Customer Reviews

A Pacific Crest Odyssey: Walking the Trail from Mexico to Canada

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In April 1977 the author began his trek at the Mexican border, in search of the magic that is wilderness. The journey took him first through the arid lowlands and mountainscapes of southern California, then on to the Sierra Nevada, whose pellucid lakes, glacial sculpture, and gleaming, granite spires are a peerless exhibit of Nature's art. Then Northern California: the southern Cascades with the volcanic wonderland of Lassen National Park and the remarkably diverse geology and botany of the Trinity Alps, the Marble Mountains, and the Siskiyou Range. Then Oregon and Washington, with their statuesque strato-volcanoes and lush conifer forests. All this passed beneath his feet and into his trail journals.

Through photographs, excerpts from his journals, and post-trek recollections, the author describes the trail and his experience of it, inviting you to share in the harvest. It is not strictly travelogue, nor simply an adventure story. It is a tale of the poet more than the pioneer. Nature wasn't conquered - nature never is - yet there was victory: "It is an acutely personal triumph, for only I know the game that has been played these several months," wrote Green.

A Pacific Crest Odessey is also an aid to prospective hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail and to anyone planning a long-distance backpacking trip, whether it be for six months or six days. In a series of comprehensive appendices, the author discusses the equipment and food he used, and he describes the logistical problems and special considerations inherent in a marathon hiking experience.
--- from book's back cover