Almost Somewhere by Suzanne Roberts

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Why do you hike? What drives you to be outdoors? Often time spent outside clears muddied heads, gets hearts pumping and allows space for thinking. The promise of fresh air, wide open spaces or deep trails etched in a pine forest lure us in. Nature delights and heals while almost always creating fortitude and grit.

To find what you’re made of, you need to spend time in the mud and mire of the hiking trail. At least that’s what Suzanne Roberts needed on the cusp of adulthood.

Armed with limited thru hiking knowledge, along with a trail “know it all friend” (you know the type I’m talking about) and a newbie peer fighting an eating disorder, the three girls take on California’s John Muir Trail.

A memoir by Suzanne, you realize a few pages in that they appear to be in way over their head. Suzanne works through her boy crushes, father wounds and friendship tangles with Big Hinie, her oversized, overstuffed backpack. Apparently she didn’t get the memo that bringing four books on a 28 day thru hike, aka John Muir’s favorite trail, meant keeping things light.

You’ll find yourself turning the pages quickly, keen to find out just how they tackle the everyday issues of a thru hiker. Unexpected torrential rain on repeat, unwelcomed “hiking mates” and disordered eating create communication wedges between the girls.

Map in hand, this was the 90s afterall, and the same four meals in rotation, you journey with these women to life changing realizations by the end of their 28 day hike.

Suzanne speaks candidly about the fear of hiking alone, women in the woods. There are a few encounters that create some uncomfortable moments. Will she make it out okay?

Her biology background radiates through her brilliant descriptions of trail flowers. You can see the purple Columbine flowers come alive and experience brilliant sunrises over lakes and mountain pass summits.

We give this book a solid A for its honesty, storytelling and John Muir history. Interspersed throughout Robert’s memoir are John Muir quotes and descriptions of his trail discoveries.

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