Journalist White and his girlfriend Melissa tackle the Pacific
Crest Trail, Mexico to Canada and all the many miles and weather
developments in between.They both worked at a small newspaper in
Connecticut. He was a book-smart nerd with a deep-seated need to
rebel; she was professionally ambitious but with an appetite for
adventure. They fell for each other and, in an act of sublime
ignorance, decided to knock off the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail
in one summer-long act of youth and bravado. That was ten years
ago, which has given White time to recover from their
trail-trial-by-fire and to find some humor in the story. White and
Melissa encountered a typical gallery of blowhards, weirdos and
good Samaritans on the trail. They desert-fried and
snowfield-froze. They found scorpions in their boots and swarms of
ticks everywhere. The food was scary (and so was the diarrhea). But
they also saw peach-colored mornings and lavender evenings; they
skinny-dipped and made love. Drawing on diaries he kept at the
time, White polishes up these memories, serving them forth with
brio and dash. But he also unsparingly portrays his selfish ways as
he gradually descended into an edgy and anxious frame of mind. He
was raw: a buffoon, quixotic when not churlish. Readers will laugh
with the author as he delivers one-liners ("It changes you when you
bite your first cactus"), but they will also steam at his
solipsistic antics and become unnerved when they see him making
critical decisions with decidedly impaired judgment. No wonder
Melissa broke up with him after the big hike.Brings a fresh
perspective to the timeworn adventure-travel genre. (Kirkus
Reviews)
When Dan and his girlfriend set out to hike the Pacific Crest
Trail, his parents wondered how two people who had never shared an
apartment could survive in a four-by-six foot tent in the desert.
Not to mention the fact that the trail stretches from Mexico to
Canada, through boiling desert and snowcapped mountain passes.
Despite the warnings of their loved ones, and even some naysaying
strangers, Dan and Melissa set out into the wilderness. They are
dubbed "The Lois and Clark Expedition" by their long-limbed, loping
guru "The Gingerbread Man" after covering the requisite number of
miles to be considered official PCT thru-hikers.As the desert gives
way to mountains, and the winter threatens to abbreviate their
trek, the hardships of the trail provide these addled adventurers a
crystalline view of the American wilderness, themselves, and each
other. This book tells the story of "one and a half step" Warren
Rogers, co-founder of the Pacific Crest Trail. Rogers overcame
polio and risked ruin during the Great Depression to chart the
trail from beginning to end. As Dan White walks in Rogers'
footsteps, he starts to wonder if he's assumed the man's bravery,
or his insanity.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
