Alexandra ‘Rocket Llama’ Wilson Cheats Death on the Pacific Crest Trail

The following link is the trail journal for Alexandra ‘Rocket Llama’ Wilson, the last of the four missing thru-hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The other three were rescued by helicopter. http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=14842   This journal is most notable for one thing–its utter authenticity. Her ruminations on death are not hysterical, but rather of the look–straight-in-the-eye variety. At...

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Thru-Hikers on Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails Should Beware the ‘Ides of October’

Let me please state right up front that trekking to the northern termini of the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail in the states of Maine and Washington are indeed unadulterated beauty. And yes, they are especially gorgeous in the month of October. Having said that, a hiker trekking through those parts in that magnificent autumn month must have at least a cursory awareness of the potential peril. Let me please state right up front that...

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Annapurna Circuit in Nepal Is a Rich Topic for Writers

Travel writing has long since been a rich genre, whether it be the ‘On the Road’ by Jack Kerouac, ‘A Walk in the Woods’ by Bill Bryson, or ‘Patagonia Express’ by Bruce Chatwin. In the last several years, I have learned why, as I have written and published four outdoor narratives. Besides the fact that the sales have been surprisingly good, there is another attractive aspect to writing about one’s...

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‘Skywalker–Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail’ Receives 100th Amazon Review

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3PK9H4IIVDCHA/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B004HZXYX4&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag= The above was the 100th Amazon review for my Pacific Crest Trail narrative, Skywalker–Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail. When discussing book reviews, most authors would agree that you sometimes wonder if two reviewers even read the same book, the reviews can be so different. Perhaps then, it is the...

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Amazon Travel Books Recommends ‘Skywalker–Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail’.

The Amazon Travel Books Department has recommended the outdoor adventure narrative, Skywalker–Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), by Bill Walker (‘Skywalker’). This is the story of 6’11” Bill Walker’s turbulent thru-hike of the 2,663 mile Pacific Crest Trail in 2009. Walker lost 43 pounds, but came away enthralled by the extraordinary variety of terrain on the PCT, as well as the colorful cast of...

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What Reader Should Look For In Outdoor Adventure Narratives (Bill Bryson, Cheryl Strayed, Jon Krakauer)

Outdoor adventure narratives are a cottage industry. And for good reason. A cursory look at history shows that the deepest yearning of humans is to move. “The great affair is to move,” wrote Pascal in his Pensees’s. “Complete calm is death.”Indeed, from our earliest time as a species, humans have sought to better their plight by perpetual motion, the Bedouins, Kurds, Aborigenes, to name but a few with this...

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