Adventurer Handbook All Chapters

[Paskasi Coppola]

Fivewinters ago we started reading adventure stories together as a family. Damien wanted to focus our family adventure reading on modern day, non-fiction outdoor adventures, preferably human-powered hiking and backpacking trail stories. No Shackleton or Hillary, these stories are about adventurers like McKittrick and Miller.

Since those first winter evenings of reading together, we have branched out into audio books. And these books that we shared as a family, sparked an interest in me to read trail stories and journals on my own, since not all of them are family-friendly.

This page of book reviews and recommendations is a running list of the inspiring trail books we've read, either individually or as a family. Because we are always looking for great books for the whole family I indicate in the reviews below those that are most appropriate for family read-alouds (and what ages) and those that are best suited to adult readers.

We are mountain-hiking loving folks so these books are in that vein, i.e.: there aren't any family cycling books in this list. In part, because we identify more with hiking stories and also because we read these books hoping to learn from the authors' experiences to apply those ideas to our own hikes and daily lives.

This list is in no way exhaustive. It's what we've read and been inspired by reading. I refuse to read books that don't hold my attention or engage my imagination. I also avoid poorly written books. I have better things to do with my time than slog through 200 pages of tedium and trail life minutiae.

Full disclosure: Since first reading this book three years ago, we have had the privilege of getting to know Erin and her husband Bretwood Higman (Hig). We work with them from time to time and are super inspired by their lifestyle in Alaska. The fact that they are now parents of two young children and continuing in their human-powered adventures is pretty amazing.

This was a good adventure story on many levels but the most fascinating part for me was the fact that Erin and Hig were not following a trail but truly blazing their own path to make an epic, year-long, human-powered trek from Seattle to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.

This book is not a how-to book, biography, or a travel guide. It is a collection of observations, stories, and reflections of their journey as it progressed through each of the seasons.

Part adventure story, part environmental assessment, part nature guide, and part love story, there is something here for everyone. We were treated to beautiful descriptions of interactions with nature and wildlife. We saw how human activity impacts that wildlife. We visited remote peoples and villages. We learned how this young couple's relationship progressed from being young urban city dwellers to a family living in a yurt (inaccessible by roads) in a small Alaskan town.

Erin and Hig inspire us on many levels. They are a couple adventuring together and passing on these values to their children. They care passionately about the Alaskan environment and work to bring awareness to that issue, through science and writing. The book is a great story and their lives are a testament to their values and goals.

A Long Trek Home is appropriate for families with elementary aged children with the exception of perhaps a few instances. I can't recall them right now but I think Damien may have G-rated certain words while reading this aloud to our kids.

Appalachian Trials is about preparing yourself for the mental work of long distance hiking. Our bodies can handle a lot of physical effort - we're built for that. But what many people discover on the trail is that the challenge is more mental than physical.

Our frame of mind is more indicative of our success than circumstance. Funny. That's true in non-trail life also. It seems that long distance hiking simply amplifies this truth. (As do physical endurance activities in general - like giving birth, running a marathon, etc.)

This is a well known truth about human psychology and physiology; your body will adapt and adjust (though it may be sore and tired), it's your mental outlook that will make or break you. This is also known as resiliency. And thru-hiking the AT is nothing, if not an exercise in resilience!

And that is what Appalachian Trials is all about. Zach Davis' aim is to lay it all out, the challenges you will face on the trail, in hopes of preparing you and equipping you mentally to have a successful hike.

It's an excellent premise and the book is a good read. Reading it was both sobering and informative. For me personally, hiking the AT is not a pie-in-the-sky fairytale, "I can't wait to have six months off work" type journey. I have always expected it will be physically demanding. At one point I thought that would be the hard part. I have come to believe, like Davis and any long distance hiker I've since talked to, that thru-hiking is a mental game.

Davis challenges us to go in armed with knowledge, not naivety. He points out where on the trail to expect your motivation to plummet (and what to do about it). And although he doesn't sugar coat the truth - this is going to kick you in the butt - his overall message is "you can do this".

Damien and I each read this book individually in Kindle format. Due to a fair amount of swearing it is not appropriate for a family read-aloud. I would recommend it for late teens and beyond, i.e.: our kids haven't read it.

This is a trail story by David Miller, an account of his 2003 thru-hike of the AT. At the time of publishing this list we have been listening to this as an audio book for a few months. We have not completed it yet but David's in the Whites so we're getting close the end.

This is an engaging trail story, strong writing and packed with trail details and trail life without a lot of philosophical "what is the meaning of my life out here" wanderings. David is a family man and on that account we can identify. However, unlike our full family thru-hike plans he went solo, a situation we find hard to imagine. You must miss your family a lot on such a journey and indeed I would say from Miller's own account that was the most difficult part for him. (Next to some painful feet issues.)

His own hike comes at crossroads in his life. And we get the sense as we're listening that Miller may choose a different career path once he leaves the trail. I think this is a common trail experience. Reaching a crisis or a crossroads in one's life and using an extended time in nature to re-evaluate your life and choose a new direction.

I recommend this book, as a good story and trail journal. Definitely more authentic and worth reading than Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods; a book our family started reading together (with a lot of omitted and bleeped out portions) but never finished because it left a bad taste in our mouths.

Incidentally, I've done some snooping around and Bryson's book is not particularly liked or well received by the thru-hiker community. I only mention this because a lot of people ask, "Have you read A Walk in the Woods?" There's your answer.

AWOL on the Appalachian Trail is completely family friendly for our late elementary and teenage crew. There may be a few cuss words but I can't recall. As we get closer to the end of this audio recording we encounter more language that, though hilarious and totally appropriate in the story context, is not appropriate for young listeners. At least not by our standards. If you were reading this aloud to your kids you could easily skip over these few words, substituting child friendly versions. In truth though, Damien and I appreciate the story more than the kids do. It might not be the greatest family read aloud.

The takeaway I got from reading Isis & jackrabbit's account of their mostly barefoot thru-hike was a sense of "I can do this". Most trail stories I've read, and you can see from this list there's been a few, have inspired me, challenged me, and sometimes overwhelmed me. (Like the Lyme disease section of Davis' book.) Very few have left me feeling confident in my own ability to thru-hike.

But I think the most significant reason I felt encouraged by their story is because these sisters knew virtually nothing, at least as it comes across in their writing, about the trail, trail-life, trail-culture, etc. before starting their thru-hike. Their naivety about gear, drop boxes, and distances made me think that someone like me might actually be able to accomplish this feat.

The fact that they accomplished most of the hike barefoot was not the part that engaged me most about this book. (They had to start wearing shoes when they hit significant amounts of snow and ice, as their hike extended into the southern Appalachian winter.) Though this part will certainly appeal to those of us who hike in minimalist and lightweight shoes.

The part that engaged me most was the writing. Lucy Letcher and Susan Letcher tell a compelling and honest story about their journey. They share, with compassion and kindness, the quirky ways of the people they meet and the relationships they form along the way. And these people stories, along with the unique element of barefooting, are what make their hike so interesting. In addition, the sister's give us access to their inner and interpersonal struggles with depression, disagreements, loneliness and injury. Conditions that anyone who's human can identify with.

The Barefoot Sisters Southbound is just a really excellent story. Once I started I couldn't put it down. I read this in Kindle format and it is not appropriate for a family read-aloud due to language and sexual references.

Becoming Odyssa is a memoir about a single woman's thru hike of the AT. And not just any single woman. Jennifer Pharr Davis went on to set speed records for the AT and other long distance trails. She has now hiked over 11,000 miles of long distance trails.

Pharr Davis is one tough cookie. Reading her hike account was intimidating in a way that the Barefoot Sisters were not. I think some of the struggles and hardships she encountered scared me, to be honest. I think I identified with the Letcher sisters earthy tone (they were barefoot) more than Pharr Davis' obvious athleticism and competitive nature. But just to be clear, all three of these women are amazing outdoorswomen.

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