Backpacking with the Saints: Wilderness Hiking as Spiritual Practice

by Belden C. Lane

Carrying only basic camping equipment and a collection of the world's great spiritual writings, Belden C. Lane embarks on solitary spiritual treks through the Ozarks and across the American Southwest. For companions, he has only such teachers as Rumi, John of the Cross, Hildegard of Bingen, Dag Hammarskjöld, and Thomas Merton, and as he walks, he engages their writings with the natural wonders he encounters, demonstrating how being alone in the wild opens a rare view onto one's interior landscape, and how the saints' writings reveal the divine in nature.

The discipline of backpacking, Lane shows, is a metaphor for a spiritual journey. Just as the wilderness offered revelations to the early Desert Christians, backpacking hones crucial spiritual paying attention, traveling light, practicing silence, and exercising wonder. Lane engages the practice not only with a wide range of spiritual writings, but with the fascination of other lovers of the backcountry, from John Muir and Ed Abbey to Bill Plotkin and Cheryl Strayed. In this intimate and down-to-earth narrative, backpacking is shown to be a spiritual practice that allows the discovery of God amidst the beauty and unexpected terrors of nature. Adoration, Lane suggests, is the most appropriate human response to what we cannot explain, but have nonetheless learned to love.

Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction, Nature, Religion, Memoir, Travel, Philosophy

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Philip Barbier · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subject matter and lessons within this book truly spoke to my soul. At the same time, it was a surprisingly difficult text for me to read. After reading a page, or even a few paragraphs, I would find my mind wandering, musing over what I had read. I would bring my attention back to the text only to find my mind wandering, contemplating the ideas the text invoked.

If you are unfamiliar with the more mystical traditions within Christianity, this book offers an interesting starting point with which to engage the tradition. If you are interested in backpacking and the outdoors and wonder how it can serve as an allegory for spiritual wandering and growth, it is also an interesting read.

I would though advise against reading this as you might another book on spirituality or even general non-fiction. It does not serve the book or the reader well in trying to plow through a reading. Rather I would recommend reading a chapter here and allowing it to sit in you before continuing on with the text.

[Larry Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like backcountry and mystics so this book looked good. At first it seemed forced, like the author was a wannabee; a white collar or academic sort that is out of their element with common folk. It quickly got better, or maybe I just gained confidence in Lane, and I looked forward to each new chapter, adventure, and saint. It does not flow like a novel because there is so much to digest.
He says "We gather endless amounts of information, seeking out external authorities to quote so as to appear impressively knowledgeable.". He quotes a lot of sources and impresses me immensely, but he does it a way necessary to his message and not ostentatiously.
He refers to many familiar saints and some I hadn't met yet in a way that makes you want to know what they have to say and without any type of evangelical appeal.
I would love to go for a hike with this guy.

[Lori Matties · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book over several months, savouring the stories of Belden Lane's solo hiking trips in concert with his readings of saints old and new. Lane is a theologian, and a thin thread through the book is his coming to terms with his looming retirement from teaching. I appreciated how he allowed wilderness to be his teacher and interpreter of the saints, how both became a path to peace and contemplation of his place in the world.

[Laura Engelken · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd compare reading this book to a long backpacking trip. You've enjoyed the journey but you're really ready for it to end.

While it took a little bit to acclimate to Lane's prose, I enjoyed his connections between lessons learned in experiencing wilderness spaces in light of reading the lives/texts of spiritual saints. A retired theology professor from St. Louis University, many of his chosen trails are found in Missouri's Ozarks and his selected saints include Christian, Hindu and Buddhist theologians and mystics. All his reflections are grounded the spiritual practices of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, who sought illumination in a natural setting fiercely indifferent to their human presence and ego.

It's not a read that compels you from cover to cover - rather, it was better to take it a little at a time and stay with the theme Lane was exploring in a particular chapter (e.g., disillusionment, solitude, mindfulness). I enjoyed learning more about the lives and perspectives of saints whom I had only previously known by name. I also appreciated the diversity of sources Lane utilized for explanation and inspiration, although he often seemed to become lost on the trail - circling back on a point again and again using a series of small quotes or stories.

[Grace Hilbelink · Rating 5 out of 5]

A weird experience to be reading a book about backpacking while sitting decidedly indoors, felt a bit hypocritical. Took me a bit to get into, but once I was into it, boy was I into it. His descriptions of spiritual movements within backpacking were delightfully thought provoking but also real. My personal favorite was the bit about the holy fool. I also appreciated that he wrote about not just how we experience creation, but also how we relate to it as our neighbor. All grounded in love and cherishing what God has made.

[Dexter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed about 80% of the book, and the sections I enjoyed were world class. The author put the spirituality of spending time in the wilderness so well. He only misses for me we’re when I disagreed with the author due to our different interpretations on Christianity, but I thought it was at least interesting.

[Susan Kendrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

It just wasn’t really for me, though I thought the premise was awesome. I would have liked more of a focus on God and less on mystics and saints. To be fair, the author delivers what he promises, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

[Pav Marek]

Promise me, you'll read at least the Prologue. Don't ask me why, you'll see.

[Sarah Clements Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this!!

[C.S. Fritz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lane has quickly risen to one my most influential writers and ministers

[Nick Klagge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was OK, but didn't really speak to me. As someone who really likes hiking and backpacking, my sense is that it is very difficult to write well about those experiences. The author praises the value of backpacking to instill a less self-centered view of the world, and to encourage the capability to deal with disappointment and setbacks. I agree with these things, but they end up coming across as didactic or self-important when you put them to the page. John Muir is the only writer I've read who does this kind of writing well; he however writes very narrowly about the direct experiences he had or his immediate reactions to them, rather than trying to draw out lessons or values for other parts of life. As for the saints part, mysticism has never really struck a chord with me, so I didn't find much that was meaningful there. However, the book did get me interested in Dag Hammarskjold, and I may pick up his memoir at some point.

[Bobby Johansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent combination of travel memoir and spirituality textbook. Be prepared that it is definitely not an easy travel memoir read. The author is an academic, and it is thus written with that style. However, it is written quite well if you are prepared to read this style of book. Each chapter has a small story from the author's outdoor experiences and then talks about a saint that the author either read on that trip or who's writings relate to the experiences of the trip. Overall it is a great way to introduce these spiritual masters from many religions as well as introduce the reader to the theme of wilderness spirituality.

[Porter Sprigg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Belden Lane does a great job evoking the grace and wonder that can be shown through wilderness experiences, connecting truth from the writings of the saints to truths in nature. I especially loved the chapters on fear, failure, and desire. As someone not deeply familiar with a Catholic mystic tradition, this book was certainly helpful for me. As a La Vida Sherpa, I resonated with a lot of the little lessons Lane could draw from nature. I give this only three stars because there were some chapters that were a little slow or a little confusing to me. The insights he has are worth reading, but sometimes the individual chapters can be a little boring.

[Kim Post · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 Stars! Belden Lane is a lifelong hiker and backpacker, and in this book he combines his academic profession of theology with wisdom from the mystics and psychology to explore the many facets of nature and wilderness for the spiritual journey. He himself is approaching retirement, so in addition to recounting how wilderness has guided him in the past, he is very much in the midst of a middle journey himself. It has an extensive bibliography, which has been so helpful in my own reading. I wish I could take a hike with Dr Lane!

[Dionysius the Areopagite]

Juvenile in tone, one can still reap some benefits from its brief index. Whenever the well-off digress on survival mode one is in for a degree of facetiousness, frivolity. A book for high school students and college freshmen, and those with a college freshman of the soul.

[TMB · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I started reading "The Body of God," *this* was what I was expecting. Fascinating material, beautifully written. Recommend to passionate backpackers as well as the religious and spiritual.

[Craig Amason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read a book quite like this one, although I'm sure other writers have documented the connection between studying the works of spiritual and contemplative thinkers and exploring the great outdoors. The combination makes perfect sense, especially for those who draw inspiration from and find solace in nature. It is worth noting that Lane extends his reach beyond sainthood to backpack with philosophers, naturalists, conservationists, political activists, and poets. He concentrates on Christianity since that is his faith tradition, but he also finds inspiration in the wisdom literature of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and indigenous cultures from around the world.

Lane demonstrates his deep appreciation for all aspects of nature, flora and fauna and even the nonliving elements of the outdoors. Because he lives on the outskirts St. Louis, much of his backpacking experience comes from his time spent in the hills and hollers of the eastern Ozarks region in Missouri. His book includes wonderful passages describing the landscape, almost a synthesis of travel writing and natural history. He concentrates on writers and thinkers who incorporated a deep sense of wonder for the natural world in their work.

The author clearly has some favorite writers, some of whom are not exactly religious, such as Wendell Berry. But Lane obviously appreciates individuals like Berry who have devoted their careers to the conservation of natural resources. He especially admires the work of Thomas Merton, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and Mahatma Gandhi. Critics might argue that he goes off topic at times when he launches into the biographies of some of the personalities he covers in the book, but he is a skillful writer and a good storyteller.

For readers who want to search for a deeper experience in their wilderness adventures, this book is worth the time. For readers of religious and/or spiritual texts, Lane suggests a new way to appreciate timeless classics. Also, for those who may be approaching retirement, he offers an interesting perspective - Lane was finishing his career in academia at the time he wrote this book. Lastly, Oxford University Press is nothing to sneeze at when it comes to publishing serious books, so he has that going for him too.

[Jefferson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess I do not know what I was expecting, but I learned a lesson about reading books from the Christian mainline no matter how esteemed the author or publisher.

Lane is a figure of the declining world of mainline liberalism that is vanishing along with the elderly boomers who provided its base. He seems like a very nice sincere man who would be pleasant to hike alongside in the Ozarks.

The book uses a hagiography of this liberal mainline world, not a meaningfully Christian one. In the ranks of "saints", you'll find figures like Gandhi, Thich Nhat Hanh, and that most quoted of Muslim poets beloved by white guys, Rumi.

All traditions are open for sampling from Lane , except seemingly his own Presbyterian Calvinist tradition which isn't mentioned at all. Lane's Christian references are more often Catholic than not.

The structure of the book is ostensibly that Lane takes a book by one of these authors on a hike and the book acts as an elder guide to spiritual wisdom. Every chapter takes its theme through "Sayings of the Desert Fathers" then through Lane's life experiences and these authors or their books. He kind of gave up doing any actual writing of some of the "saints" though. By the time you get to Gandhi, its just lazy connection from the environmental damage in Missouri to Gandhi's general advocacy for nonviolent activism.

Lane unleashes a flood of references on any given subject. You will run from the poetry of Mary Oliver to Zen Buddhism to quote from Desert Fathers to some famous 1970s film. It never felt to me that I was engaging with a real tradition, certainly not a Christian one.

It was an interesting survey of writers that Lane likes, but ultimately I think my issue is with this part of his premise: Lane's drive toward having an elder guide in the wilderness is a valid one but an elder is a two lane road. Gandhi can't call me out on my problems. Without that two lane road, I think a person gets less spiritual development and more of an arty outdoor leisure experience.

I did learn a lot about Missouri area hiking. I am not joking, it is a very useful guide to Missouri nature trails.

[Rachel Palm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been my companion for nine months now. My mentor recommended it, and we read it slowly together, taking our time with each chapter.

One of my favorite parts about this book is the way he equates the journey in and out of physical wilderness to the journey of the spiritual life. The first leg is departure, or the call to adventure. We sense that God is calling us to something new. A necessary part of this is dissatisfaction and disillusionment. We must realize how far we have to go, and accept things for what they are, rather than we desire them to be. The second leg is discipline, or the embracing of spiritual disciplines that help us through the wilderness. These include mediation, prayer, fasting, simplicity, solitude, and service. The third leg is descent, or failure and loss. This part of the journey is the most fearful and dark. The final leg is delight, where you return home and bring a newer sense of discernment and joy. Having this as a frame for Lane's stories made the book that much more personal and helpful in my own journey.

I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to encounter a kind and intelligent guide in the spiritual life. Lane has definitely been that for me.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very difficult book to review and to rate. At first I was enjoying his description of himself as a recovering scholar and his descriptions of being in the wilderness. I share what he describes as needing to hike but not having to celebrate having done it. BUT, then all the positive reactions to the books are destroyed by the constant invocation of how various religious people describe the importance of the out-of-doors. I almost had to stop reading at about the half-way point when the words of the saints become much more important that the wilderness. I ended up using my have-to-get-through-it approach by reading the first and last sentence in each paragraph. The chapters when he over-cites Gandhi and Merton are sort of okay. In many ways the book tried to take away my own elation at being in the wilderness. Others who are into reading what the religious world likes to say will probably find it enlightening.
Perhaps the most interesting thing for me about the book was learning about the wilderness aspects of Missouri – somewhere I never thought of as a state for hiking.
I started out thinking the book might be a 5 and ended up giving it a 2.

[Malin Friess · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The first gift of solitude is its capacity for separating the individual from the crowd. When you're alone in wilderness, you escape the fretful arena where performance and the search for approval govern so much of your life. There are no expectations to meet, no authorities to please, no audiences to impress. In wilderness, you stand outside of the throng, outside of the pressures of admiration and blame. Only there...outside...are you alone enough to resist being defined by anything external.

2020 has made me want to grab a back-pack (ala Chris McCandless or Edward Abby) and disappear into the wilderness (just in case you wondered...wilderness is defined by the US Gov a "minimum of not less than 5,000 contiguous acres of roadless area)- and then maybe pop back out once the election is over and the vaccines are ready.

4 stars. Being on a trail (often two feet wide but miles long) is a physical and a spiritual journey and may be the best solution to the mysteries we can not explain but love.

[Jamie Huston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some parts got a bit tedious--like the meandering aspect of the appendix--but it always turned out to be worth it--as with the wise and soulful aspect of the appendix.

Lane is incredibly well read and I made notes about several other books I need to read now, because they were cited in this one!

His idea is to tell nature exploration stories and tie them into lessons from the classic religious texts that he's read. Different chapters stick to this plan only to varying degrees of loyalty, and that's for the best. More strict adherence to the principle would be inorganic, and would contradict Lane's flexible ethos.

The spiritual aspect of the book was often too mystical for me, which got stronger as the book went on and Lane spent more and more time talking about retirement.

Still, the ideas, the references, and the language (man, the language!) were all awesome enough to earn this one five stars. A watershed event in my reading.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a bit difficult to get into, but once there, I was intrigued by Lane's integration of great Christian classics (Merton, Thomas Traherne, Soren Kierkegaard, Dag Hammarskjold, John of the Cross, Martin Luther, Teilhard de Chardin) with his love of the wilderness. He traveled light, with his dog, Desert, or a close friend, seeking solace, and often finding the opposite. He offers much insight and wisdom. On the trail, as in life, in ventured out, only to be disillusioned; assuming the discipline and consciousness of being alone (that is being attentive and careful); accepting his fears and failures; and then returning home. He calls Scripture and nature the "two book" revelation of the mystery of God in alternative modes. There is much to contemplate.

[Kevin DaVee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dear friend introduced me to Prof. Lane via his work, The Solace of Desolate Landscapes. That was probably about 2004. It has stayed in my mind ever since. Lane is retired as a Theology Professor at a Jesuit University. Given he is an ordained Presbyterian minister, that is interesting in and of itself. This recent work of his is about Wilderness, Saints (Christian, Muslim, etc) and how they inform us and make us laugh at ourselves and our concerns. It is also about his own transition at the end of a long career in Academia. As I approach the end of my own long career, I find a lot of resonance here.

[Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Received as a gift. Read out of respect for the gifter. Good friend and fellow hiker, climber. The Arthur, brilliant, is difficult, maybe to intellectual for me to comfortably read. Part of my challenge is why would you carry a book into the woods, on a back packing trip, climbing a mountain. there's so much to take in, experience without the distraction and weight of a book. Anyway, I yellow underlined multiple insights, sayings and wisdoms I'll go back and read, possibly include in my journaling. Note, I was gentle giving myself a couple months to read, a few pages now and then, here and there.

[David Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite Quote = “…wilderness backpacking can be a form of spiritual practice…Exposure to the harsh realities and fierce beauties of a world not aimed at my comfort has a way of cutting through the self-absorption of my life. The uncontrolled mystery of nature puts the ego in check and invites the soul back (in more than one way) to the ground of its being. It elicits the soul’s deepest desire, enforces a rigorous discipline, and demands a life marked by activism and resistance. It reminds me, in short, that spiritual practice – far from being anything ethereal – is a highly tactile, embodied, and visceral affair. “

[Marlies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book came at the right time. Wrestling and struggling to understand purpose. I’m grateful to Lane for taking me with him as he explored his life and faith.
“Backpacking as a spiritual practice is about making yourself vulnerable in order to be stretched into something new. It’s the need to recognize your limits, to be taken to the end of yourself where resources are exhausted and you stumble in blind faith toward that which is more than you.”

[Garry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating but slightly challenging book to read. It's not perfect and has some clunky, dense pasenges. However the earnest mixture of writing about the joys of frequently solitary backpacking mixed with introductions to a myriad of fairly exotic saints and spiritual thinkers is a charming combination. At least for me. Recommended if this sounds like something you would want to dive into, but admittedly not for all.

[Dan Doebler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each chapter is an essay unto itself. Lane uses a particular hike to illustrate the larger message he'd like you to take from the text he's highlighting.
I'm interested in hiking/backpacking and expanding my knowledge of wisdom texts, so I found about 50% of them really interesting and compelling and the other 50% somewhere at or north of mildly amusing and entertaining.
This is not a book for everybody, but might really appeal to the reader/walker set, of which I consider myself a member.

[Ellen Drabek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the spiritually centered books I have read, Lane comes out neat top. Using backpacking as his means to contemplative environs, he weaves inspirational texts from various wisdom literature. Whether on a solo backpacking trip or other such means of solitude, this book inspires the reader to a level of self-awareness only gained through contemplative prayer and practiced mindfulness. Highly recommended!