Publisher: Mountaineer Books – August 24, 2017
About the Book
A gifted storyteller shares seven decades of surprising adventures
- The author is a distinguished member of The Explorers Club
- The author is an unexpected adventurer, disarmingly positive and companionable
- Lively stories of remote treks around the world
Way Out There is an account of J. Robert Harris’s extraordinary exploits while backpacking in some of the world’s most tantalizing places―largely alone and unsupported. And after almost fifty years of wilderness travel, “J.R.,” as he’s known, has plenty of tales to tell! His stories are by turns funny, tragic, and uplifting, and are all told in his down‐to‐earth, friendly storytelling style.
For J.R. it all began in 1966 when, as a young New Yorker, he impulsively drives his VW Beetle across the country to the very end of the northernmost road in Alaska, searching for an answer to a simple question: What is it like to be way out there? How this happened, who he met, and what he encountered along the way became the foundation for a lifelong attraction to trekking and adventure travel. Subsequent chapters chronologically explore some of his many journeys, revealing an enduring wanderlust honed by his emerging maturity and outdoor skills. Stories of J. R.’s solo treks point to stark contrasts between his urban upbringing and his wilderness wanderings, while tales of adventure with small but diverse groups of friends are enriched by their collective experiences and varying viewpoints about exploration.
Way Out There is a lively yet introspective book by a restless soul that will attract countless readers who love to travel, as well as armchair adventurers and communities looking for outdoor role models. The foreword is by the late Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, Jr., one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen fighter pilots during World War II.
About the Author
“I have never been lonely when alone in the wilderness.”
It’s a reality that motivates his backcountry voyages. As a lifelong resident of New York City, he probably doesn’t fit the profile of a wilderness backpacker but since 1966 he has done more than fifty multi-week treks, all unsupported and most of them alone. During that time he has faced terrible weather, hair-raising river crossings and wildlife encounters, but he has also beheld the awesome majesty and pristine beauty of our incredible planet.
Now in his seventies, he continues to be an active and enthusiastic trekker under his Brokenbo Wilderness Expeditions banner. Elected into the prestigious Explorers Club in 1993 and included among the HistoryMakers in 2018, also the founder and president of JRH Marketing Services, the oldest African American-owned research and consulting firm in the United States.
In addition, he is the subject of a short documentary film called Born Curious, and is proud and honored that the Exploration Museum in Húsavík, Iceland has awarded him their Leif Erikson Exploration History Award “…for your lifetime of exploration, as well as your tireless efforts to promote diversity in exploration.”
At speaking engagements he encourages everyone, regardless of age, ethnicity or physical fitness, to experience, in their own way and at their own pace, all the benefits that come from spending time in the great outdoors. He believes this will motivate them to support, maintain, and protect our natural environments.
J. R. is a self-proclaimed Deadhead! ‘Truckin … got my chips cashed in’
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