One of my favorite parts about hiking actually happens off trail: once my shoes are off, I have a hot beverage in hand, and I’m curled up on the couch (or in my sleeping bag, if I’m backpacking), I’ll revel in the post-trail feeling by cracking open a good book. Not surprisingly, a lot of my favorite reads are outdoors-related in some way, but plenty of memoirs and books about minimalism, nutrition, and health end up on my bookshelf as well (non-fiction is my bread and butter). If you’re anything like me, these paperbacks will fit in nicely with your post-trail routine:
Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek
I formed a significant portion of my identity in high school by running cross-country, and I still adore trail running when my legs are feeling up to it (if there’s a more freeing feeling than flying along a rolling trail in the mountains, I’ve yet to find it). So, naturally, any book related to running speaks to my soul and encourages me to push my limits on the trail - and mad bonus points if it also hits on any of my other favorite topics (which this one does - yay, nutrition!).
In Eat and Run, Scott Jurek flawlessly weaves his running journey and his praise of the plant-based diet together. In fact, each chapter is punctuated with a delicious, plant-based (and in this case, entirely vegan) recipe. Even if you’re an omnivore in the truest sense, Jurek’s recipes are crowd-pleasers and result in hearty meals or energy-packed trail snacks - perfect for those of us who eat to fuel our constant adventures.
Even for us runners who prefer casual 5ks to grueling ultramarathons, Jurek’s journey through life is highly relatable and seriously inspiring. His prose is engaging, detailed, and often quite humorous. Regardless of how many miles you’ve ever run or what kind of diet you eat, Eat and Run is a moving read for anyone who spends time on a trail and has an interest in how food affects performance.
Trespassing Across America: One Man's Epic, Never-Done-Before (and Sort of Illegal) Hike Across the Heartland by Ken Ilgunas
The Keystone XL pipeline is an intensely controversial topic that - like many similar topics - has not received anywhere near the amount of proper coverage in our media that it deserves. Ken Ilgunas aims to raise awareness about the gravity of the pipeline by combining backpacking, human connection, and research into an unprecedented act: backpacking the entire 1,700 miles of the proposed route of the pipeline, all the way from Canada to Texas.
Ilgunas has a knack for transforming candid moments into elegant prose, and he weaves history, conversations, and personal experiences into a story that would appeal to anyone on either side of the Keystone XL debate. If you’re fired up about public lands, property rights, water rights, or the influence of corporations on media, elucidate yourself and gain some honest, from-the-field facts and figures with this read.
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
To anyone who has ever felt a creative urge and immediately suppressed it out of fear of failing: READ THIS BOOK.
There are a lot of books out there that tout the value of following creative passions but fall short on accurately portraying the reality of pursuing those dreams. Conversely, Big Magic is an incredibly refreshing and realistic approach to prioritizing creative pursuits. In it, Elizabeth Gilbert illustrates the importance of embracing failure (but gets real about how challenging it can be), shares advice on how to balance a full-time career while making time for creative passions (and why you shouldn’t feel the pressure to combine the two), and provides a liberal dose of inspiration for those of us who love to create but rarely feel that our finished products are “good enough.”
This book was the swift kick in the pants that I needed to realize that instead of fighting my fear of failing, I can actually use it to fuel my creative pursuits. We all have a strong pull toward certain activities, and Big Magic is the template for embracing those passions, finding joy in them, and feeling successful regardless of the outcome of our efforts.
