RSS FeedJanuary 07, 2008
The Ordinary Adventurer
Truth be told, I'm not particularly fond of reading most hiker journals. You know the type I'm referring to. "I woke up, cooked breakfast, started hiking at 8 AM, saw a bear at 11 AM, my feet hurt, it's cold and raining, I have a blister, I'm running low on Snicker bars, I reached camp at 7 PM, I cooked dinner and fell asleep." <yawn> That gets old pretty fast.
Then there is the rare hiker who has the skill and insight to capture the essence of the hiking experience, and distill that experience into words that makes the reader crave for more. Such is the case with Jan "Liteshoe" Leitschuh.
Jan is well known in long distance hiking circles for her excellent journal from her 2003 Appalachian Trail thru-hike. Her journal remains one of the most popular on Trailjournals.com, and for good reason. She is a gifted and talented writer. Recently, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Jan had written a new book about a trail that I have been thinking about hiking for a number of years - Vermont's Long Trail.
Let me start by saying that "The Ordinary Adventurer" Hiking Vermont's Long Trail; A Primer for Baby Adventurers and Other Musings on the Nature of Journey, is no ordinary book. It is a gem! What makes this book such a fun read is Jan's ability to capture the subtleties of the hiking experience. As an experienced backpacker, I could totally relate to the mental aspect of Jan's hike. The frustration that can arise from poor weather, a stiff climb, or from a recalcitrant hiking partner (sorry Clyde). The splendor of being alone in the woods, lost in your thoughts, or listening to the ethereal song of the Hermit Thrush. The joy felt when the sun emerges from behind a cloud, or when a stranger offers you a cold beverage or a much needed ride to town. The satisfaction from realizing that you have accomplished a goal, such as climbing Mt. Mansfield, even though that goal seemed insurmountable only hours earlier.
Beyond the mental aspect, Jan's description of the Vermont woods brought me right back to the Green Mountain State; a place that I truly love to hike. The paper birch, the mushrooms and the rushing streams along with the fragrant smell of Balsam Fir. I also thoroughly enjoyed Jan's treatment of the unique fellowship that forms out on the trail. It's all there! Both the outer journey, and the all important inner journey.
When I finished the book last night, I was saddened to put it down. That's what happens when you become engrossed in a good read. Thankfully, like a gift that keeps on giving, this book has lit a fire that only a backpacking trip can extinguish. I am already thinking about an end to end hike of the Long Trail in 2009, and I have "The Ordinary Adventurer" to thank for that.
"The Ordinary Adventurer" is the perfect read for those who have dreamed the dream of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. Whether you ever set out to actually hike the whole Appalachian Trail is immaterial. This book will entertain you, educate you, and perhaps best of all, let you know that you can accomplish your goals - one step at a time.
For more information about "The Ordinary Adventurer", or to purchase a copy, please visit the author's website at funfreedom.com. If you'd like to meet the author, Jan will be attending the Southern Ruck at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Wesser, NC on Saturday January 19, 2008. She'll be reading passages from her book starting at 3:45 PM in Kleinrath Hall.
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 12:54 PM | Comments (2)
December 13, 2007
Sex in a Tent
No, this isn't a shameless ploy to increase visitation to this site. Nor is it a manipulative way to try and convince my wife to come backpacking with me. There is a new book written by Michelle Waitzman entitled Sex in a Tent. The new book (Oct. '07) is published by Wilderness Press.
The author is from New Zealand, and has a blog entitled Love in a Tent.
Here is a brief excerpt from Michelle's new book. As a married man with a wife who doesn't generally camp with me, I find this information very informative. I'll have to try to use some of these suggestions as a rationale for hiking/camping together in the new year.
Top 10 Reasons to Camp Together
If a book doesn't fill your gift need, please consider ordering an American Hiking Society Gift Membership Bundle, or some great Organic Coffee for the hiker in your life! 10% of all coffee sales benefit American Hiking Society's work in the southeast.
Here's to hiking and camping with your significant other in 2008! Happy Holidays to all the hikers out there!
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 11:16 AM | Comments (1)
October 11, 2007
Hiking Alabama!
Guide opens trails throughout Alabama
by Scott Morris for the Decatur Daily
Sink your toes into sugar white sand or climb a rock outcropping in the high country and do it all without leaving Alabama.
If there can be a theme to a field guide, that might be it for “Hiking Alabama.”
Daphne resident Joe Cuhaj includes some of your favorite trails and offers many lesser-known choices.
Many of the best trails are here in the Tennessee Valley, including several popular destinations in Bankhead National Forest.
But, have you heard of Caney Creek Canyon Preserve, a privately owned trail open to the public near The Shoals? What about Mountain Mist Trail in Huntsville?
The third edition of “Hiking Alabama” scores high for good directions to trail heads, simple trail maps and mile-by-mile directional cues.
It also includes difficulty ratings, trail contacts, fees and other information.
If the guide contains a weakness, it’s in the sections labeled “The Hike,” which are supposed to be the meat of the book. Some of this information reads more like filler material than interesting details of the trails.
But, overall, I recommend “Hiking Alabama.”
Treat it like a good compass or trusty flashlight. Toss it into your daypack so it’s there when you need it.
It might become one of those field guides that inspires you to visit every suggested hiking trail in Alabama, cutting another notch in your hiking stick as you go.
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 05:51 PM
December 25, 2006
The Places in Between
"The Places in Between"
by Rory Stewart
This past week I finished reading two books about Afghanistan. One book, The Looming Tower, has absolutely nothing to do with hiking. The other book, The Places in Between, has everything to do with hiking.
In the fall of 2002, Scottish writer Rory Stewart set out on an adventure to walk across Afghanistan. This was part of a three year trek that also saw him walk across most of Asia including Pakistan, Iran, India and Nepal. What makes Stewart's journey all the more remarkable, is that his walk takes place just after the fall of the Taliban!
Braving blizzards, sub-zero temperatures, land mines and bandits, Stewart paints a vivid picture of life in rural Afghanistan. This is an Afghanistan that you won't read about in newspapers or see on television.
The Places in Between was lauded by the New York Times Book Review as one of the Top 10 books of 2006.
At 11.8 ounces, the paperback version of this book will fit nicely in your backpack, purse, or computer bag. Pick it up today!
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 09:48 AM
November 22, 2006
Big Coal
Last week I gave a presentation at a local University, and as I was leaving, the Professor gave me a gift card from an online bookseller. I promptly went online and ordered Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future by Jeff Goodell and An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore. Both books were purchased used - and arrived in yesterday's mail.
I started reading Big Coal last night, and have been sucked in pretty good. If you'd like to read the introduction of this book online, you can do so here.
Since the book has me in its grip, I'll probably carry it with me this weekend during a backpacking trip along the Fires Creek Rim Trail in Western North Carolina. I don't often carry a hardcover book while I'm backpacking, but I'll make an exception for Big Coal.
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 08:57 AM
November 10, 2006
What book is in your backpack?
What are you reading these days? Currently, I'm reading two books. Beyond The Wall by the late, great Edward Abbey and Pinhook: Finding Wholeness in a Fragmented Landscape by Janisse Ray.
These books both provide a sense of place about vastly different places in North America.
Abbey writes about the arid southwest and Ray writes about the soggy southeast. Both writers have an extraordinary ability to paint a portrait of a landscape with their words. Ray writes about the Pinhook Swamp, which is located between the Okefenokee Swamp and the Osceola National Forest in northeast Florida.
Beyond The Wall is a series of shorts essays about a variety of western landscapes. In his essay entitled A Walk in the Desert Hills, Abbey writes "Me and my feet walk on. (Hardly any tread left in these old jungle boots.) Once a foot soldier, always a foot soldier. But I'll say this much for walking: it's the only mode of locomotion in which man proceeds entirely on his own, upright, as a human being should be, fully erect rather than sitting on his rear end." I couldn't agree more!
In the upcoming winter edition of American Hiker magazine, I review a new book of Edward Abbey's letters. The book is entitled "Postcards from Ed: Dispatches and Salvos from an American Iconoclast." If you'd like to receive American Hiker, you can join American Hiking Society, and you'll receive four issues a year, plus a one-year subscription to Backpacker magazine - all for $30. Your support will also help American Hiking Society protect hiking trails all across America.
Happy Trails!
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 12:19 PM