Publishers Weekly
The 20-something Ballards alternate chapters to detail their 2,655-mile backpacking trek along the Pacific Crest Trail, starting at the U.S./Mexico border and ending in Canada. Angela, an advertising copywriter, is a novice hiker, while Duffy, a pre-med student, is more experienced. Inspired by William R. Gray's The Pacific Crest Trail, the Ballards spend eight months planning and set out; ahead lie three states, three national monuments, seven national parks, 24 national forests and 33 federally mandated wildernesses. They describe the journey's physical, emotional and logistical aspects, including their pre-trip planning, their family's reactions and what they learn about each other along the way. (They marry at trip's end.) The macho couple doesn't want to waste time enjoying the scenery or napping in the sun-their goal is to complete the entire trail, which they do in 132 days. Says Angela upon reaching central Oregon's Crater Lake, "I yearned to find a sheltered cove of grass where I could enjoy the sunset and subsequent sunrise over the lake, stare into the blueness and enjoy a warm mug of hot chocolate." Instead, as usual, "we were tugged by the call of miles." The recommended reading list and numerous practical tips on gear, trail food, first aid and terrain will be a boon to those attempting the Ballards' feat themselves. But less hardy souls may be discouraged from doing so. As the adventurers state in the epilogue, "our trail life wasn't all sunsets, starry nights and self development. Sweat, stench, gritty skin, and exhaustion killed many otherwise profound moments." Map. (Oct.) FYI: The Ballards filed dispatches from the trail, which have appeared at the popular outdoor recreation site Gorp.com, and won the Barbara Savage Miles From Nowhere Award. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Blistered Kind of Love: One Couple's Trial by Trail
Paperback
$18.95
- ISBN-13: 9780898869026
- Publisher: Mountaineers Books, The
- Publication date: 09/28/2003
- Pages: 272
- Sales rank: 405,351
- Product dimensions: 5.88(w) x 8.96(h) x 0.79(d)
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* Winner of the 2003 Barbara Savage Miles from Nowhere Award
* A blend of romance, humor, and adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail
* Written in "he said/she said" alternating chapters, this young couple each tell their own story
They're not sure which came first -- falling in love with each other or falling in love with the idea of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (the length of California, Oregon, and Washington). 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.