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A funny John Muir Trail Book

I read Almost Somewhere by Suzanne Roberts in advance of our upcoming JMT hike.

Day One, and already she was lying in her journal.

It was 1993, Suzanne Roberts had just finished college, and when her friend suggested they hike California’s John Muir Trail, the adventure sounded like the perfect distraction from a difficult home life and thoughts about the future.

But she never imagined that the twenty-eight-day hike would change her life. Part memoir, part nature writing, part travelogue, Almost Somewhere is Roberts’s account of that hike. …

Amazon
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Arctic Circle Trail, Greenland

… At just over 100 miles long, and taking 7 to 10 days to complete, the Arctic Circle Trail crosses the largest ice-free patch of West Greenland.

This splendid backpacking route, lying 25-30 miles north of the Arctic Circle runs from Kangerlussuaq to Sisimiut – both with airport access.

a summer walk, ideally from mid-June to mid-September, when the tundra is bursting with life; during the long winter, snow and ice, short days and bitter cold are the norm …

Cicerone

Bo Normander posted an excellent trip report from 2017:

GUIDE TO THE ARCTIC CIRCLE TRAIL IN GREENLAND

Lisa Germany (from Australia) posted her trip report.

Or you can listen to an interview where she describes Greenland and the ACT in detail.

Cycling Across the USA for Charity – The 10Adventures Podcast

On this episode we connect with cyclists Maddy and Charlie, two Princeton students who cycled 3500 miles across the US from New Jersey to Washington to raise money for mental health.   We learn how the two quickly ditched their original route plans and decided to take the journey day by day, with their sights set on Chicago, Black Hills, and Yellowstone. This epic adventure saw the two college athletes crashing with friends, staying at hotels, and camping along the way.    Learn more about how they managed their gear, how they gained enough confidence to tackle just about any mountain that stood before them, and the incredible highlights of this cross-country ride that took them through the Appalachians and the Rockies.
  1. Cycling Across the USA for Charity
  2. Hiking Canada's epic West Coast Trail
  3. Cycling from Hanoi to Saigon
  4. Skiing 1,400km across Sweden with Paolo Peralta
  5. Cycling Scotland's epic North Coast 500 with Dan Lo Presti
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Free Outside by Jeff Garmire

Jeff “Legend” Garmire is an adventurer who climbed the Colorado 14ers, survived The Great Western Loop, broke the Arizona Trail self-supported FKT, Long Trail Unsupported FKT, and the Colorado Trail Unsupported FKT and much more.

Free Outside is his telling of his Calendar Year Triple Crown: Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail.

I listened to the audio version which Jeff reads himself.

Fast paced. No dull moments.

8000 miles averaging over 30 miles a day.

I enjoyed the book.

It’s real to his experience. So real that no editor seems to have corrected spelling nor typos.

Seemed to me the CDT would be my least favourite of the three — overall. Too many cows. Too much dirty drinking water.

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The Adventurer’s Son by Roman Dial

A good book. And important look at the role of parents in the raising of their children.

The Adventurer’s Son is Roman Dial’s extraordinary account of his two-year quest to unravel the mystery of his son’s disappearance in the jungles of Costa Rica.

… Before he left, Cody Roman Dial emailed his father: “I am not sure how long it will take me, but I’m planning on doing 4 days in the jungle and a day to walk out. I’ll be bounded by a trail to the west and the coast everywhere else, so it should be difficult to get lost forever.”

They were the last words Dial received from his son.

… Roman had raised his son to be fearless, to be at home in earth’s wildest places, travelling together through rugged Alaska to remote Borneo and Bhutan. Was he responsible for his son’s fate? Or, as he hoped, was Cody Roman safe and using his wilderness skills on a solo adventure from which he would emerge at any moment?

Amazon

You might have seen the documentary Missing Dial on National Geographic channel.

The parents agreed to participate out of desperation to continue the search for their missing son. They are disappointed in how it turned out. Wild hyperbole and speculation.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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Free Fire by C.J. Box

I downloaded this book because it was set in Yellowstone National Park.

The plot is dumb, I thought. But the location kept me going.

The Yellowstone Caldera supervolcano supereruption possibility is one thread of the story.

Joe Pickett’s been hired to investigate one of the most cold-blooded mass killings in Wyoming history.

Attorney Clay McCann admitted to slaughtering four campers in a back-country corner of Yellowstone National Park—a “free-fire” zone with no residents or jurisdiction.

In this remote fifty-square-mile stretch a man can literally get away with murder. Now McCann’s a free man, and Pickett’s about to discover his motive—one buried in Yellowstone’s rugged terrain, and as dangerous as the man who wants to keep it hidden.

CJBox.net
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The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

Winn and her husband Moth, who was diagnosed with a terminal illness, became homeless after a bad investment and decided to walk the 630-mile (1,010 km) South West Coast Path. …

In September 2019 it was the number one bestselling book in UK independent bookstores.

An excellent read.

The couple had not hiked for decades. Pretty much everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

And they survived on an income of about £40 a week.

Amazon

related – Couple walked 630 miles and lived in a tent after bad investment left them homeless

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Juan de Fuca Trail, Vancouver Island

Our #1 hike in the world — West Coast Trail — was closed all of 2020 due to COVID. Hopefully it will reopen in 2021.

Right next door is the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail.

It’s one of the great alternatives to the WCT. Logistics are much easier. And it’s less expensive.

Vancouver Island experts MB Guiding have a Juan de Fuca Marine Trail Guide online.

Check that for planning. And get a copy of the best hiking guidebook – Coastal Hikes.

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NEW podcast – Cicerone Hiking guidebooks

As publishers of nearly 400 outdoor travel guidebooks, Cicerone Press are a specialist team who love the outdoors and want to inspire and guide you on your next outdoor adventure.

In this episode, hosts Amy Hodkin and Hannah Stevenson introduce themselves and speak to Joe Williams about the history of Cicerone, our team of expert authors and the areas and activities covered in Cicerone guidebooks.

Whether walking, cycling, trekking, scrambling, mountain biking, running or skiing, Cicerone offers guidebooks written, edited and tested by outdoor experts.

Find out more and view our full range of guidebooks on the Cicerone website, www.cicerone.co.uk.

You can also search for @CiceronePress on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and join our Facebook community group, Cicerone Connect.

I used their Aconcagua guidebook, for example, when hiking independently to French Base Camp.