Not beginning long-distance hiking until age 60, Mary takes us with her on her trail journeys to experience encounters with the beauty of wilderness from the Eastern ranges of the Appalachian Trail, the challenges of desert, snow, granite and thick forests of the Pacific Crest Trail, and the rugged and the remote grandeur of the Continental Divide Trail. Along the way, she introduces the Trail Community. Hikers of many ages and walks of life labeled with colorful monikers called trail names, and trail angels, planned and total surprises, grace her journey. Bears, moose, deer, coyotes, turkey vultures, hawks, eagles, owls, pronghorn, and endless supplies of squirrels and chipmunks share the world through which she walked. Everyday challenges of completing seemingly endless miles, encountering new adventures, sometimes with friends and much of the time solo, brought Mary to the first pages of this book on a glorious day sighting two grizzly bears and completing long-distance hiking's Triple Crown at age 76. Throughout this inspirational journey, Mary shares the perspective of an aging adult. Challenges of failing body parts add drama and obstacles to be overcome like rocks in the trail or adapted to like the trails that wind slowly up steep mountains. Come along and experience long trails with the Old Lady on The Trail.

    Even his metal tools melted. Friends loaned him a tent, but after just a month it began to break down—which Warren vowed not to do. Instead, he decided to follow a childhood dream and live in a tipi. Excitement stirred in his chest, and so began a two-year adventure of struggle, contemplation, and achievement that brought him even closer to the land that he called home. More than just the story of one man, Two Winters in a Tipi gives the history and use of the native structure, providing valuable advice, through Warren’s trial and error, about the confrontations that march toward a tipi dweller. It shows, without thumping the drum of environmental doom, how you can go back to the land for two days or two years. The wild plants that Natives harvested for food and medicine still grow nearby. The foods still nourish; the medicines still heal. As Warren beautifully reveals, the wild places of the past still exist in our everyday lives, and living that wilderness is still a possibility. It’s as close as the river running through your city, the woods in your neighborhood, or even the edges of your own backyard.

    However, trail life is not always as rewarding and romantic as the pictures you see or second-hand stories you hear. "Divided" provides an accurate account of life on trail: what hikers ponder, eat, love, loathe, and the questions they tire of answering. Some moments are too short, some are painfully long while others are whisked away unceremoniously with the wind. Follow along on the journey as Brian navigates difficulties, successes and everything between while attempting to walk from Mexico to Canada. “The greatest challenge of being a long-distance backpacker is learning how to live fully on - and off - the trail. In 'Divided,' Brian shares the rugged beauty and grueling challenges of the Continental Divide Trail along with thought-provoking insights which encourage the reader to reassess his or her own path and consider new alternatives.” Jennifer Pharr Davis, "The Pursuit of Endurance" “If you’ve ever wondered what it is like to wander along the entire length of the multi-thousand mile Continental Divide Trail, Brian Cornell’s 'Divided' will take you on a journey from Mexico to Canada that just may have you planning your own hike of this magnificent trail!” Lawton Grinter, "I Hike Again" " 'Divided' is unlike any hiking memoir I've read. Cornell is undeniably talented and his unique prose vividly conveys the hypnotic nature of long-distance hiking without leaving the reader in a trance. A modern-day 'Desert Solitaire.' " Gary Sizer, "Where’s the Next Shelter?" "An honest look at what life on the Divide is truly like." Heather Anderson, "Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home"

    But what really is silence? Where can it be found? And why is it more important now than ever?Erling Kagge, the Norwegian adventurer and polymath, once spent fifty days walking solo in Antarctica with a broken radio. In this meditative, charming and surprisingly powerful book, he explores the power of silence and the importance of shutting out the world. Whether you're in deep wilderness, taking a shower or on the dance floor, you can experience perfect stillness if you know where to look. And from it grows self-knowledge, gratitude, wonder and much more.Take a deep breath, and prepare to submerge yourself in Silence. Your own South Pole is out there, somewhere.

    I know. I spent months researching every question I could think of before starting the 6 month journey.Even after all of that research, there were countless mistakes I made. This book is everything I wish I would have known before starting. Inside is a step-by-step guide to efficiently plan for a successful thru-hike. Complete with personal tips and experiences. The goal of this guide is to help you complete the 2,185 mile long adventure, feel confident in your preparation and have a great time every step of the way. Learn how to budget wisely, save money and not waste cash. Know how to carve out 6 months from your family, job and home. Master a massive gear guide on everything from your spork to your tent. Understand clothing, layering and materials. Hear about what life is really like on the trail. Know which direction to go, when and why. Familiarize yourself with a state by state breakdown of the trail. Learn how to mentally prepare for the "I-wanna-quit-days" Understand the physical demands and methods to prevent injury. Prepare for the nutritional needs with favorite meals and food ideas. Know the real dangers on the AT. (Ladies) hear from AT record-holder Heather Anderson on "Female Needs". And a whole lot more...Hope you enjoy.

    He has run over mountains, across Death Valley, and to the South Pole-and is probably the first person to eat an entire pizza while running. With an insight, candor, and humor rarely seen in sports memoirs (and written without the aid of a ghostwriter or cowriter), Ultramarathon Man has inspired tens of thousands of people-nonrunners and runners alike-to push themselves beyond their comfort zones and be reminded of what it feels like to be truly alive, says Sam Fussell, author of Muscle.Ultramarathon Man answers the questions Karnazes is continually asked:- Why do you do it?- How do you do it?- Are you insane?And in the new paperback edition, Karnazes answers the two questions he was most asked on his book tour:- What, exactly, do you eat?- How do you train to stay in such good shape?

    Despite struggling beneath the unresolved weight of his previous life and a too-heavy backpack, he still somehow manages to keep moving forward—step after step, mile after mile. Joining Bartleby on this journey is an ever-changing crew of oddballs and outsiders, the wandering men and women of the Appalachian Trail. With white blazes marking the way and little adventures around every corner, Bartleby & Company push through the Mid-Atlantic States and climb into the mountainous wilds of New England. Here concludes the story of a middle-aged man thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail against his will, against his better judgment and against all odds.

    

    The 800-kilometer journey along the Camino Frances provides a scenic backdrop to ponder midlife crisis and chronic illness, an empty nest and marital woes, military service and posttraumatic stress, rage and grief, heartbreak and fear - And the way forward. El Camino de Santiago, known fondly as The Way, is a matrix of trails with starting points across Europe leading to the sacred relics of Saint James the Apostle in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Often considered a Catholic pilgrimage, this ancient route predates Christianity. The Way continues to evolve, attracting spiritual seekers with and without religion, thru-hikers, fitness junkies, history buffs, and the curious. Armed with humor and grit and a backpack named little Agnus, Lockhart tackles emotional and physical obstacles, shares adventures with pilgrims from all over the world, mothers traveling teens, endures blisters and bicycle seats and embraces the glory of Mother Nature and the intrinsic spirituality of peregrination. She finds herself transcending from a human being on a spiritual quest to a spiritual being on a human quest.

    At the trailhead, the young couple was warned that there would be tears, that each would have to find their own separate pace, and that at times the tent would seem awfully small for the two of them. They were told that their biggest obstacles to success would be . . . each other.Their first surprise: freeze-dried meals do funny things to your GI- tract. Their first fight: when Angela noticed that Duffy's long legs propel him along the trail faster than she can muster. But on they pressed -- encountering snakes, bears, and fellow thru-hikers with trail names like Crazy Legs and Catch 23. They baked in the deserts of Southern California, gazed awestruck at the snowy, serrated peaks of the High Sierra, and attempted to hide from Northern Washington's seemingly incessant rain. One hundred thirty two days of Pacific Crest Trail later, they made it -- blisters and all.

    In exchange for housing, she would take care of her friend's eight sled dogs.That winter, she learned that she was tougher than she ever knew. She learned how to survive in one of the most remote places on earth and she learned she was strong enough to be alone. She fell in love twice: first with running sled dogs, and then with Andy, a gentle man who had himself moved to Alaska to heal a broken heart. Kristin and Andy married and started a sled dog kennel. While this work was enormously satisfying, Kristin became determined to complete the Iditarod -- the 1,000-mile dogsled race from Anchorage, in south central Alaska, to Nome on the western Bering Sea coast.THIS MUCH COUNTRY is the story of renewal and transformation. It's about journeying across a wild and unpredictable landscape and finding inner peace, courage and a true home. It's about pushing boundaries and overcoming paralyzing fears.

    Thus began the legendary ordeal of Shackleton and his crew of twenty-seven men. When their ship was finally crushed between two ice floes, they attempted a near-impossible journey over 850 miles of the South Atlantic's heaviest seas to the closest outpost of civilization.In Endurance, the definitive account of Ernest Shackleton's fateful trip, Alfred Lansing brilliantly narrates the harrowing and miraculous voyage that has defined heroism for the modern age.

    She chaperoned baby sea turtles on their journey to sea. She pursued bad guys on her galloping patrol horse. She jumped into rescue helicopters bound for the heart of the Grand Canyon. She won arguments with bears. She slept with a few too many rattlesnakes. Hell yeah, it was the best job in the world! Fortunately, Andrea survived it. In this graphic and yet surprisingly funny account of her and others’ extraordinary careers, Lankford unveils a world in which park rangers struggle to maintain their idealism in the face of death, disillusionment, and the loss of a comrade killed while holding that thin green line between protecting the park from the people, the people from the park, and the people from each other. Ranger Confidential is the story behind the scenery of the nation’s crown jewels—Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Great Smokies, Denali. In these iconic landscapes, where nature and humanity constantly collide, scenery can be as cruel as it is redemptive.

    Kilimanjaro. She had done it once before. That’s why, when she failed in a second attempt, it brought her so low. Struggling with a food addiction and looking for ways to cope with feelings of failure and shame, Kara ballooned to 360 pounds. Deep in her personal gorge, Kara realized the only way out was up. She resolved to climb the mountain again — and this time, she would reach the summit without waiting for her plus-sized status to disappear.Gorge: My 300-Pound Journey Up Kilimanjaro is the raw story of Kara’s ascent from the depths of self-doubt to the top of the world. Her difficult but inspiring trek speaks to every woman who has struggled with her self-image or felt that food was controlling her life. Honest and unforgettable, Kara’s journey is one of intense passion, endurance, and self-acceptance. In Gorge, Kara shows that big women can do big things.

    As a newcomer to the sport and a complete unknown to the press, Chrissie's win shook up the sport. A LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS is the story of her rise to the top, a journey that has taken her around the world, from a childhood in England, to the mountains of Nepal, to the oceans of New Zealand, and the trails of Argentina, and first across the finish line.Wellington's first-hand, inspiring story includes all the incredible challenges she has faced--from anorexia to near--drowning to training with a controversial coach. But to Wellington, the drama of the sports also presents an opportunity to use sports to improve people's lives.A LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS reveals the heart behind Wellington's success, along with the diet, training and motivational techniques that keep her going through one of the world's most grueling events.