"I gazed down the way we had come. The magnitude of the feat we had accomplished flooded in with the crisp air as I surveyed the vastness of the valley and the distant ranges. Patience and determination had carried us up and over the obstacles to that cloud-high perch, to a view usually reserved for eagles and angels. ... Only a few people ever are given the opportunity, or accept the challenge, to climb a thirteen-htousand-foot mountain. Few ever a chance to see that sublime view, breathe that pristine air, overcome those formidable obstacles, or feel that joy-filled exhilaration. And I was one of them."
The John Muir Trail: 211 mile hiking trail that runs from Yosemite Valley through the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States.
Three women in their fifties, and one in her twenties.
Four weeks of adventure: river crossings, alpenglow, lightning, snow, mountain passes, mosquitoes, wild flowers, peaks and valleys, beautiful lakes, beauty, struggle, friendship, and joy.
"Succeeding at such a huge personal challenge changes a person. ... When we take on the nearly impossible and succeed, the impossible begins to look approachable."
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thoughts: I love hiking memoirs like this one. It's immersive, transportive, and inspiring. It made me wish I had adventurous hiking buddies like Joan's! Because this is the kind of adventure I've always dreamed of doing. I honestly don't know if I could handle the mosquitoes, or sleeping on the ground, not to mention having no bathrooms; and I don't know if my knees could take hiking up all those steep peaks only to then have to hike back down them. But wouldn't it be awesome to accomplish something this amazing and challenging?
As John Muir wrote: "Fear not, therefore, to try the mountain-passes. They will kill care, save you from deadly apathy, set you free, and call forth every faculty into vigorous, enthusiastic action."
Happy Reading!
Wow! What an accomplishment! I'd never be able to manage it these days, but how wonderful that the author and her friends were able to do so. Love the quotes!
ReplyDeleteIf only I'd had friends like this in my 20s and 30s! This kind of trek would be so cool...hard, but very cool to accomplish.
DeleteIt is a great accomplishment and two of the women were in their fifties. That would be a great experience to see something in life that very few have seen. It's why the artic also fascinates me.
ReplyDeleteI love reading about remote places like the arctic!
DeleteI do love adventures like these, especially when accomplished by women. I think I could have climbed along with them a few (or maybe more than a few!) years ago, but with today's bad knees, I'm afraid I'd never make it. Still I'm happy to climb along with them thrugh the telling of their story.
ReplyDelete*through
DeleteReading about these kind of adventures is one of my favorite things. And this is a really good one. :D
DeleteI would love to have done this in my 50s. Why did I never think of it?
ReplyDeleteI'd love to do it right now...but none of my friends are that outdoorsy or adventurous...and I'm not brave enough to do it alone.
DeleteSounds wonderful! I love outdoorsy/hiking memoirs too, and even though the same things you mention (bugs, lack of bathrooms, my poor knees!) would be major reasons for me not to actually do something like this, it's nice to dream and live vicariously for a bit.
ReplyDeleteIt is! It's one of the things I love most about books and reading. :D
DeleteI've gone hiking years ago but the longest we hiked was a couple of hours. lol
ReplyDeleteThat's me. Around five miles is my limit, and these days I prefer hikes that are closer to just three miles. It's so sad getting older.
DeleteAmazing.
ReplyDeletewww.rsrue.blogspot.com
I was impressed by their accomplishments!
DeleteI bought it, the book I mean. :-) I'm sure you knew I would. LOL!
ReplyDelete:D You will be immersed in the Sierra Nevada mountains from Yosemite all the way to Mt. Whitney. I hope you love it as much as I did.
DeleteThis sounds like a wonderful read! I'd love to do something like that! :D
ReplyDeleteI'd really love to do something like this, too. If only I were a little younger and a lot braver. ;D
DeleteI'm glad you really enjoyed this one. Look at the cover!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it great?
DeleteI love books like this too. I know I don't have what it takes to backpack, but I loved our hike of Hadrian's Wall Path so much--sleeping in a bed and hiring a luggage transport company made the trip possible.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds awesome! (And the way I'd love to hike most things. ;D )
DeleteI know for a fact I couldn't handle the mosquitos or sleeping on the ground but I love reading about those can handle it! This looks like a fun read and one I would enjoy as well.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great book! I think you'd like it. :D
DeleteWow the hike does sound very challenging. It's a nonfiction memoir? So it was four weeks? The backcountry must have been beautiful. I might have done it in my younger years ... but I think now my knees would not be good on the downhills. Sounds like a great read though!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure my knees could take the downhills now either. But part of me would love to try it anyway.
DeleteI have done my fair share of backpacking and the mosquitos in some places were brutal! Sleeping on the ground isn't so bad if you have a good, light pad. This sounds wonderful and I'd love to do it! Maybe not the Mt. Whitney part. My husband did it and I didn't go. I don't like the scenery. It's not pretty being above the tree line and looked so desolate I couldn't push myself to go. Plus, it was a guys only trip, haha!
ReplyDeleteIt would be such an amazing experience! Although I can totally see skipping Mt. Whitney at the end; that part did not sound fun.
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