I finished this book last night by Jennifer Phar Davis .... for some strange reason, it was one of those books like "Animal Farm" that I had a hard time putting down once I started it.... read the entire book in 4 nights.
It was a very interesting and inspiring story. I respect her athletic ability, perseverance and grit in finishing her first AT thru hike, then later going back to the trail to set those trail speed records. As a frequent AT section hiker, I was a little offended by some of her story, she pretty much trashes AT section hikers early in the book, but I attribute some of that to her youthful exuberance on her first AT thru hike, and the by her accounts she had some run-ins with some real jerks on the trail. The section hikers she mentioned in particular as being a pain would have turned me off also.
but I enjoyed her descriptions of the different sections of the AT, the terrain and trail towns, fellow hikers, the physical and mental challenges she dealt with as a thru hiker, spoken from a young female hiker point of view. I did like the way the chapters in her book subdivided the AT into different sections in her hike.... it was different than AWOLs book, which was also a great book. She had to deal with some stuff that male hikers don't have to endure. I'll bet she is a good motivational speaker.