So – you are packing all the stuff you need to go on your long-planned hiking trip, and no doubt you have your standard list of essentials.
You’ve got your boots, your sleeping mat and your water bottle. You throw in your plate, your mug and your camera. And what with that trowel, headlamp and first aid kit – well, there isn’t a lot of room for anything much extra.
But if there’s one thing I wouldn’t be without on a trip – any trip – it’s a book to read. I
don’t care if I’ve got a five minute bus journey, or a plane trip to the other side of the world and they’ll only let me have a shoebox for hand luggage, the FIRST thing on my list is a novel. And heading out into the great outdoors just makes me salivate at the thought of sitting up against a great and ancient tree trunk, or curling up by the fire and pulling a battered paperback out of my backpack.
Of course, getting yourself outside is all about appreciating the environment you are in. But just because you are immersing yourself in a book during a break in your journey doesn’t mean you are losing touch with the fantastic scenery that surrounds you. In fact, if it is the right novel, it may actually accentuate the experience.
Take a book like Nicholas Drayson’s ‘A Guide to the Birds of East Africa’. It doesn’t sound like much from the title, but it is actually a delightful story about a mild-mannered Kenyan widower who is secretly sweet on the woman who leads the local bird walking club. When someone else starts competing for her affections, he and his nemesis embark on a competition to see who can spot the most bird species in one week. What follows is a series of disasters, laughter and much skullduggery – and I challenge you to read a novel like this and not start noticing the birds around you with great intensity for at least a week afterwards!
And what about if you decided to take a copy of Peter Carey’s novel ‘The True History of the Kelly Gang’ on your next hike in the wilderness? You’d be hard-pressed not to compare your own landscape to that of the harsh Australian bush while reading it.
But maybe fiction just doesn’t work for you on an outdoor trip, and you’d prefer to be inspired, amused or entertained by other people’s hiking experiences. Bill Bryson’s ‘A Walk in the Woods’ is an obvious choice, or perhaps something a bit more exotic, like Rory Stewart’s ‘The Places in Between’ in which he walks across Afghanistan.
My greatest joy is to read books that are set in the place I am going – whether it is fiction, memoirs or travel stories. And I can’t think of any better place to do this than on a hike in which you can really take the time to appreciate the landscape of the place you are in.
But as an Australian who lives in Europe – I need your help! My trips to the U.S. have been limited to a few days in New York and a weekend in San Francisco, and my only perspective of the American wilderness comes from old episodes of Little House on the Prairie. So I figure if I want to know more about the U.S, you guys are the people to ask. What are the books that you think best tell the stories of the places you love to explore with hiking boots and a compass?
At Packabook we categorise books into the places they are set. We will soon be tackling the millions of books written about or set in the United States, and trying to find the ones that really give us a window on each state. We are looking for those books that make you feel you have been there, or at least want to go! From Minnesota to Texas, I would love to hear your thoughts on the novels and travel stories of the places you love the most.
Who better to do that than those who are prepared to tackle rivers, mountains and hiking trails with only the bags they can carry, all in a bid to explore the country they love. You guys are the experts and I look forward to exploring your country through books, at least until I get the chance to go there myself.
Why not make some suggestions in the comments below. We’d love to hear them.
Suzi at Packabook
Packabook is a place to find travel novels and travelogues set in particular countries.
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