A few years after I purchased the book, on top of Electric Peak in Yellowstone National Park, I signed the summit log and quoted Ross from her book. The friend I was hiking with that day read my quote and said excitedly, “I know Cindy! I supplied a cooler of sodas for people hiking the Colorado Trail and met her family while they passed through on the Continental Divide Trail!” Keith, my friend, had kept in touch with them and he passed along her address so I could send her some fan mail. I sent her a heartfelt letter, explaining how much her story touched me and that I had read her book several times. To my surprise, she wrote a thoughtful letter back to me. I still have it in a box that holds my most treasured correspondence over the years.
Aside from her kindness, I simply love her book. I read it again before writing this post, feeling as if I had rekindled a bond with an old friend as soon as I opened it. Ross illustrated the book, and her beautiful sketches are just as powerful of storytellers as her handwritten prose.
In an era of highly publicized thru hikes, with everyone and their brother maintaining a blog, vlog, or Facebook group to give the blow-by-blow account of their experience, Ross’ book takes the reader back to a time, not so long ago, when handwritten journals were the only way to document one’s journey. What’s interesting though is that the overarching themes and experiences of Ross’ account are similar to the countless hikers whose journeys I follow digitally now. The winter before her journey, Ross writes,
Lately I’m slipping…out of touch…losing the meaning of life. I look down eighteen stories to diseased oaks, diseased pigeons, confused humans running the maze. My God, I don’t belong here–I’m wasting my life.
She introduces us to several other thru hiking companions and trail angels, all while thoughtfully sharing her daily trials, triumphs, and tribulations. She poignantly conveys the community spirit of the A.T. and how the trail becomes the great equalizer amongst ages, genders, socioeconomic status, and even athletic ability. And in the end, she shares the universal lesson learned by embarking on a thru hike:
….God is still present in the world and goodness is still present in humans beings. Not only present, but beautifully alive. That was proved time and time again.
Her work remains unique in a market saturated with books about thru hikes. It’s a classic account and a work of art. While I love the modern era of digital connection to the world of thru hikers, a book like this is more reflective of the simplicity of the trail itself. I highly recommend it for anyone in your life who is contemplating a sojourn of similar sorts, or for someone who simply appreciates the gifts a walk in the woods brings.
**Ross wrote several books following A Woman’s Journey, all wonderful in their own way. She and her husband even thru hiked the Continental Divide Trail with their young children and wrote an excellent book about their journey called Scraping Heaven. Her upcoming book, The World is Our Classroom: How One Family Used Nature and Travel to Shape an Extraordinary Education is available for pre-order on Amazon. Her website is cindyrosstraveler.com.
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