Cozy up on your couch this winter and read about women having big adventures in the great outdoors. You'll be motivated to plan your next cross country skiing, ice climbing, or winter hiking adventure, or just dream about going outside in a more humane season. Here are some of my favorites!
End of the rope : mountains, marriage, and motherhood
Redford, Jan, author.
796.522092 /Redford
"In this funny and gritty debut memoir, Jan Redford grows from a nomadic rock climber to a mother who fights to win back her future. As a teenager, in a fit of rage toward her father, Jan pits herself against a steep rock face near their cottage. At the top, fired up by the victory, she sets her sights on the improbable dream of climbing mountains. By age twenty, ' a nomadic climber with a magnetic attraction to misadventures and the wrong men. Jan finally finds the love of her life, an affable Rockies climber. When he is killed in an avalanche in Alaska, a grieving Jan finds comfort in the arms of another extreme alpinist. Before long, they are married, with a baby on the way. While her husband works as a logger and climbs distant peaks, Jan tackles the traditional role of wife and mother. But soon, she pursues her own dream, one that pits her against her husband. End of the Rope is Jan's telling of heart-stopping adventures, from being rescued off El Capitan to leading a group of bumbling cadets across a glacier. It is her laughter-filled memoir of learning to climb, and of friendships with women in that masculine world. Most moving, this is the story of her struggle to make her own way in the mountains and in life. To lead, not follow."--provided by Amazon.com.
Wild : from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail
Strayed, Cheryl, 1968-
917.9 /Strayed
A powerful, blazingly honest, inspiring memoir: the story of a 1,100 mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe--and built her back up again.
Braver than you think : around the world on the trip of my (mother's) lifetime
Downs, Maggie, author.
910.4 /Downs
"Braver Than You Think is the life-affirming story of how Downs, newly married and established in her career as a journalist, quits her job, sells her belongings, and embarks on the solo trip of a lifetime: Her mother's. Over the course of one year backpacking through seventeen countries - visiting all the places her mother, struck with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, cannot visit herself - Maggie faces some of the world's most exotic locales while confronting the slow loss of her mother and the close bond they shared. Interweaving travelogue with memories of her family, Braver Than You Think takes the reader hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, whitewater rafting down the Nile, volunteering at a monkey sanctuary in Bolivia, praying at an ashram in India, and fleeing the Arab Spring in Egypt. By embarking on a global journey, Downs embraces what it means to make every moment count - traveling around the globe and home again, losing a parent while discovering the world."--
The salt path
Winn, Raynor, author.
BIOGRAPHY Winn, Raynor
"Just days after Raynor Winn learns that Moth, her husband of thirty-two years, is terminally ill, their house and farm are taken away, along with their livelihood. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, through Devon and Cornwall. Carrying only the essentials for survival on their backs, they live wild in the ancient, weathered landscape of cliffs, sea, and sky. Yet through every step, every encounter, and every test along the way, their walk becomes a remarkable and life-affirming journey. Powerfully written and unflinchingly honest, The Salt Path is ultimately a portrayal of home--how it can be lost, rebuilt, and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways"--
To the greatest heights : facing danger, finding humility, and climbing a mountain of truth : a memoir
O'Brien, Vanessa, 1964- author.
796.522092 /O'Brien
"A memoir by Vanessa O'Brien, record-breaking American-British explorer, takes you on an unexpected journey to the top of the world's highest mountains"--
Fat girls hiking : an inclusive guide to getting outdoors at any size or ability
Michaud-Skog, Summer, author.
796.51 /Michaud-Skog
"In the tradition of Workman's Every Body Yoga, we're bringing a proud, plus-sized, body-positive attitude to the world of hiking and outdoor recreation. Summer Michaud-Skog, founder of the Fat Girls Hiking community, offers a book brimming with heartfelt stories, practical advice, personal profiles of FGH community members, and trail reviews. It all serves to spread the Fat Girls Hiking message of inclusivity in the outdoors. Equal parts empowering and impassioned, personal and practical, this book adds an important voice to the conversation about diversity in the outdoors, raising visibility of hikers who have too long been marginalized. As the Fat Girls Hiking motto goes, "Trails Not Scales!""--
Grandma Gatewood's walk : the inspiring story of the woman who saved the Appalachian Trail
Montgomery, Ben.
917.4 /Montgomery
"Emma Gatewood told her family she was going on a walk and left her small Ohio hometown with a change of clothes and less than two hundred dollars. The next anybody heard from her, this genteel, farm-reared, 67-year-old great-grandmother had walked 800 miles along the 2,050-mile Appalachian Trail. And in September 1955, having survived a rattlesnake strike, two hurricanes, and a run-in with gangsters from Harlem, she stood atop Maine's Mount Katahdin. There she sang the first verse of "America, the Beautiful" and proclaimed, "I said I'll do it, and I've done it." Grandma Gatewood, as the reporters called her, became the first woman to hike the entire Appalachian Trail alone, as well as the first person--man or woman--to walk it twice and three times. Gatewood became a hiking celebrity and appeared on TV and in the pages of Sports Illustrated. The public attention she brought to the little-known footpath was unprecedented. Her vocal criticism of the lousy, difficult stretches led to bolstered maintenance, and very likely saved the trail from extinction. Author Ben Montgomery was given unprecedented access to Gatewood's own diaries, trail journals, and correspondence, and interviewed surviving family members and those she met along her hike, all to answer the question so many asked: Why did she do it? The story of Grandma Gatewood will inspire readers of all ages by illustrating the full power of human spirit and determination."--
Thirst : 2600 miles to home
Anderson, Heather, author.
796.522092 /Anderson
It's the "Triple Crown" of backpacking: the Appalachian Trail (AT), Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), and Continental Divide Trail (CDT), with a combined distance of 7,900 miles with a vertical gain of more than one million feet. Anderson had hiked all three by the time she was 25; a few years later she left her job, her marriage, and a dissatisfied life to walk back into those mountains. Here she shares her willingness to turn away from the predictability of a more traditional life in an effort to seek out what most fulfills her. -- adapted from info provided
Thousand-miler : adventures hiking the Ice Age Trail
McManus, Melanie Radzicki, 1961- author.
917.7504 /McManus
"In Thousand-Miler : Adventures Hiking the Ice Age Trail, readers will learn about the history and development of Wisconsin's Ice Age National Scenic Trail and the geologic wonders it showcases, as they trace Melanie McManus's footsteps thru-hiking it twice. While sharing her story of what it was like to hike 1,100 miles of Wisconsin forestland, prairie, wetlands and farmland, McManus also shares the stories of thru-hikers she encounters along the way. Their collective tales shed light on the motivations of thru-hikers, how they accomplish the feat (everyone does it differently), and what the various trail segments and trailside communities are like. They will also recall the various funny, somber, and heartwarming moments that occur when hikers' paths intersect with those of ordinary Wisconsinites going about their daily lives"--Provided by publisher.
The Daughter's Walk
Jane Kirkpatrick
A mother's tragedy, a daughter's desire and the 7000 mile journey that changed their lives. In 1896 Norwegian American Helga Estby accepted a wager from the fashion industry to walk from Spokane, Washington to New York City within seven months in an effort to earn $10,000. Bringing along her nineteen year-old daughter Clara, the two made their way on the 3500-mile trek by following the railroad tracks and motivated by the money they needed to save the family farm. After returning home to the Estby farm more than a year later, Clara chose to walk on alone by leaving the family and changing her name. Her decisions initiated a more than 20-year separation from the only life she had known. Historical fiction writer Jane Kirkpatrick picks up where the fact of the Estbys’ walk leaves off to explore Clara's continued journey.
In the shadow of the mountain : a memoir of courage
Vasquez-Lavado, Silvia, author.
BIOGRAPHY Vasquez-Lavado, Silvia
"When Silvia's mother called her home to Peru, she knew something finally had to give. A Latinx hero in the elite macho tech world of Silicon Valley, privately, she was hanging by a thread. She was deep in the throes of alcoholism, hiding her sexuality from her family, and repressing the abuse she'd suffered as a child. Her visit to Peru would become a turning point in her life. Silvia started climbing. Something about the brute force required for the ascent-the restricted oxygen at altitude, the vast expanse of emptiness around her, the risk and spirit and sheer size of the mountains, the nearness of death-woke her up. And then, she took her biggest pain to the biggest mountain: Everest. "The Mother of the World," as it's known in Nepal, allows few to reach her summit, but Silvia didn't go alone. She gathered a group of young female survivors and led them to base camp alongside her, their strength and community propelling her forward. In the Shadow of the Mountain is a remarkable story of heroism, one which awakens in all of us a lust for adventure, gratitude for the strong women in our lives, and faith in our own resilience"--
Girl in the woods : a memoir
Matis, Aspen, author.
BIOGRAPHY Matis, Aspen
An exhilarating true-life adventure of hiking from Mexico to Canada--a coming of age story, a survival story, and a triumphant story of overcoming emotional devastation. On her second night of college, Aspen was raped by a fellow student. Overprotected by her parents who discouraged her from telling of the attack, Aspen was confused and ashamed. Dealing with a problem that has sadly become all too common on college campuses around the country, she stumbled through her first semester--a challenging time made even harder by the coldness of her college's "conflict mediation" process.
This road I ride : sometimes it takes losing everything to find yourself
Buhring, Juliana, 1981- author.
796.6092 /Buhring
"One woman's solo journey around the world by bicycle"--Book jacket.
Braiding sweetgrass
Kimmerer, Robin Wall.
508 /Kimmerer
"As a leading researcher in the field of biology, Robin Wall Kimmerer understands the delicate state of our world. But as an active member of the Potawatomi nation, she senses and relates to the world through a way of knowing far older than any science. In Braiding Sweetgrass, she intertwines these two modes of awareness--the analytic and the emotional, the scientific and the cultural--to ultimately reveal a path toward healing the rift that grows between people and nature. The woven essays that construct this book bring people back into conversation with all that is green and growing; a universe that never stopped speaking to us, even when we forgot how to listen"--
The down and dirty guide to camping with kids : how to plan memorable family adventures and connect kids to nature
Olsson, Helen.
796.54 /Olsson
Outlines economical options for family camping vacations, sharing irreverent, anecdotal, and practical guidelines for families with young children while explaining how to select gear and address needs with a minimum of stress.