Fenwick Man Named Among Nation’s Top Explorers

Staring down the barrel of his shotgun, Adam Shoalts knew that he could not afford to waverfor even a second. Staring back at him was one of the largest male polar bears that he had ever seen. Shoalts has witnessed first-hand how surprisingly quick these animals can be, and with a mere thirty feet between them, he knew he would not get off a second shot. He also knew that his protection weapon holds eight rounds for a reason: one shot is not likely to stop a charging polar bear.Adam Shoalts is a modern day explorer. In fact, last week, Canadian Geographic named the Fenwick man as one of the top 100 living explorers in the country. He is one of many men and women who are part of what he refers to as a ‘Renaissance’ of exploration. The History and Archeology Ph.D student often undertakes funded expeditions into Canada’s far north, mapping and exploring uncharted areas with only grainy, decades-old aerial photographs to guide him. It was on such an expedition that he found himself face to face with one of the greatest predators in the north. He had been charting the Sutton River by himself in his canoe, collecting data and taking pictures, when he noticed an enormous ice berg in his path. He was deciding which course of the shallow, rocky river to take around it when the ice berg turned toward him and growled.Shoalts was in a dangerous position. From the moment he recognised the animal, he kept it in his sights, but the shotgun required both hands which meant he was drifting with the current and unable to change speed or course. It would devastate him to fire upon a polar bear, one of his favorite animals, but if it charged him he would have little choice. The only thing that moved more slowly than time was his canoe. Finally, after fifteen hair-raising minutes, Shoalts had drifted far enough downriver to grab hispaddle. Soon the bear was out of sight. While potentially deadly confrontations with wildlife are rare, Shoalts’ many expeditions are always exciting in their own way. In 2013, he was credited with discovering seven waterfalls in the Again River, after accidently canoeing over them the previous summer. On another expedition to the arctic, he discovered a ‘tent ring’, a series of stones placed in a circle that ancient aboriginals would stretch hides over to form a shelter. His expeditions have been sponsored by such prestigious groups as the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, the Explorers Club, and Canadian Geographic, among many others.Though he had an inkling that he would be in the running as one of Canada’s Top 100 Explorers, he was still pleasantly surprised to see his name on Canadian Geographic’s list. Shoalts, who began exploring out of “a love for wilderness and the outdoors”, recently finished writing a book about his journeys titled Alone Against the North, which will be in stores this October.