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Looking for people's suggestions on books about peoples thru hikes on any of the Major American trails. Have read the barefoot sisters books, the cactus eaters and a few others.
Thanks
I love to read and have read at least 30plus books about the AT/PCT/CDT/etc. I'll have to say that there have not been any that I didn't like in some way or another.
My favorites have been "Southbound" and "Walking Home" by Lucy and Susan Letcher about 2 sisters hiking the AT
"Walking North" by Mic Lowther about a family hiking the AT
"Becoming Odyssa" by Jennifer Pharr Davis about a young girl hiking the AT alone
"Zero Days" by Barbara Egbert about a family hiking the PCT
"Walk Across America" by Peter Jenkins about a young guy who walks from NY to Louisiana.
Happy Reading!
I love to read and have read at least 30plus books about the AT/PCT/CDT/etc. I'll have to say that there have not been any that I didn't like in some way or another. My favorites have been "Southbound" and "Walking Home" by Lucy and Susan Letcher about 2 sisters hiking the AT "Walking North" by Mic Lowther about a family hiking the AT "Becoming Odyssa" by Jennifer Pharr Davis about a young girl hiking the AT alone "Zero Days" by Barbara Egbert about a family hiking the PCT "Walk Across America" by Peter Jenkins about a young guy who walks from NY to Louisiana. Happy Reading! Just finished reading the barefoot sisters books, loved them. Thanks for your suggestions :)
Rain Man
11-19-2015, 08:57
As Far As the Eye Can see by David Brill
Walking on the Happy Side of Misery by J.R. Tate
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
And Then the Rain Came by George Steffanos
Walking Home by Kelly Winters
Also, the two volume Rodale edited set of short memoirs and essays. Great read of how it was in the 50s, 60s, etc.
I have over a 100, in case you want more titles.
SouthMark
11-19-2015, 09:19
Yes Rain Man, "As Far as the Eye Can See" is one of my favorites along with "Hiking Through" by Paul Stutzman.
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AWOL's book is excellent. He takes his time.
Matt Kirk's book is also excellent (Kindle only?). He takes the opposite approach of AWOL and hauls the AT in less that 60 days.
Both books are entertaining and full of really good information about the AT.
To get ready...
The Complete Walker or The New Complete Walker by Colin Fletcher. Timeless.
Wayne
Thanks for all your suggestions guys, I'd like more titles rainman. Keep the suggestions coming:)
Just Bill
11-19-2015, 10:52
AWOL's book is excellent. He takes his time.
Matt Kirk's book is also excellent (Kindle only?). He takes the opposite approach of AWOL and hauls the AT in less that 60 days.
Both books are entertaining and full of really good information about the AT.
Here's the thread for Matt's book- it is available in paperback or kindle- http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/112722-Fast-Light-amp-Free
Camping and Woodcraft by Horace Kephart (and Our Southern Highlanders) is available for free on most platforms.
As a Canadian you may enjoy Runes of the North by Sigurd Olsen.
All the Leatherstocking Tales (Last of the Mochicans series) are free on many platforms.
If you want to pick up the pace- Trail Life by Ray Jardine remains a favorite.
I'm partial to this book, though most folks in this thread report it's pretty crappy- http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/107948-I-am-a-Liar
I'm just happy to know that there are still some 18 year-olds who can read something other than Twitter or Facebook or Instagram (et al).
I just returned to the US from England and nearly every American kid had his or her fat face glued to a "smart"phone, whilst most the English ones were reading those outmoded print versions called books.
Keep reading kid; you'll be wiser than most for it.
dudeijuststarted
11-19-2015, 11:50
"Not Without Peril."
It is not a thru-hike book, but it is about the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, which the AT travels through. It's an amazing book about people underestimating the Presidential Range and getting killed for it.
Pedaling Fool
11-19-2015, 11:58
I just returned to the US from England and nearly every American kid had his or her fat face glued to a "smart"phone, whilst most the English ones were reading those outmoded print versions called books.Your observation doesn't jive with reporting from the UK ... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11784092/Smartphones-are-hurting-our-children-but-the-real-culprit-is-bad-parenting.html
And if you look at this thing in a global sense, you see it's pretty much the entire world; people love information, especially when it's entertaining, at least to them.
When looking at the numbers in the chart it's very important to take the country's population in account. The UK only has a population of about 64-million. http://www.emarketer.com/Article/2-Billion-Consumers-Worldwide-Smartphones-by-2016/1011694
Your observation doesn't jive with reporting from the UK ... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11784092/Smartphones-are-hurting-our-children-but-the-real-culprit-is-bad-parenting.html
And if you look at this thing in a global sense, you see it's pretty much the entire world; people love information, especially when it's entertaining, at least to them.
When looking at the numbers in the chart it's very important to take the country's population in account. The UK only has a population of about 64-million. http://www.emarketer.com/Article/2-Billion-Consumers-Worldwide-Smartphones-by-2016/1011694
Oh, believe me, I realize all this; I travel internationally quite a bit. And each time I do, I see more and more "phone-face" and less and less human interaction or book-reading. It's one of the reasons why I'm learning to prefer visiting the "poor" countries, where humans still behave like humans and not robots. Of course, they're changing too.
Your observation doesn't jive with reporting from the UK ... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11784092/Smartphones-are-hurting-our-children-but-the-real-culprit-is-bad-parenting.html
And if you look at this thing in a global sense, you see it's pretty much the entire world; people love information, especially when it's entertaining, at least to them.
When looking at the numbers in the chart it's very important to take the country's population in account. The UK only has a population of about 64-million. http://www.emarketer.com/Article/2-Billion-Consumers-Worldwide-Smartphones-by-2016/1011694
Good article in The Telegraph. I've been observing these concerns for several yrs and largely they are not being addressed as the economic technological freight train rolls on. What is NOT being said is when we connect to some thing(s) we by definition disconnect from other things. What is NOT being addressed, as the economic technological tidal wave speeds forward, are the things we are being disconnected from and the quality of interactions that are even decreasing.
The metric correlated with electronic use that has to be considered is not population of a country but the affluency in per capita income of a country. In more affluent countries electronic use AND ADDICTION spreads out to lesser affluent countries.
Oh, believe me, I realize all this; I travel internationally quite a bit. And each time I do, I see more and more "phone-face" and less and less human interaction or book-reading. It's one of the reasons why I'm learning to prefer visiting the "poor" countries, where humans still behave like humans and not robots. Of course, they're changing too.
Congrats to you for being more SOBERLY AWARE ESPECIALLY AS AN 18 YR OLD.
To get ready...
The Complete Walker or The New Complete Walker by Colin Fletcher. Timeless.
Wayne
This is the book that I got started with.
To this day I carry a single stick/staff (though now metal extendible to fool angry unicorns if I ever run into one out in the woods!
I had read a bunch of the beginner-goes-hiking "I did it!" type books until I tired... such a lot of happy face all over the place. Then I found "Between and rock and a white blaze" by the Urby couple. These were advanced, seasoned hikers who were blunt about all the problems they faced. I enjoyed the reality check for a refreshing change.
Check out this site:
http://www.booksforhikers.com/
Sandy of PA
11-20-2015, 22:30
Foot Path My Ass, the writers trail name was Bluebird. I gave the book to my sister, so I can't give her real name.
chiefduffy
11-21-2015, 08:44
The Appalachian Trail Reader, David Emblidge
futureatwalker
11-22-2015, 05:36
I just returned to the US from England and nearly every American kid had his or her fat face glued to a "smart"phone, whilst most the English ones were reading those outmoded print versions called books.
Funny, I just read this after telling my son he had to get off the internet on his Kindle Fire. We live in the U.K.
(Of course, I didn't mean he had to turn the Kindle off. He's reading Into Thin Air on it as I write this post.)
OK, some of my favourite hiking books:
Walking north by Mic Lowther
As far as the eye can see by David Brill
On the beaten path by Robert Rubin
Crossing Arizona by Chris Townshend
The thousand mile summer by Colin Fletcher
Check out this site:
http://www.booksforhikers.com/
Best comprehensive list with some summaries I've seen.
Tipi Walter
11-22-2015, 11:04
I am assuming this Book thread is geared towards hikers and backpackers who want something to read while out on the trail and for a trip.
I used to buy used paperback books of any subject and take these out and burn them on my trips, but I hit on a better solution:
** Use your computer and printer and get a ream of copy paper, then---
** Bookmark everything you can find from the world wide interwad that interests you---backpacking, trip reports, gear reviews, wiki articles on history or people or whatever ETC ETC. You will end up with a hundred apt bookmarks.
** Now copy around 70 pages of stuff, flip this pile over and print another 70 pages on the back side---70 pages total with 140 readable pages. This constitutes one "book roll".
** Make as many book rolls as you are willing to carry. I've done up to 12 rolls on a trip but it's heavy cuz it equals around 860 pieces of typing paper---HEAVY.
** The beauty of this system is you get to read whatever you want AND CAN BURN EACH ROLL AT YOUR LEISURE.
https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2012/Tipi-Walter-in-Solitude/i-8QxSGvg/0/L/TRIP%20130%20028-L.jpg
The book roll system in action on a recent backpacking trip. Thing is, I can't read extensively on the computer or at home, but on a trip I'm all gung-ho to read as I'm solo and cozy in my tent and mostly supine using my upended water bottle for a headrest and want to read for hours. Reading for me requires solitude and what better place than on a backpacking trip.
The load is heavy as mentioned but you can still hike from camp to camp and put in the miles, and as you burn the crap your pack gets much lighter.
Spirit Walker
11-22-2015, 12:30
Most of the trail books I've enjoyed are somewhat dated - Larry Luxemburg and Lynn Setzer for example - but still worth reading. Many trail books are pretty dull or have characters that aren't all that likeable (Six Moon Trail about the PCT leaps to mind,) so I don't read them any more. I did enjoy Cactus Eaters and Dances with Marmots about the PCT and Karen Berger and Steve Pern's books about the CDT.
Not about a LD trail, but about walking - one of my all time favorite books is "Worldwalk" by Steve Newman. It tells of his 'walk around the world' in the late '80s. Hearing him talk on the radio set me on the path of long distance hiking. Plus he is a really good guy, with many great stories.
Karl Bushby's book, "Giant Steps", about the first half of his walk from Tierra del Fuego to Great Britain was interesting, but he's not quite as likeable as Newman. OTOH, he did manage to get across the Bering Strait and is currently crossing Russia, so the fact that his journey is ongoing keeps me checking periodically to see how he is doing.
Rain Man
11-22-2015, 13:52
Thanks for all your suggestions guys, I'd like more titles Rain Man. Keep the suggestions coming:)
Here are a few more. I'll try not to rehash other titles already posted, but will say I can't believe I didn't think to mention Awol's fine book.
Just Passin' Thru by Winton Porter.
Ten Million Steps by M. J. Eberhart aka Niblewill Nomad
Grandma Gatewood's Walk by Ben Montgomery
a journey north by adrienne hall
Got more if you want 'em. Just have to go through my shelves to find ones I can recommend. Many I can't in good faith.
scrabbler
11-22-2015, 22:49
And for the more frugal folks like me - check out Abe Books, an online used book broker, for really cheap used copies of these books.
Rain Man
11-23-2015, 15:33
And for the more frugal folks like me - check out Abe Books, an online used book broker, for really cheap used copies of these books.
Many of mine came from www.alibris.com. Similar site, I suspect. Neat to find old, used, even out-of-print AT books. Sometimes for less than a dollar.
Thanks for all the sites and suggestion's all.
Jim Adams
11-24-2015, 08:08
AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE by David Brill gave me the feelings of my thru hikes. There are a lot of good books out there but this one gave me the feeling.