Journeys North: The Pacific Crest Trail By Barney Scout Mann

I have read quite a few accounts from PCT hikers, as I'll be taking on the trail next year, and Scout's, Journey's North, is one of the most compelling and well written that I've enjoyed. The unique manner in which he shares the trail—offering multiple stories within the overarching narrative—keeps the reader engaged and intrigued. Thanks for sharing this journey from so many angles, and for all you've done for the hiking community. Looking forward to your next book! Barney Scout Mann This was fine, I guess? I liked reading about places I've been, but we didn't learn much about our author Scout or his wife Frodo. We somewhat randomly wandered through (half a dozen?) people's lives before and during trail. Lots of trail drama and overplayed nonsense, for the most part. The storytelling was disjointed and took us through so many side stories within side stories that I lost track of who was who within 25% of the book and mostly stopped caring about anyone individually. People's interpersonal worries all seemed pretty low stakes and the author didn't help us with organization or differentiating our main characters. I honestly thought this would be about Scout and Frodo but it's about like, 95% other people. Barney Scout Mann Incredible! Scout did a wonderful job of capturing the story of so many PCT hikers. The trail is so much about the people and this book showcases those special relationships. This made me miss trail life, sad to be done reading it! Barney Scout Mann 3.5 rounded to 4

I loved getting the day-to-day details of what Scout and the other hikers were facing in relation to the trail itself. The build up to the snowstorms in Washington was particularly interesting.

What brought it down for me was the way he chose to talk about other hikers’ experiences (did he interview them after? Pull from what he remembers them saying? Read their journals?), particularly the trail romances of Blazer, a single woman in her 20s who considered Scout and his wife, Frodo, her trail parents. That part didn’t feel right to me.

In the end though, as someone who loves hiking and has consumed a lot of media regarding the PCT(and AT and CDT), I enjoyed my time with this. Barney Scout Mann I have read a number of books on thru hikes such as the Appalachian Trail and the PCT. they each have something to offer but sometimes can be frustrating. I like a trail story that covers both the physical journey as well as the inward journey. But I especially liked about this book was that we got to hear about multiple peoples inner journey. They travel together and they grow and change. Definitely a favorite for hiking books. Barney Scout Mann

free download Journeys North: The Pacific Crest Trail

In Journeys North, legendary trail angel, thru hiker, and former PCTA board member Barney Scout Mann spins a compelling tale of six hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2007 as they walk from Mexico to Canada. This ensemble story unfolds as these half-dozen hikers--including Barney and his wife, Sandy--trod north, slowly forming relationships and revealing their deepest secrets and aspirations. They face a once-in-a-generation drought and early severe winter storms that test their will in this bare-knuckled adventure. In fact, only a third of all the hikers who set out on the trail that year would finish.

As the group approaches Canada, a storm rages. How will these very different hikers, ranging in age, gender, and background, respond to the hardship and suffering ahead of them? Can they all make the final 60-mile push through freezing temperatures, sleet, and snow, or will some reach their breaking point?

Journeys North is a story of grit, compassion, and the relationships people forge when they strive toward a common goal. Journeys North: The Pacific Crest Trail

I was so impressed with Scout's telling of the stories happening all around him on the PCT. Journeys North is such a perfect illustration that we all hike for our own reasons-- but our reasons are also all the same in some way. We hike to be reborn. We don't want to leave the trail the same as we arrived. And we don't.

Through beautiful descriptions of scenery, humanity and physical trials, he brings the experience of a thru-hike to life. Barney Scout Mann I heard about the PCT for the first time about a year ago, and since then it has become a personal ambition. I am no stranger to the outdoors. I'm from Minnesota; my family camps in tents for fun; my family cabin lacks running water and electricity; my brothers are Eagle Scouts. But I understand that the PCT is an entirely different beast. Which is exactly why I get so excited about it.

Scout's take was an insightful one. He articulated the tribulations of trail without destroying the honeyed dreams of a potential thru hiker. Details about the personal lives of fellow thru hikers were woven artfully throughout the entire book. It read cohesively, even amidst the chaos of a tale about a 2,650 mile long trail.

Some of my favorite parts were when the strength of Scout and Frodo's marriage was on full display. I'll spare you the details for the sake of spoilers, but the dedication page and the final paragraph of the acknowledgements are enough to make your heart give a little pang. Beautiful.

I would recommend this book to everyone but my mom, as there's just enough adventure for her to feel anxious about me wanting to complete it one day. But! If you're not my mom? Pick up a copy.

Cecilia
(PCT '28??) Barney Scout Mann I wish I'd spent the same amount of time hiking that I did reading this, and I mean that in a good way. Great story of the trail and the community that embodies it. #maybenextyear Barney Scout Mann I started reading deeply on the Pacific Crest Trail several months ago when it seemed likely I’d be losing my lease on my apartment in San Francisco and would have to leave the city I’ve lived in most of my adult life. I realized hiking the PCT would be a good ‘reset’ button. Kinda like one of those novels that put a tiny chapter between major sections of a book. Huh… is there a name for those? Google is of no help. Anyway, I did that when I left the computer industry, riding my motorcycle around the U.S. perimeter (roughly) for six months and 25,000 miles.

Now, the timing of that break is in question. 2023 seems more likely than 2022, which would be welcome because it would leave me more time for last explorations of my beloved Sierras before relocating to… where? Maybe the Cascades, maybe near the Whites or Greens in the Northeast, or the Rockies?

But despite any delay, my reading has left me quite determined to make the attempt, and Barney Scout Mann’s book is central to that decision.

Most of the other books I’ve read and perused are either too personal or too abstract. Mann follows a sizeable cast trudging slowly northward. That does the best job of examining the very broad range of personal experiences over both short portions of the hike and the entirety of the adventure.

But as a local, very experienced with backpacking in the Western mountains of the United States, he also provides deep knowledge of the interaction hikers have with the communities they pass. So we receive a better idea of how hike-ending problems might be overcome, as well as how incredibly difficult it can be to surmount those challenges when they occur many, many miles from any obvious help.

A good companion is The Great Alone by Tim Voors. Coming to hike the PCT from the Netherlands, Voors is a great example of the kind of innocent who knows little about the threats and wonders he’ll face. That provides a more intimate portrayal than Mann’s, but at the same time highlighting how Voors’ hike is just one variation among many.

If you’re not going to hike the Pacific Crest Trail and you want such an intimate inside view, Voors’ book will meet that need better. But for everyone else, Mann’s book should be the one more closely examined and enjoyed. Barney Scout Mann Wow, this is easily the best book about thru hiking I’ve ever read. It features both the backstory and trail experiences of a handful of hikers and intertwines these in a masterful way. The book captures not just the people and their motovation to thru hike, but also the connections between hikers which is an essential part of the whole adventure. Also, the suspense almost killed me at multiple points xD Dear PCT, please be kind to me in 2022! Barney Scout Mann