The 1000 Hour Day

In 2005, Australians Chris Bray (then 21 years old) and Clark Carter (20) dreamed of embarking on an adventure completely different from any polar, mountaineering, or river expedition ever before attempted. With virtually no prior experience they vowed to cross the ninth largest island in the world—Victoria Island in the Canadian Arctic—on foot. It was to be a world-first, traversing 1000 kilometers of the most extreme and diverse landscape on the planet, everything from snow and ice to mud, shattered rock, rivers, and fields of boulders. Travelling without any support across previously unexplored territory, Chris and Clark hauled everything they needed behind them in homemade wheeled kayaks, each weighing a quarter of a ton. Hiding from polar bears, being chased by wolves, and discovering ancient Inuit relics along the way, the pair faced obstacles that ensured their journey was as much a mental battle as it was physical. After 58 grueling days, their first attempt failed. Undeterred, the duo spent the next three years learning new skills, redesigning their equipment, and raising money, and in 2008 they went back for another 75 days to finish what they’d started. With humor and honesty, Chris Bray tells their thrilling story—the drama, the dangers, and the sheer exhilaration of exploring a terrain filled with magic and wonder.