Walking Home: Common Sense and Other Misadventures On the Pacific Crest Trail

Book Synopsis: -A Heartwarming Adventure! - 2022 Best Book Award Winner in Travel Guides & Essays!Can a comically straightforward American man learn patience and understanding in the wilderness? Laugh out loud, choke-on-your-coffee funny, with the most heart-touching, curveball characters since Bill Bryson’s A Walk In the Woods. The Pacific Crest Trail is a 2,600-mile footpath from Mexico to Canada through the mountains of the west, and Rick sets out with all the perseverance and determination he thought he’d need for the six-month trek. But once on the Trail, he learns that what’s brought to a challenge is less important than what’s found while doing it. His 10 year-old son joins him for two hundred of those miles, and what they learn about each other in the wilderness is unforgettably hilarious. Written by a former climbing instructor and guide, Walking Home celebrates the people and their adventures on the Trail with comic insight, rather than the usual Man vs Wilderness narrative. The book is also liberally sprinkled with real-life tips and hacks for the experienced and fledgling backpacker alike. The Trail is likely an adventure that you too can take on; and Walking Home will make you want to. From the book: “We can’t camp here, Dad. The sign says ‘Absolutely No Overnight Camping Allowed’,” Matthew said. “Yeah, I saw that.” “Then we can’t camp here. That’s what the sign says.” “So, does it mean absolutely no overnight camping allowed ever? We’ve been camping overnight for the last week. Do you think that wasn’t allowed?” I asked. “That was way over on the other side of the lake, miles from here,” he said. “Ed Zachary,” I replied. “The sign doesn’t mean absolutely no camping allowed anywhere, then. Camping was okay over there.” “Yeah. The sign wasn’t over there.” “See? We weren’t disobeying the sign when we were over there because we were outside of its circle of influence. The sign’s authority is limited by distance.” Matthew was following my logic. “What?” he said. “That sign has a circle of influence, right? It doesn’t mean no camping allowed in the whole world, or no camping on the PCT, just no camping within its circle of influence. It only has authority within its circle of influence, see? So the question is, just how wide is its circle? We just need to camp outside of that.” “Well how wide is it?” asked Matthew. “I don’t know. Put your arms out and spin around like a helicopter. Everything you hit is inside your circle of influence. That’s where you have authority.” “So, we only need to camp farther than arm’s reach from the sign?” “That’s what I’m thinking. I’m setting up right here.” Matthew looked at me narrowly. “So just how wide is your circle of influence?” he asked. The dangerous thing about leading Matthew partway down a path of logic, is that he’ll continue to follow it on his own for far longer than what I believe is productive. I needed to set him straight. “My circle of influence is vast. In fact, my authority encompasses the entire Milky Way galaxy,” I said. Matthew paused a moment to check my assertions against prior observations. “I’m telling Mom,” he said.