Get Inspired to Hike Reading Hold for Hiker Trash

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I’m Not a Hiker

Let me preface this post with a little about me. I’m not a hiker (I’m not even that outdoorsy other than drinking on patios during the summer). While I was a Girl Scout once upon a time, my troop mostly did the kind of camping that involved a cabin. So on that note, reading Hold for Hiker Trash by K.A. Hrycik had me all almost ready to head out on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) to test the limits of how far I can walk and take in the natural beauty of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountains. 

Setting the Stage

Without giving too much away I’ll get into a little more detail of how this book drew me in and made me yearn for the mountains. When you’re first introduced to the protagonist, Vika, her life seems to be rather dramatic. Since she seems unfazed by the events unfolding, the reader is lead to think perhaps these things are a regular occurrence in her life.

However, as we read on, we discover that she’s lead a fairly standard life. She did well in high school, which continued into success at university. She completed the internships and resume building  extracurricular activities her parents expected of her, but now she’s struggling to find that steady career position in the field she’s worked towards for years.

So Relatable

How many people have found themselves floundering in a similar situation? You’ve done everything you were told to do to set yourself up for success, only to find that nothing in life works out quite the way you thought it would. Most especially I suspect this will ring true with my fellow millennials. Vika’s situation is so relatable and makes you want to cheer her on and see her succeed.

Travel Plans…

After a particularly bad job interview, Vika makes a spontaneous decision to visit a place she’s never been based solely on beautiful pictures she finds online. (I know I’m not the only one who finds travel inspiration on Instagram!) I love that she decides to go somewhere beautiful because it got her out of the rut she’d been stuck in. Despite the fact that this didn’t turn out quite the way she had imagined, it highlights the bravery of setting out into the unknown.

Whenever I board a plane or hop into the car to visit a new place, I always get some butterflies in my stomach from a combination of nerves and excitement. Things don’t always go as planned, so I love that her journey lands her in a very different place from where she had originally set out to go.

… Gone Wrong

Vika finds herself stranded at the house of some Trail Angels along the Pacific Crest Trail where she learns more about hikers, hiking, hiker culture, and of course the Pacific Crest Trail. She grows intrigued by the trail and what motivates people to walk 2,600 miles from the US southern border with Mexico all the way to its northern border with Canada. It takes a while for her to want to step onto the PCT herself, but eventually she decides to continue her journey via the trail. Instead of driving her car, she’ll be hiking the remaining 90 miles with one of her new friends who was hiking the PCT. 

A Whole New World

If the reader is someone like myself, they’ll find themselves introduced to a whole world of long distance hiking that they never knew existed. I found myself fascinated by this world of trail angels, hiker trash, and trail names. Despite having known about the Pacific Crest Trail insofar as the fact that it existed, I had never really given much thought to the reality that every year there is a group of people that go out and hike it.

It seemed that hiking the trail was different for each person. Some were there for the physical and mental challenge of hiking through the mountains from the southern border to the northern border of the western US. Other hikers wanted to see the rugged mountains, deep valleys, and pristine alpine lakes along the trail. There were also some that spoke of finding hiking to be meditative and a way to connect with nature. There’s even a few that were mostly there because they had a friend who wanted to hike the PCT and they went along for the ride.

It Rings True

The authenticity of the characters along with their descriptions of the trail and surrounding landscape is a testament to the author’s own hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. Reading the descriptions of the raw beauty found in the mountains really made this not-so-outdoorsy non-hiker want to hit some trails.

Despite the dangers that many hikers encountered along the way, they all still found hiking the Pacific Crest Trail to be a worthy undertaking. The camaraderie amongst the hikers as well as with trail angels seemed like the craziness of hiking the trail was an experience that could make or break lifetime friendships.

If you’re wanting some inspiration to get outdoors, look no further than Hold for Hiker Trash as it’s got everything you need. My husband and I have actually started doing more hiking since I read this book and are even talking about trying out some camping (without the cabin!) in the near future!

Wild.

Have you ever done any long distance hiking? If so, how did you get into it and do you have any tips for beginners?