Mary Rockwood Powers reluctantly left her comfortable life as a doctor's wife in Wisconsin in 1856, one of the many women whose destiny as a settler of the West was determined by her husband's wishes. Trading in her home for canvas roof and wheels, Mary, her husband, and their three children set out on the arduous trek westward to California. Shortly into their travels west, it became painfully obvious that Doctor Powers was simply not up to the task of making sure his family "outlasted the trail." Mary had to step in and become the head of the household with its canvas roof and wheels--leaving behind her ideals of femininity along with her beloved possessions. In Outlasting the Trail author Mary Barymeyer O'Brien uses the letters Mary Rockwood Powers wrote to her mother and sister back home as a stepping off point to further illuminate this remarkable woman's story. Based on the dramatic struggle a real family, this novel brings to life a fascinating slice of American history.

Families on Foot is an interactive guide for families to help motivate children to enjoy hiking and walking in nature. The progressive book would outline basic steps to help families with kids grow from beginner to intermediate hikers and to cultivate a love and enthusiasm for the outdoors. (Going beyond this to “advanced hiker” is beyond the scope of this book and the need for families.) Elements include a basic checklist of gear and safety needs, simple exercises for the whole family to prep for getting out on the trail, real life stories (perhaps crowdsourced from the AHS community), and ideas and activities for making the experience fun for kids of all ages. Chock full of aspirational color photography featuring diverse people and kids, the book is also practical in nature, offering information on gear checklists and how to use GPS, read a map, and predict weather before going out on the trail. It would feature experiences in everything from neighborhood parks to secluded trails. Additionally, the book reflects the hallmarks of the American Hiking Society, with whom we would work to make this book a success.

A compilation of stories from thru-hikers, a unique group of people who every year brave a 2,100 mile trail through every type of weather, every type of circumstance. Gathered from trail registers, postcards, and personal interviews, these voices come alive and evoke the true spirit of the Appalachian Trail, from the lows of ten consecutive days of rain and cold, to the highs of beautiful sunsets and camaraderie. Each spring, a group of people attempt a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Setzer follows these determined hikers from Georgia to Maine. In this new edition, hikers reveal five years later how their experiences on the Trail changed their lives. 'Originally, I was attracted to the AT for the adventure of walking the whole thing at once... Even as I finished, I did not understand those who chose to repeat the walk. But the next spring I found I wanted to go. And I understood that you never walk the same trail twice... I learned that I walk to fill my heart with wonder, to feed my soul.' - Merlin 'I know I'll be out there again. I don't know when and I don't know with whom. But I know, once more I'll live the nomadic life I loved on the Appalachian Trail.' - Trail Gimp Whether documenting their journey or contemplating its impact on their lives, the voices in A Season on the Appalachian Trail will entrance you with their honesty and humanity.

Encourages children to take nature walks and hikes by relying on the family dog as their naturally skilled, enthusiastic trail guide and to post their outdoor adventures on the book's companion website. Original.

The Trail follows the forced removal of the Cherokee from their Tennessee village to the Oklahoma reservation. The struggles of the adventure increase the tension that exists among the Native American captives and their guards, members of the US Army. In the midst of the tragedy, White Crow, a Cherokee maiden, befriends a soldier named Jake Savage. The resulting relationship between the two contrasts with the degradation and death prevalent on the Trail of Tears.

A practical guide to involving babies and children in all sorts of adventures, whether it be cycling, camping, paddling, hiking, swimming or outdoor holidays. As soon as Bex Band, founder of the UK's largest women's adventure community, Love Her Wild, announced she was pregnant with her first child, the sympathy began. 'Enjoy your adventures while you can', 'It's going to be a big shock not being able to travel as much', and 'Aren't you going to miss adventuring?'It seemed as though having children was a death sentence when you're an outdoor adventurer. But it really doesn't have to be that way. Yes, it's a scary prospect – how do you keep them safe? Where do they sleep? What equipment do you need? - but it's totally doable. When Bex's daughter was just a few weeks old, Bex and her husband took her camping. Now age 2, she's been wild camping on Dartmoor, cycling along the coast, swimming in rural lakes and even carried in a backpack on a multi-day Negev desert hike. Now, she shares her stories and insights in Family Adventures, a practical and inspirational guide to involving babies and children in outdoor adventures. This guide is full of useful information (such as what to pack when camping with an infant or how to keep children safe in open water), invaluable tips (family games you can play around a campfire or how to keep morale up in bad weather) and plenty of honesty around things going wrong (poo-explosion on a wild camp, anyone?). Experiences from adventuring families also provide a plethora of insights so that you're well equipped to make your family adventuring dreams a reality.

Ethnographic study of the Kawchodinne or Hare Indians from the village of Colville Lake, NWT.

The complete story of Charles Sobhraj, the serial killer who inspired the hit Netflix series The Serpent. Charles Sobhraj remains one of the world's great conmen, and as a serial killer, the story of his life and capture endures as legend. Born in Vietnam to a Vietnamese mother and Indian father, Sobhraj grew up deprived of a sense of identity, moving to France before being imprisoned and stripped of his multiple nationalities. Driven to floating from country to country, continent to continent, he became the consummate con artist, stealing passports, smuggling drugs and guns across Asia, busting out of prisons and robbing wealthy associates. But as his situation grew more perilous, he turned to murder, preying on Western tourists dropping out across the 1970s "hippie trail," leaving dead bodies and gruesome crime scenes in his wake, triggering an international manhunt that put him at the top of INTERPOL's most wanted list. On the Trail of the Serpent draws its readers into the story of Sobhraj's life as told exclusively to journalists Richard Neville and Julie Clarke by the investigators, families of the victims, and even Sobhraj himself. Blurring the boundaries between true crime and novelization, this remains the definitive book about Sobhraj--a riveting tale of sex, drugs, adventure, and murder.

“Want to know what wilderness means to people who live it for over two thousand miles? Then read this extremely interesting, informative, intelligent, and thoughtful book.” —Roger S. Gottlieb, author of Engaging Voices: Tales of Morality and Meaning in an Age of Global Warming “There is no doubt that Bratton’s book will be of value to students and scholars of leisure studies, recreation, and religion. Those who are familiar with the Appalachian Trail sense intuitively that a journey along its length kindles spiritual awakening; this book provides the hard data to prove it’s true.” —David Brill, author of As Far as the Eye Can See: Reflections of an Appalachian Trail Hiker The Appalachian Trail covers 2,180 miles, passing through fourteen states from Georgia to Maine. Each year, an estimated 2–3 million people visit the trail, and almost two thousand attempt a “thru-hike,” walking the entire distance of the path. For many, the journey transcends a mere walk in the woods and becomes a modern-day pilgrimage. In The Spirit of the Appalachian Trail: Community, Environment, and Belief, Susan Power Bratton addresses the spiritual dimensions of hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT). Hikers often comment on how their experience as thru-hikers changes them spiritually forever, but this is the first study to evaluate these religious or quasireligious claims critically. Rather than ask if wilderness and outdoor recreation have benefits for the soul, this volume investigates specifically how long-distance walking might enhance both body and mind. Most who are familiar with the AT sense intuitively that a trek along its length kindles spiritual awakening. Using both a quantitative and qualitative approach, this book provides the hard data to support this notion. Bratton bases her work on five sources: an exhaustive survey of long-distance AT hikers, published trail diaries and memoirs, hikers? own logs and postings, her own personal observations from many years on the trail, and conversations with numerous members of the AT community, including the “trail angels,” residents of small towns along the path who attend to hikers? need for food, shelter, or medical attention. The abundant photographs reinforce the text and enable visualization of the cultural and natural context. This volume is fully indexed with extensive reference and notes sections and detailed appendixes. Written in an engaging and accessible style, The Spirit of the Appalachian Trail presents a full picture of the spirituality of the AT. Susan Power Bratton is professor of environmental studies. She is the author of Six Billion and More: Human Population Regulation and Christian Ethics, Environmental Values in Christian Art, and Christianity, Wilderness, and Wildlife: The Original Desert Solitaire.