Almost Somewhere: Twenty-Eight Days on the John Muir Trail (Outdoor Lives)

I recently finished reading the Kindle version of Almost Somewhere on my iPad. What a pleasant surprise! It was for me the kind of book that interfered with my work, because I couldn't hardly put it down!I found the entire book to be engaging, interesting, touching, inspiring, and down-to-earth honest. Rather than the typical travel story that only describes where the author has been and what they have seen, author Suzanne Roberts shares with us her innermost thoughts and reactions and feelings as she encounters personal challenges, interesting characters, her interaction with her friends and strangers, and her own thoughts as she hiked the John Muir Trail with two female friends. That's what really made the book for me. I laughed, felt sad, and was constantly impressed with the author's bravery and willingness to make herself vulnerable by sharing with us how she really felt, even when it was not very flattering to her. That made the story real to me. In this book I had a sense of not only the external experiences the author encountered, but how she in her uniqueness responded to each. For me, that was a central factor in keeping the book interesting and distinguishing it from the run of the mill travel journal. I felt like I had a sense of experiencing the trip from her perspective.The book is laid out with one chapter for each day of her 28 day hike. This format helped me to visualize her progress, and I was always looking forward to see what the next day would bring. It was like opening a new gift box every chapter to see what was inside!One theme which runs persistently through the book is the author's belief that there is a contrasting "male view" and "female view" of the wilderness, and how one is in wilderness (with, predictably, the guys wanting to conquer everything, and the gals wanting to relate to everything). Personally, I don't view the world that way, so I didn't relate to this emphasis. The author presumes the correctness of her worldview, and filters everything through this lens. My experiences have led me to think individuals have very different ways of viewing the wilderness, and ways of being in the wilderness based on their own experience, skills, interests, and abilities, and it is not essentially a male/female issue. I've know many women hikers and outdoor enthusiasts with what the author would consider a "male" view, and many men who hold what the author would consider a "female" view. I don't think it's legitimate for this reality to be easily explained away by simply asserting that each time the theory doesn't fit the facts it is due to the individual having "internalized" the opposite gender's view. That comes across to me as a gross rationalization, a forced bending of the facts to fit one's preconceived theory.My impression is that the author's focus on this theme is likely due to what appears to be her personal hyper-sensitivity to male/female issues and her own difficulties in relating to the opposite sex, which I would guess has originated from her unique background, experiences, sensitivities and approach to life. I think the author was on the right track when she acknowledged that prior to going into the wilderness she had been heavily influenced by writers such as Muir and Thoreau, and that her experience did not match theirs. The key distinction, I think, was not that they were male writers, but that they were both writers who took a "romantic" view of the wilderness. That's not a distinctly "male" or "female" view. In fact, I could see someone likely arguing that a romantic view is more a "female" view than a "male" view.When I was in Jr. High school my assistant principal took a group of us on a week long backpacking trip from Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon to Rae Lakes on the John Muir Trail. In high school a friend and I backpacked the JMT from Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley. That was back in the late 60s. About 10 years ago my wife and I day hiked the same trip. From my first trip about 45 years ago I've been in love with the white granite and glaciated basins of the high Sierra. I've always wanted to hike the entire JMT. This book was not only a great read, but has inspired me and motivated me to do something about my own dream. Thank you, Suzanne, for a great story!

"Almost Somewhere: Twenty-Eight Days on the John Muir Trail" is a thought-provoking memoir commemorating the coming of age of a young woman who hikes with two female companions over 200 miles on the John Muir Trail. The journey evolves into an unexpected life-changing experience. Views about nature as well as her perception of self are forever altered. Lake Tahoe's Suzanne Roberts, an English professor at Lake Tahoe Community College, memorializes her adventure in a beautifully written citation using fine-tuned writing skills and extracting details from her trail journal. She exposes the expedition in full living color creating scenic visions the reader will inhale. You will follow her and her hiking companions through the breathtaking beauty of the high Sierra's along the banks of Alpine Lakes and to the top of Mt. Whitney and Half Dome. You will also be exposed to a darker side of such a feat; great fear, intense hunger, prolonged exhaustion, mosquito bites, blisters and bears, not to mention blinding rain, freezing cold and snow. Roberts eventually comes to understand the profound state of connectedness. Like the metamorphic changes of a butterfly, she sheds the skin of the young girl that sets out on the dusty path and emerges a strong woman at trails end. Unsure about what direction to take after graduating from college with a degree in biology, and flapping against the wind in the floundering economy of 1993 that provided few job prospects, Suzanne hits the trail with Erika and Dionne to distract herself from it all. Strapping "Big Heiny" on her back, a name she affectionately calls her backpack, was only the first step. Overstuffed, unorganized and heavy, "Big Heiny" mimics her state of mind upon departure. Not long into the ascent to Mt. Whitney, the first leg of the trip, she realizes the scope of the undertaking. Is she up to it? Erika, an athletic superstar, her trail name being The Commander, is in stark contrast to Dionne, a wisp of a girl with a life-threatening eating disorder and a first time hiker. Robert's, somewhere in-between in terms of athletic prowess, learns quickly to be self-reliant. Feminism is a cornerstone topic in "Almost Somewhere". Twenty years ago it was rare to find females hiking under such strenuous circumstances without male escorts. Some may even say impossible. But the three wise women, as they later coined themselves, proved them wrong. Of course there were issues. Competing for male attention, differences in endurance levels and the ever-present group dynamics, but at the end of the day the real battle was none of that. It was an internal struggle for self-understanding and acceptance. No photographs were included other than a front cover photo. I personally would have enjoyed seeing a few; Dionne hiking in men's underwear her chosen trail attire, Erika, leading the pack reading her trusty trail map and Roberts sitting on top of Half Dome eating Pop-Tarts. Also not included were sketches Roberts drew that I believe would have added additional charm. The map, drawn by Phyllis Schaffer, was a visual depiction of the trail and a bonus. Other than these omissions "Almost Somewhere" will not disappoint. It is a wonderful read for outdoor lovers and inspirational for anyone experiencing self-doubt. The message that resonates is as Roberts says, "It's not just in the having done but in the doing... being "Almost Somewhere".

This is the story of 3 twenty-something women who hike the JMT in the reverse direction to the way my friends and I, three fifty-something women, hiked it in 2006. I thoroughly enjoyed "revisiting" the gorgeous places and familiar paths with the author. The author catches the essence of the long-distance trail experience and shows how such a major endeavor can change the hiker and inspire the reader.

Amazing book. I just couldn't stop reading it, the author is very honest about everything, both good and bad experiences and the more you read the more you want to go out hiking yourself.

Super Buch und ganz tolle Geschichte. Für jede Altersgruppe zu empfehlen!