Skywalker Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail eBook Bill Walker
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Skywalker
Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail
Authored by Bill Walker
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.
Publication DateOct 26 2010
ISBN/EAN131453862234 / 9781453862230
Page Count252
Binding TypeUS Trade Paper
Trim Size6" x 9"
LanguageEnglish
ColorBlack and White
Related CategoriesSports & Recreation / Hiking
Skywalker Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail eBook Bill Walker
This is the second Bill Walker book recommended to me by a friend. The first, Tall Tales: The Great Talisman of Height, was interesting on some level but didn't really capture me. This book, relating Mr. Walker's adventures on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), was much more engaging.Both books suffer from a notable lack of editing, which not only significantly detracted from my pleasure while reading them but actually made them harder to read. Punctuation (lack of, overuse of and misuse of) is probably the biggest issue I can recall from this book, but there were also typos, malapropisms, missing words, noun/verb mismatches and other grammatical errors that any editor worth his/her salt should have found and fixed (that is, if there WAS an editor involved, which I doubt). Strangely, this book ping-pongs between these frequent grammatical errors and the almost comical use of what I call "50 cent words"--i.e., multi-syllable (multisyllabic, if you prefer the 50-cent word), less-used words that are often used to make the writer appear smarter or more worldly. I am left to assume, then, that Mr. Walker knows how to use the thesaurus.
There is also regular use of italics that confused me. At first, it seemed he was only using italics to denote trail terms (words hikers use with one another that may not be real words). Later, it seemed he was using italics to indicate his inner thoughts on what was happening. Sometimes, they were used for no reason I could discern.
All that said, I did find this PCT book engaging. It kept me interested and I enjoyed it quite a lot. There are moments of very thoughtful and meaningful prose. It would have just been a less frustrating read if the book had been well edited before publication.
My friend recommended this book to me because I was a huge fan of Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail and because I had hiked a small portion of the John Muir Trail (part of the PCT) with her in Yosemite last fall. While my friend is an avid hiker, I am not. My severely arthritic knees and I prefer instead to live vicariously through those with the strength of spirit and physical conditioning to take on these amazing journeys. I envy them, even if I choose not to emulate them.
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Skywalker Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail eBook Bill Walker Reviews
I read his first book about the App. Trail and liked it - decided I would read his second. He gives insight into the difficulty and the satisfaction of the trail. He also shows just what characters that hike and insight into why anyone would punish themselves with the hardships. Gives a look at life lessons about hardship and adversity and also the wonderful views it has. His endurance is challenged several times throughout each segment and he proves himself by sticking to his goal when others give out. A lesson some never seem to learn in life. I would never attempt such a challenge and it makes me feel less of a person. I do love reading about the trip. He makes it seem as if we have taken the walk with him in many of his descriptions. Hooray for Bill Walker. Tall in more ways than one.
I enjoyed reading this book. It was, as I captioned, Entertaining, Educational & Inspiring. I have never hiked either the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT) or the Appalachian Trail (AT) but would like to one day. I devour these books wherein hikers tell of their experiences and glean whatever I can from their adventures. This one is no exception.
The PCT, as Bill Walker (Skywalker) advises the reader, is 2.650 miles long. It is roughly broken up into several geographical sections each with their own challenges - the California Deserts, The Sierra Nevada, The Southern Cascade Range, Oregon (easiest part of it all but not all easy Bill explains) and the Northern Cascade Range (beware of snow). In his book, Bill takes his reader along for the journey. We get a front-row seat to his adventures - good and bad. His explanations of the dangers hikers face are real enough to remind the faint of heart why they avoid the wild places in the world. These include bears, mountain lions, starvation, dehydration, heat sickness, hypothermia, snow, ice, wind and not the least to mention wandering off a cliff in the dark of night.
For me, Bill describes the PCT as one of the few as-God-intended experiences left in the Modern World. It makes me wish I was there and wonder why I haven't done it myself. Money, time off work to do it and the planning of it all - these are my reasons. I plan to go one day. Bill gives me hope that it is within my grasp. If you like hiking, or think you might, you will devour this book. If you love the outdoors, you will be on Google throughout much of it looking for pictures of the places Bill describes. If you are an adventure seeker - you will be adding the PCT to your Bucket List.
This is the second Bill Walker book recommended to me by a friend. The first, Tall Tales The Great Talisman of Height, was interesting on some level but didn't really capture me. This book, relating Mr. Walker's adventures on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), was much more engaging.
Both books suffer from a notable lack of editing, which not only significantly detracted from my pleasure while reading them but actually made them harder to read. Punctuation (lack of, overuse of and misuse of) is probably the biggest issue I can recall from this book, but there were also typos, malapropisms, missing words, noun/verb mismatches and other grammatical errors that any editor worth his/her salt should have found and fixed (that is, if there WAS an editor involved, which I doubt). Strangely, this book ping-pongs between these frequent grammatical errors and the almost comical use of what I call "50 cent words"--i.e., multi-syllable (multisyllabic, if you prefer the 50-cent word), less-used words that are often used to make the writer appear smarter or more worldly. I am left to assume, then, that Mr. Walker knows how to use the thesaurus.
There is also regular use of italics that confused me. At first, it seemed he was only using italics to denote trail terms (words hikers use with one another that may not be real words). Later, it seemed he was using italics to indicate his inner thoughts on what was happening. Sometimes, they were used for no reason I could discern.
All that said, I did find this PCT book engaging. It kept me interested and I enjoyed it quite a lot. There are moments of very thoughtful and meaningful prose. It would have just been a less frustrating read if the book had been well edited before publication.
My friend recommended this book to me because I was a huge fan of Wild From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail and because I had hiked a small portion of the John Muir Trail (part of the PCT) with her in Yosemite last fall. While my friend is an avid hiker, I am not. My severely arthritic knees and I prefer instead to live vicariously through those with the strength of spirit and physical conditioning to take on these amazing journeys. I envy them, even if I choose not to emulate them.
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