"The Contemplative Paddler's Fireside Companion is for any paddler, wanderer, or dreamer with a love for the wild. Not a how-to manual, these pages comprise a why-do collection exploring the spiritual core of the paddle-trip experience. Tim McDonnell writes with clarity, spirit, and self-effacing good humor, taking readers along on several amazing wilderness journeys, sharing his explorations into the wild fueled by something far more substantial than mere adrenaline and far more significant than ego. Wonder, playfulness, gratitude, and introspection are the key ingredients of this well-crafted book. Each of his essays flares a bit and then lingers, just as one would expect from a good fire."--Publisher's website.