Stretching 740 miles from New York to Maine, the Northern Forest Canoe Trail offers paddlers amazing paddling opportunities and a mighty challenge.

Less than 100 people have thru-paddled the trail in a single season. Among those who have achieved this impressive accomplishment is Laurie Apgar Chandler, who, in 2015 at the age of 53, became the first woman to solo thru-paddle the entire trail.

Chandler was recently interviewed by the folks at AquaBound.com about her NFCT adventure. She discusses her preparation for the trip, her experiences along the way, and her newly-released book, Upwards.

Read Chandler’s interview here.