For Christmas I was given a paberback copy of Dances with Marmots, by George C. Spearing. It's been on my to-read list for ages; I just want to gobble up any books on walking, especially walking the Pacific Crest Trail!
George is a Fire Fighter from New Zealand who decided to walk the PCT after being given a book by a chap called Stephen Pern who walked the Continental Divide Trail (I suspect it is a book called The Great Divide in the UK).
While I found it an entertaining and easy read (I think I finished it over two days of reading on Christmas and Boxing Day, fitted amongst hours of playing games with my family!), I found the writing to be a bit patchy in places. Sometimes there would be great passages but further into the book it almost seemed like a chronological description of just where he camped or resupplied. Not that I minded that per se; it could even help me plan mine! But for people without those ambitions and who expect rather more crafted writing this may disappoint slightly.
And, for those in the lighter-weight echelons of the backpacking world, this likely wont bring beaming smiles as George carries a Macpac Cascade (90L) and Asolo boots. It was produced in 2005 and I'm not quite sure when he walked the trail but even then he could have reduced the weight he carried.
He had a typical antipodean humour (though is English by birth), which showed in his descriptions of town stops, the people he bumped into and the occasional toilet humour (well we all have to go and it's an even more important subject on the trail!). I liked how he relayed his love of Westerns and how that was mirrored in some ways in some of the characters he met. Some of his descriptions were brilliant, but it started to feel as if he got tired of writing it about two thirds of the way in.
That said it is probably a book I would read again, but I would rate The Cactus Eaters by Dan White as a better read. I also very much enjoyed Chris Townsend's account in his Great Backpacking Adventure which also included the CDT. If any of you have recommendations for other books related to accounts of walking on any of the long trails, especially the Triple Crown (AT, PCT and CDT) then please let me know in the comments!
I found Chapter One here, and as well as being available on Amazon, it is also available as download in PDF here.
Pictures taken from DancesWithMarmots.com
Nice review, I met a New Zealander in Lapland last summer and he was also carrying a large pack and wearing leather boots. He was walking the full length of the Nordkalottleden Trail (800 km) he could have travelled lighter but was happy. He was impressed by my smaller load but felt safe with his. Each to their own is my view.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this great review Helen. I met a young man on the PCT last April, "Damian from Australia" who was planning to thru-hike then stay in Canada for a while. He had a Gossamer Gear "The One", and 1lb tent, but still had a pack so huge he could have probably slept in it. A few days in he was mailing a bunch of stuff forward to a drop box to try and lighten his load.
ReplyDeleteA couple of book suggestions;
1) A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson...Bill's a writer who decided to thru-hike the AT. A good read, although he does go on rants about conservationism, which I can appreciate, but it was out of context and a bit distracting.
2) A Thru-Hiker's Heart, Tales of the Pacific Crest Trail, By Ray Echols - currently I'm about 1/3 of the way into the book, very good so far.
3) Planetwalker: 22 Years of Walking. 17 Years of Silence By John Francis Ph.D. A great read about walking, but not your typical backpacking adventure as you can tell by the title.
4) Jungle: A Harrowing True Story of Survival
By Yossi Ghinsberg - I had a hard time putting this one down...very suspenseful.
A beautifully succinct review telling the good and the not so good - exactly wha a review should do.
ReplyDeleteYou mingt like to read - 'Thousand Mile Summer' and 'The Man Who Walked Through Time', both by the late Colin Fletcher. These are anything but a step by step recounting of distance walking, they take the reader inside Fletcher to see his hights and lows, his worries and woes
and above all his Welsh humour.
Chris, it's a book I re-read often! Thanks for the input, 2011 will be a great year of reading from the looks of it :-)
ReplyDeleteNice review! I got with Dances with marmots the very same impression - and came about two thirds on the pdf - rest is still pending. It is funny and I got a good feel for the PCT, but after a while it gets a bit less and uneventful.
ReplyDeleteTwo suggestions
Nimblewill Nomad, Ten million steps - it is about the East Coast Trail from Florida to Quebec, AT included. Very nice written, I like the personal touch and honesty.
Erin McKittrick, A long trek home - although it is not on a "trail" still a very good and way too short read about the journey 4000 miles on the Pacific Northwest
Nice review! I got with Dances with marmots the very same impression - and came about two thirds on the pdf - rest is still pending. It is funny and I got a good feel for the PCT, but after a while it gets a bit less and uneventful.
ReplyDeleteTwo suggestions
Nimblewill Nomad, Ten million steps - it is about the East Coast Trail from Florida to Quebec, AT included. Very nice written, I like the personal touch and honesty.
Erin McKittrick, A long trek home - although it is not on a "trail" still a very good and way too short read about the journey 4000 miles on the Pacific Northwest
A beautifully succinct review telling the good and the not so good - exactly wha a review should do.
ReplyDeleteYou mingt like to read - 'Thousand Mile Summer' and 'The Man Who Walked Through Time', both by the late Colin Fletcher. These are anything but a step by step recounting of distance walking, they take the reader inside Fletcher to see his hights and lows, his worries and woes
and above all his Welsh humour.
Soul, Sweat and Survival on the Pacific Crest Trail by Bob Holtel
ReplyDelete