From the inside front flap: "Faced with a serious accident in an isolated forest hut; forced into a risky way of crossing a river; rescuing a sick tramper and helping find her lost companion; leading a school party astray in heavy fog - the boys and girls in this book are plunged into adventure on every mountain journey they make. In the thick of it all is Lou Callen, an undersized fifteen-year-old with hair the colour of tussock. On this first trip into the Canterbury back-country Lou finds that humping a pack over the Main Divide is vastly different from the bush tramping he did back in Auckland. However, he takes it all in his stride and though his 'walk-engine' sometimes runs a bit low on power, plugs on determinedly. He hardly realises there's an extra obstacle in the attitude of Tom, who doesn't want him to come at all. But Tom, the narrator of the story, can't help being caught up in Lou's activities, which range over six journeys in the rugged Southern Alps. River crossing, shingle slogging, scree sliding, ice chipping and scrub bashing; outwitting possums, falcons, wekas and wild cattle; battling against fog, floods, sandflies and even starvation; searching for a mystery route out of Westland; learning the routine of professional meathunters and what really lured Arawata Bill - Lou's experiences crowd these pages in quick succession. All are based on real happenings known personally to authors Ken Dawson and Elsie Locke. Their account of Lou and Tom's explorations, set in the mountains, bush and broad river valleys of Canterbury and South Westland, will appeal to all 10-15-year-olds who enjoy action-packed stories of outdoor life based on true incidents."
I am carrying on reviewing books by Elsie Locke. The Boy with the Snowgrass Hair is not a historical novel! In fact, it's an adventure tramping story co-authored with her hiking friend, Ken Dawson.
Tom Travers is the main character. He is 15 and his favourite pastime is tramping in mountainous regions of the South Island. He is forced to join a party with a small inexperienced boy called Lou Callen. Tom doesn't like Lou at first, but Lou has an enthusiastic infectious personality that grows on Tom, and Lou's persevering upbeat nature carries him through a few mishaps which earns Tom's respect. They turn out to be great tramping buddies, and Lou becomes my favourite character in the book.
Each chapter is a separate tramping adventure with an interlude between each one. There are six altogether. Each chapter is accompanied by a hand-drawn map so you can follow the expedition. The characters and events are fictional, but all the places are real.
Apart from Lou and Tom's friendship, there is also a little character development. Lou is small for his size and he is teased (good-naturally) by his peers. He handles it well, but this is an issue for him as he brings it up. It also creates tension between him and his father. Lou finds a resolution later in the book which is nice to read.
Every type of tramping adventure is covered from Keas to snow and injuries and falls to lost trampers to running out of food! There are mountains to climb, dangerous rivers to cross, and wild animals to avoid. These were all fun to read, but I really enjoyed Elsie Locke's descriptions of the mountains from the young trampers' point of view. Here's a taste.
The cloud was gone and the moon was up. Before me was a scene so awesomely beautiful that I could only say something ordinary. 'Wake up, Lou!' I pushed his shoulder gently. 'I can see now where Old Man Waiatoto gets all that water from.' Lou stirred, looked up in a puzzled way and then rolled into position beside me. Once again he had only one word. 'Mighty!' It stretched out into the stillness. Before us rose an ice-clad massif tipped with milky light, surrounded by peaks and neves and walls of granite and glaciers and a chaos of icefalls. We gazed for a long time without speaking and then Lou said, 'What is it, Tom?' 'Mount Aspiring in full evening dress. It can't be anything else; I've seen its picture too often. The monarch of West Otago. That's Stargazer to the right, then Moonraker, but the one that points to the sky, that's Mount Aspiring.' "Beautiful mountain, beautiful name,' said Lou. 'I shall never believe it. I shall never believe this is me.'
The Boy with the Snowgrass Hair, Elsie Locke, page 146, Whitcoulls, 1976.
I highly recommend this book for ages 10 and over. The word "hell" was used a couple of times as a swear word. I had no other concerns about content.