Dirt Work

By Christine Byl,

Book cover of Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods

Book description

A lively and lyrical account of one woman’s unlikely apprenticeship on a national park trail crew—and what she discovers about nature, gender, and the value of hard work
 
Christine Byl first encountered the national parks the way most of us do: on vacation. But after she graduated from college, broke…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Dirt Work as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods is a memoir about Byl’s experience as a trail builder in Glacier National Park and Cordova and Denali, Alaska. All too often, books about physical labor highlight a male perspective. It is wonderful to have Byl’s perspective on her life as a trail builder. Byl so stunningly weaves vignettes about a life working in the woods. Her stories teach us about physical and intellectual labor and do so beautifully.

From Sean's list on trail building and traildogs.

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