Vermont resident Peter Macfarlane has penned an adventurous memoir about his two Northern Forest Canoe Trail thru-paddles titled “The Wolf Faces Backwards.”
The author solo-paddled the trail in 2013, then again in 2018. During the first journey, he traversed the traditional route from Old Forge, N.Y. to Fort Kent, Maine. On his second trip, he became the first-known person to finish the trip in the reverse direction.
He took 28 days to complete each journey.
“I’m someone who loves to travel from place to place by canoe, rather than pottering. And, although not competitive with other people, I relish a personal challenge,” Macfarlane said. “Put those two things together, and the NFCT becomes my happy place.”
Peter Macfarlane
A native of England, Macfarlane left behind a career as a high school science teacher in 2003 to move to Vermont to marry his wife Viveka Fox and pursue a career as a self-employed musician and boatbuilder.
In 2007, Macfarlane learned about the 740-mile trail while on vacation in the northern Adirondacks. During a multi-day paddle he met Darrin Kimbler on Upper Saranac Lake, having passed him on nearby Stony Creek. Kimbler was about 70 miles into a paddle of the entire trail. That experience stuck with Macfarlane, and helped inspire him to undertake his own long-distance adventures.
While on the trail, Macfarlane used a homemade cedar strip canoe, and he stuck to a self-reliant ethic that led him to avoid portages for the waterways whenever possible. When he did leave the water, he carried the boat on his shoulders without the assistance of wheels.
“When you carry it, you develop an acute sense of what is really essential to take on such a journey.”
The first trip was marked by an excessively stormy weather that only afforded Macfarlane four non-rainy days. This wet, cold and windy weather tested Macfarlane’s fortitude physically and mentally.
On the second trip, he faced the challenge of having to paddle upstream on nine of the trail’s 13 major rivers, including about 100 miles on the Allagash and St. John rivers in northern Maine.
The 524-page book was printed in the fall of 2025 and consists of two parts: one for each thru-paddle. There are interludes woven into the narrative that focus on topics such as navigation, upstream travel, weather forecasting and more. The journeys are separated by a set of maps showing the NFCT route and Peter’s progress along it in both directions.
“I highly recommend this book to paddling enthusiasts, especially people interested in learning more about the experience of paddling on long-distance trips,” said NFCT Executive Director Karrie Thomas. “The writing gives you a sense of the challenges faced by thru-paddlers and what is needed to do to overcome them.”
The book can be purchased online at Macfarlane’s website or the NFCT store. Macfarlane will be talking about his book and trips at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 12, as part of NFCT’s Virtual Speaker Series.
About the Northern Forest Canoe Trail
The Northern Forest Canoe Trail is a nonprofit organization based in Waitsfield, Vt., that maintains and promotes the 740-mile water trail that runs from Old Forge, N.Y,, to Fort Kent, Maine, and connects New York, Vermont, Quebec, New Hampshire and Maine. It also hosts a series of events across the Northern Forest, including the 90-Miler that takes place every September in the Adirondacks. The trail showcases the mix of landscapes and communities currently lining the traditional routes used by indigenous peoples, settlers and guides. It is the longest in-land water trail in the nation and consists of 23 rivers and streams, 59 lakes and ponds, 45 communities and 65 portages. To learn more, visit northernforestcanoetrail.org.
