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Journeys North: The Pacific Crest Trail
| Title | Journeys North: The Pacific Crest Trail |
| Writer | |
| Date | 2024-12-26 03:57:25 |
| Type | |
| Link | Listen Read |
Desciption
2020 Banff Mountain Book Competition Finalist in Adventure Travel In Journeys North, legendary trail angel and thru hiker Barney Scout Mann spins a compelling tale of six hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2007 as they walk from Mexico to Canada. This ensemble story unfolds as these half-dozen hikers--including Barney and his wife, Sandy--trod north, slowly forming relationships and revealing their deepest secrets and aspirations. They face a once-in-a-generation drought and early severe winter storms that test their will in this bare-knuckled adventure. In fact, only a third of all the hikers who set out on the trail that year would finish. As the group approaches Canada, a storm rages. How will these very different hikers, ranging in age, gender, and background, respond to the hardship and suffering ahead of them? Can they all make the final 60-mile push through freezing temperatures, sleet, and snow, or will some reach their breaking point? Journeys North is a story of grit, compassion, and the relationships people forge when they strive toward a common goal. Read more
Review
I attempted the PCT in 2018 and read almost everything I could find before that. Many of those "other" books are mainly about the author and his/her personal tribulations, life problems in the past, sore blistered feet, etc. I like Scout's book because it covers many other hikers, not just the author and his wife and includes hiking disasters, near disasters, and how to avoid them, as well as giving you a good feel for the rigors of the trail and picturesque descriptions of the landscape of this beautiful trail.Scout himself is a real trail angel par excellence as he and his wife have hosted something over 1000 hikers/year for ten years or more inside their small S. California home and refuse to take any compensation at all for their efforts. Hikers usually expect to pay $20-$25 and up per night to the host for this kind of arrangement but Scout and Frodo won't take any reimbursement and yet provide free advice, free meals, free transportation from airport to their house and then to the trail head, all assisted by their legions of volunteers who want to help hikers - their front yard has turned into a boardwalk (to minimize hiker footstep damage most likely) and their back yard similarly is laid out in tartan turf that can withstand the wear and tear of the thousands of hikers per year who walk between the large fixed hiker tents. Visitors are allowed to use any room in his house (except for a couple of private rooms) and the whole house is laid out much like a youth hostel. Imagine 40 people sharing one bathroom on a given night- but it works out and the hikers are extremely grateful for Scout and Frodo's assistance.Scout is one sharp and extremely generous guy who has distilled his thousands of experiences with hikers into one book that will keep your attention until it is finished.
