Hiking Memoirs

By the time life had finished hitting Rick Crandall from all sides, he was at the lowest point of his life, both personally and professionally. His wife, Pamela, makes an astute and life-changing suggestion: "Let's get a dog." So begins the story of Emme, a 200-pound Saint Bernard trapped in the body of a five-pound Australian terrier puppy. Soon, Emme and Rick hit the hiking trails around Aspen, Colorado. While she is groomed to be a show dog, it's soon obvious that her heart is in the hills and with Rick, who decides to add more challenging hikes to the mix.

Join wellness advocate and wilderness guide Sydney Williams as she shares her healing journey from eating and drinking her feelings to hiking her feelings. When Sydney unexpectedly found herself diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, while grappling with grief and unresolved trauma built up over a decade, she set out on a quest to turn her pain into power.

From the award-winning author of Ice Bear: The Cultural History of an Arctic Icon comes an intimate exploration of Alaska's northernmost mountain range with observations on Indigenous cultures, conservation, and intense cross-country travel, all shaped by respect for the land. Follow author Michael Engelhard through tussock-studded tundra for a remarkable tale of bear encounters and white-knuckled river moments, as well as poetic reflections on a vast, untamed landscape.

Knocked off her feet after 20 years in public health nursing, Iris Graville quit her job and convinced her family to move to Stehekin, a remote mountain village in Washington State's North Cascades. She yearned for the quiet and respite of this community of 85 residents accessible only by boat, float plane, or hiking. Stehekin means the way through, and Hiking Naked chronicles Graville's journey through questions about work and calling. Ultimately, in the solitude bestowed by pines, firs, and mountain trails, she regained her spiritual footing and found her own way through.

American Oz is a rollicking, gritty, adventurous story of life in the secretive subculture of traveling carnivals. You'll never see your state fair or street festival the same way again. Comerford writes a bold, inspiring true story of a year working behind the scenes with the colorful characters and legends of carnivals. He shares stories of freaks, a carnival pimp, a tramp gold miner, and the last king of the sideshows.

WHEN M. JOHN FAYHEE first arrived in New Mexico's rugged Gila Country, he was a naïve 20-year-old who didn't know a javelina from an enchilada. Much has changed in the intervening half century. In this meandering memoir, Fayhee, with his loyal dog Casey at his side, takes us through the heart of the Gila - once the stomping ground of Geronimo and Billy the Kid and home to the world's first legally designated Wilderness Area - as he endeavors to hike every day for a solid year through some of the country's most remote and challenging terrain.

There are many reasons why it might seem unwise to walk, mostly alone, through the Middle East. That, in part, is exactly why Leon McCarron did it. From Jerusalem, McCarron followed a series of wild hiking trails that trace ancient trading and pilgrimage routes and traverse some of the most contested landscapes in the world. In the West Bank, he met families struggling to lead normal lives amidst political turmoil and had a surreal encounter with the world's oldest and smallest religious sect.

The unique career of choreographer Liz Lerman has taken her from theater stages to shipyards and from synagogues to science labs. In this wide-ranging collection of essays and articles, she reflects on her lifelong exploration of dance as a vehicle for human insight and understanding of the world around us.

In the winter of 1959, a group of nine young and experienced hikers embarked on a journey into the Ural Mountains of Russia. Although they had previously undertaken cold-weather trips, this particular expedition would tragically be their last. During their trek, the hikers encountered something unexpected in the supposedly desolate region, resulting in the demise of the entire group. The exact events of that fateful night remain unknown, but the incident has since become one of the world's most perplexing mysteries.

Stephanie White, from Charlotte NC, made up her mind to tackle the three individual 200-mile distance races known as the Triple Crown of 200’s. This includes the Bigfoot 205 mile race, Tahoe 200 mile race, and the Moab 240 mile race. While trying to figure out how to train for these races, she decided to do a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail and learned so much about herself and life, in general, along the way.

Albert Bosch es un aventurero vital que no se conforma con soñar proyectos, sino que intenta siempre llevarlos a la práctica, para vivir así una vida intensa e interesante. Después de una larga trayectoria de aventuras, el 4 de enero de 2012 culminó la travesía integral de la Antártida, desde el mar hasta el Polo Sur geográfico.

When I set off for Australia, I had no idea what I would find. There were moments of pure joy, times of struggle, and situations that, looking back, were downright ridiculous. Through it all, I found something I hadn't even realized I was looking for. As a teenager, I watched Australia's Bicentennial celebrations and felt something click. I didn't just want to visit—I needed to go. Over a decade later, after university and a stressful first job, I finally made it happen. I packed my bags, left everything familiar behind, and entered a year of the unknown. Inside, you'll find: • ...

“也许，我这辈子就算做成了这一件事也好。”正是他的执着和坚持铸就了不平凡的人生。他用十年走遍神州、史上首次徒步穿越罗布泊！……「也許，我這輩子就算做成了這一件事也好。」正是他的執著和堅持鑄就了不平凡的人生。他用十年走遍神州、史上首次徒步穿越羅布泊！

A romantic wilderness cabin becomes a dream-box of catastrophe and survival, in this true adventure with a paranormal twist. Will, a treeplanter, hikes with a companion to meet his wife and 3-year-old daughter in BC's remote Jumbo Pass. An overnight storm pushes them to the brink of deadly choices, at fate's mercy. Caught in the strands of a deadly time-loop, Will must navigate a series of doorways to survival. Each choice means a different outcome, a different life… or even death. The story’s mystery plays out against the backdrop of vast natural beauty in the Purcell Mountains of ...

This is the story of one man's solo adventure walking the length of Italy. Undertaken in the depths of winter, travelling vast daily distances and camping in a tent, the journey was done in the spirit of a true pilgrimage, with plenty of physical hardships and few creature comforts. Walking on the Via Francigena pilgrim route, the author encounters kind people, beautiful landscapes and the deep history that only Italy can offer. He also shares the personal struggles and failures that led him to the storm-lashed beach in Santa Maria di Leuca in the south of Italy, ready to undertake the ...

Disillusioned with overly competitive organized sports and concerned about her lively daughter’s growing shyness, author Angie Abdou sets herself a challenge: to hike a peak a week over the summer holidays with Katie. They will bond in nature and discover the glories of outdoor activity. What could go wrong? Well, among other things, it turns out that Angie loves hiking but Katie doesn’t. Hilarious, poignant, and deeply felt, This One Wild Life explores parenting and marriage in a summer of unexpected outcomes and growth for both mother and daughter.

In Wild Winter, John D. Burns, best-selling author of The Last Hillwalker and Bothy Tales, sets out to rediscover Scotland’s mountains, remote places and wildlife in the darkest and stormiest months. He traverses the country from the mouth of the River Ness to the Isle of Mull, from remote Sutherland to the Cairngorms, in search of rutting red deer, pupping seals, minke whales, beavers, pine martens, mountain hares, and otters.

Waking Up is the true story of a woman who used to need a wheelchair and couldn't use her hands almost at all. The book tells how she grew into an artist, creator, and adventurer.

Recruited to work on a documentary, Julian goes to New York convinced he has hit big time at last. Finding the project cancelled, he wanders the city streets and, with nowhere else to go, decides to set out hitchhiking for San Francisco. Revisiting this timeless American journey finds an unseen nation in rough shape. Along the road are homeless people and anarchists who have dropped out of society altogether, and blue-collar Americans who seem to have lost all meaning in forgotten towns and food deserts.

What do you do when a bucket list goal turns into one long week that changes you forever? Bethany and Vince are a dating couple who decide to climb Mt Kilimanjaro together. They had no idea how this treacherous journey would challenge them as a couple and individually. They lost a climber at the summit and a piece of them still remains on that mountaintop. The seven days they spent on the side of a mountain forging relationships with the strangers they met in their group changed them forever. They saw tragedy, experienced tears and devastation, and the reward of accomplishment. This story ...