Skywalker: Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail [Paperback]

Bill Walker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 2010

The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT )is the perfect place for an average person to do something extraordinary. Bill Walker ("Skywalker"), who stands 6'11", might seem like anything but average. Yet in a brutally honest tone, he lays to bare all his considerable weaknesses and fears. Among these are crushing weight loss and fatigue, along with a fear of getting lost or a bear stealing his food. Nonetheless, he is bound and determined to hike the PCT, which at 2,663 miles, runs all the way from Mexico to Canada.

The PCT's calling card is its stunning beauty. It has a diversity of geography unequaled by any footpath in the world. Haunting and beckoning the PCT hiker are the implacable desert, the towering majesty of the so-called High Sierra, and the ruggedly bleak, northern Cascade range. Indeed, the PCT hiker faces much greater extremes of terrain and climate than on the famed Appalachian Trail. Completing this demanding challenge calls for overwhelming clarity of purpose. Walker's signature characteristic as a writer is his real talent in capturing people ("Skywalker's humor, his delight in human foibles appeal to a broad audience."--Jeff Minnick, Smoky Mountain Book News). Obviously, he is a people person because he runs into and vividly describes a truly colorful cast of characters from seemingly all walks of American life. Among these are Uber Bitch, Shit Bag, and Serial Killer; the reader learns how these hikers ended up with their names (hint: blunders).

The reader need not worry that Walker is a bully. Throughout this irreverent narrative, he turns his considerable supply of humor back on himself in ruthlessly self-deprecating fashion. It all makes for a delightful read.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born and raised in Macon, Georgia Bachelors and Masters Degree University of Georgia in Accounting. Commodities broker in Chicago and London for 14 years. Teacher of English as a second language in four Latin American countries for three years. Author of Skywalker--Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail. Just finished a book on the Camino de Santiago (The Best Way--To see the Old Continent).

Product Details

• Paperback: 282 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (October 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1453862234
• ISBN-13: 978-1453862230
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bill Walker attended the University of Georgia where he received a Bachelor's Degree and Master's Degree in Accounting. He spent the two most boring years of his life as a tax accountant at Arthur Andersen in Atlanta.

Walker then became a commodities broker for the next fourteen years, first at the Chicago Board of Trade, then at the London International Financial Futures Exchange. That was anything but boring. But in 2001, the entire business was computerized. It was again time to sharply change course.

Walker became a VISTA volunteer and was the welfare-reform coordinator for the South Texas region. He then moved to Latin America where he taught English as a Second Language in five different countries.

In 2005, he thru-hiked the 2,175 mile Appalachian Trail. Upon completion, he wrote Skywalker--Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail. This book has sold steadily on Amazon.com. In 2009, Walker hiked the 2,663 mile Pacific Crest Trail. He recently published a narrative of that journey called, Skywalker--Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail, which is the number one selling book on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Walker, who is 6'11", is currently working on a book on the subject of height. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of those non-stop cover to cover reads., November 12, 2010

By 

Vashonislander - See all my reviews

This review is from: Skywalker: Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail (Paperback)

I couldn't put the book down once I started reading it.
A very fun read!
I immediately ordered a copy for my daughter.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful and Inspiring Trail Tale, November 27, 2010

By 

Richard S. George (Macon, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Skywalker: Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail (Paperback)

Bill Walker's folksy account of his Pacific Crest Trail hike holds your attention from start to finish. You don't have to be a hiker to get caught up in the daily drama that unfolds as he describes the awesome beauty of the region, overcomes incredible obstacles and meets an amazing assortment of characters who provide the yeast to his readable literary loaf! A great sequel to his Appalachian Trail yarn.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Took Me Back, January 17, 2011

By 

Ryan J. Krabill (Arlington, VA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Skywalker: Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail (Paperback)

As a 2009 alum of the PCT, I was excited to hear that Skywalker had written about his experience on the trail. I first bumped into Skywalker at the hostel in Big Bear City when he was trying to figure out what to do with his feet. When I arrived, nearly every person I met during my brief stay greeted me by asking, "Have you met Skywalker? The tall Georgia boy?" I ended up seeing Skywalker on several occasions throughout California and Southern Oregon. I never did see him in Washington. For obvious reasons, Skywalker was one of the most identifiable people on the trail, and it was always a pleasure to bump into him along the way and swap war stories from the previous section of trail. I vividly remember part of the conversation that he had with No Pain as NP was headed south and the rest of us were headed north because I caught up to Skywalker as they were having it. For me, it was at least as depressing a prognosis as Skywalker recounts in the book.

I mention the No Pain conversation because Skywalker has a great talent for capturing the human side of the trail. The PCT is so much more than 2600+ miles from Mexico to Canada. It has a lot of protagonists and antagonists, depending on your perspective. It's not just about getting up and over Forester Pass or taking the side trip to the top of Mt. Whitney. It's also about the decision-making process. Do I have the time? Do I have the resources? Will this add to the trip or contribute to the difficulty of making it to Canada before winter? Those are the conflicts that jumped out at me as I read Skywalker's book.

I recently took a cross-country flight and read the entire book from start to finish in the air because I just couldn't put it down. Nearly every page took me back to the trail where I remembered quite vividly the internal struggle that was going on as I looked ahead to the next set of switchbacks or waterless stretch of trail. Those conflicts are what I sensed again as I read The Highs and Lows of the PCT. I trust, however, that even those who have never set foot upon the Pacific Crest Trail will get an accurate taste of what life on the trail is like, the risks and challenges inherent to it, and some of the people you meet along the way.