Edmonton (Apr 10/06) - "It's the landscape of the imagination."

This is how renowned journalist, author and outdoor enthusiast Ed Struzik describes the North - the land that has inspired his life and work for more than 30 years.

Author Ed Struzik on one of his many canoeing trips through the North. Struzik has written a book chronicling his journey down 10 Northern rivers in the NWT, Nunavut and the Yukon. - Photo courtesy of Ed Struzik

"Ten Rivers: Adventure Stories from the Arctic," Struzik's second book, chronicles his journeys along 10 different Northern rivers, from the Mackenzie River in the NWT to the Taggert River on Ellesmere Island.

He said his book, released last month, tries to describe the North as a metaphor for human perseverance that "we have lost in soft southern society."

Since working as a naturalist at the Yukon's Kluane National Park in the 1970s, Struzik has paddled more than 40 Northern rivers in the NWT, Nunavut and the Yukon.

He has drawn from these experiences in his work as a magazine travel writer, a journalist with the Edmonton Journal, and now as an author.

While the title and the book jacket description creates images of swashbuckling frontier adventures, Struzik was quick to point out his book's deeper nuances.

"(The stories are) more about the people and the places in the North than my own experiences in the rivers," he said.

This includes profiles of iconic Northern figures, such as poet/photographer/story-teller Rene Fumoleau and former Nunavut Commissioner and current Ambassador for Northern Affairs Jack Anawak, who both accompanied him on various trips.

"I tried to provide not only a sense of adventure, but a sense of what makes the North so special in the hearts and minds of most Canadians who have never even seen it," he said.

Compiling these stories was a timely move, he said, because of "sweeping changes" to the face of the North through climate change and economic development.

"A lot of the places we considered wilderness aren't going to be wilderness anymore," he said.

Exploring, visiting and working in the North has changed his life, he said.

"Once you're on the tundra for the first time, it's one of the seminal moments of your life," he said. "After 30 years of travelling in the North, I still don't know it."