beauty, sported the short-trimmed mane and neatly squared-off tail of a well-kept horse. The man wore goatskin chaps, a woolen poncho, and the jaunty black beret typical of the region. This pair belonged to this place in a way I could only dream of.
The man stared at us. We were up to our knees in mud and dwarfed by huge backpacks. It was apparent we had money, but we had no horses.
“Por qué no tienes caballos?” he asked as he rode into the river.
At that moment I knew. I wanted to travel this country like the people who lived there. I wanted to know this place as only one on horseback could.
As a novice horsewoman, Nancy Pfeiffer took off across Patagonia alone on horseback. Over the next two decades and three thousand kilometers of rugged horse trail, the hospitable people who live there took her in, and Patagonia slipped silently into her soul. As if watching a beloved child grow up, Nancy bore witness to the subtle, yet disturbing, changes barreling down on Patagonia.
“Riding Into the Heart of Patagonia is Pfeiffer’s story of adventure, discovery and deep caring for the people she met along the way. It is also a story of global change and environmental activism.” — Nancy Lord, Review, Anchorage Daily News
“Riding Into the Heart of Patagonia is a memoir of growth—of a self-reliant adventurer learning patience and ceding the urge to control—and also of a changing countryside, with dams proposed and roads being paved. Pfeiffer’s observations beckon: flowering calafate, gnarled branches in the lenga forest, the deeply rooted, welcoming people. It all smells of horsehair and rivers and mud and maté, and I didn’t want any of it to end.” — Emily White, Reviewer, Adventure Journal
“Nancy writes vividly. We are there with her, along for the ride with every cell of our imagination. As Nancy grows into the experience, she grows into the landscape and culture of Patagonia. Roots establish themselves, adding texture to a life that will never be the same. She comes to belong to the place, and the people of Patagonia take her into their hearts.” — Page Lambert, All Things Literary/All Things Natural
Details
Details
Bink Books
250 pp. ● 5.5×8.5
$14.95 (pb) ● $8.99 (eb)
ISBN 978-1-945805-67-7 (pb)
TRAVEL/ Essays & Travelogues
TRAVEL/ South America/Argentina
Publication date: May 2018
“This book begins as one kind of epic—a novice horseback rider in her 30s, making her solitary way across one of the world’s great wildernesses. That would be reason enough to read this absorbing account—but at the end it morphs into something even deeper, the story of her participation in the glorious nonviolent struggle (conducted largely from the saddle) to stop the damming of Patagonia’s great rivers. An adventure in the truest sense of the word.” — Bill McKibben, author Wandering Home
“Nancy Pfeiffer writes with an easy going, conversational grace, with pithy aphorisms tossed in to spice things up. Riding into the Heart of Patagonia is a story of a cultural landscape that is changing rapidly as all cultural landscapes are changing. It is a tale of a lone woman and a horse, one woman and herself, one woman on the most ancient of all journeys. It is a must read for those of us who have experienced adventure ourselves, and equally important for those who can appreciate the awakening on a physical journey, without necessarily seeking the hardship itself.” — Jon Turk, The Raven’s Gift
“Saddle up. These gutsy journeys will not only take you into the wild, tangled, changing heart of Patagonia, but also lead you deep into its soul. Pfeiffer is extraordinarily spunky and tough, but it is her gentleness, astute observations, and seasoned insight that will make her story resonate long after you have warmed up by the fire.” — Jill Fredston, author of Rowing to Latitude
“Finding Patagonia: Nancy Pfeiffer” The Firn Line: Podcast about the Lives of Mountain Climbers
“ASP Stories Ep. 025: Riding Into the Heart of Patagonia – Part 2 – Nancy Pfeiffer” The Adventure Sports Podcast
“Riding into the Heart of Patagonia: Weaving Together the Threads of Life” by Page Lambert, All Things Literary/All Things Natural
“Nancy Pfeiffer shares her Patagonia experiences: April 2018” Interview, KVRF Radio Free Palmer
“Riding Into the Heart of Patagonia” in Sustainable Play
“Ep. 322: 1800+ Miles Across Patagonia Solo on Horseback – Nancy Pfeiffer” The Adventure Sports Podcast
As a lifelong adventurer and outdoor educator, Nancy Pfeiffer has traveled from Antarctica to the Arctic Ocean. Life as a mountaineering guide has given her the opportunity to experience the world’s highest summits, yet it is the landscapes and cultures encountered along the way that intrigue her most.Her published works range from poetry to scientific research, and explore subjects from the joys and frustrations of building a house as a single woman to mountaineering for paraplegics. Since graduating from Colorado Mountain College in 1979, Nancy has energetically pursued life without picking a major.As a novice horsewoman, Nancy took off across Patagonia alone on horseback. Over the next two decades and three thousand kilometers of rugged horse trail, the hospitable people who live there took her in, and Patagonia slipped silently into her soul. As if watching a beloved child grow up, Nancy bore witness to the subtle, yet disturbing, changes barreling down on Patagonia.Nancy now lives with her husband Fredrik in a cabin outside Palmer, Alaska, where she enjoys hauling water, chopping wood, and high-speed Internet.
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