Reviewed by Katie Lou
My best friend has walked the Hundred-Mile Wilderness, a small portion of the Appalachian Trail and I am green with envy. It’s been my dream since high school to at a minimum take a short jaunt on the Trail, looking for the white blaze marks or to sit for a spell in a lean-to. The next best option for me is to read about others who have spent a part of their life hiking the trail. Sisters Lucy & Susan, aka Isis and jackrabbit made the choice to put their life on hold for a couple months while they thru hike…barefoot…from Maine to Georgia. This book is about gaining tough feet and a tough determination. The women share their experiences with us in a very honest way, whether it’s about overpacking their backpacks, looking for water, meeting fellow travelers who walk their slow barefoot pace, their safety concerns, stealth camping, families wearing kilts, and twisted ankles. The sisters take turns writing chapters, their writing styles differ but flow together beautifully. These women became my friends and I rejoiced with their successes and was nearly as disappointed with their failures. Their friends were my friends and I was sad to say good bye to them. This book made me wonder if I could do it; if I had what it would take to carry everything I would need on my back, hike 10-20 miles a day, walk a mile off the path to fetch water, trust the strangers I would meet daily, all while being ‘nice’ to my hiking companion. I honestly hope I could but I don’t know. I know I would like to try. These women made me think that even I could do it.
B.A. Dillon 