Helen Thayer truly knows how to test the limits! Last month we shared a book review of Helen’s journey to the magnetic north pole, made famous in her acclaimed book, Polar Dream.
Helen Thayer in the Gobi Desert
If you want to hear less about frostbite and polar bear encounters and warm up a bit…how about picking up her next book, Walking the Gobi? That’s exactly what I did, and embarked on a page turning adventure story of Helen’s trek across the entire Gobi Desert.
Dennis Blanchard, the author of the wonderful book about hiking the Appalachian Trail called Three Hundred Zeros (see the Hiking Lady book review of Three Hundred Zeroes) just returned from a 500 mile walk of the Camino de Santiago in Spain. He and his wife Jane had an amazing experience, and Jane is going to be writing a book that I can’t wait to read!
Jane Blanchard’s new book will be focused on the women she met along the way. To give us a sneak peak, she has put together a slideshow of pictures of some of these women, clearly from all over the world, each with their own reason for making this spiritual trek. Here’s her slideshow, called Women of the Way:
Camino de Santiago translated into English means the Way of St. James, and has been a Christian pilgrimage for over 1000 years. St. James was one of Jesus’ 12 Apostles, and the story goes that his bones were shipped from Jerusalem to Northern Spain. The 500 mile walk/hike traverses the northern section of Spain, with the final destination being Santiago de Compostela. This was a very popular journey during Medieval Times, and has continued on as a spiritual trek through the present time. In 1987, it was named to be a European Cultural Route, and statistics show that over 100,000 people make the trek each year.
I’m looking forward to Jane’s upcoming book release to learn about her experiences and the other women she met along the way.
California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) at the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve
How many of you love seeing gorgeous wildflowers when you’re out hiking? I just read a great new book describing in vivid detail 50 of the best places to see wildflowers in the world! A few of the spots are in North America, including one of my favorites, the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve near Lancaster, California. I love walking around those trails when the flowers bloom every spring!
Check out my new book review of Wildflower Wonders, and please share any of your favorite wildflower hikes! Happy trails!
Ever wonder what it would be like to ski to the magnetic North Pole? How about doing it alone, at age 50! Helen Thayer did it, and wrote an exciting book about her adventure called Polar Dream.
Looking for an engaging, fun to read account of a young woman who thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail at just 21 years old?! Then Becoming Odyssa is one to add to your reading list. I picked it up and literally couldn’t put it down!
