Who am I?
I got interested in long-distance backpacking in my mid-twenties, looking for an escape from the messy life I had created for myself. I wanted to reinvent myself, and a blog about the Appalachian Trail suggested a perfect solution. After 650 miles on the trail and the death of my mother, I knew I would never be the same. In the years since, I have hiked the Wonderland Trail (as featured in Alone in Wonderland) and the Colorado Trail. Backpacking has become more than an escape – it has become home.
Christine's book list on outdoor adventures by and about women
Why did Christine love this book?
Heather "Anish" Anderson is one of my personal heroes. Mud Rocks Blazes is the story of her attempt to secure the Fastest Known Time record for the Appalachian Trail. She battles self-doubt and the trials of the trail, digging deep to prove her worth (more to herself than others). I love her grit and her vulnerability in sharing herself with us.
2 authors picked Mud, Rocks, Blazes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
Despite her success setting a self-supported Fastest Known Time record on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2013, Heather “Anish” Anderson still had such deep-seated insecurities that she became convinced her feat had been a fluke. So two years later she set out again, this time hiking through mud, rocks, and mountain blazes to crush her constant self-doubt and seek the true source of her strength and purpose.
The 2,180 miles of the Appalachian Trail, from Maine to Georgia, did not make it easy. Anderson struggled with its infamous rain, humidity, insects, and steep grades for 54 days. But because she…