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Scraping Heaven: A Family's Journey Along the Continental Divide Trail
“Not only are readers given the opportunity to experience the sheer beauty and at times frightening dangers of the trail, but they also watch two children grow and learn to call the trail their home. Well written, captivating, and incredibly educational, this adventure is a lesson in the simplicity of life and the beauty of accomplishment.” —Publishers Weekly"This is both an epic adventure of the first order and the heartwarming story of the family who accomplished it." —San Francisco ChronicleNow available for the first time in paperback and ebook, Scraping Heaven is the story of a family’s adventurous trek over the rooftop of North America—a warm and heartfelt account with a powerful message for parents, long-distance hikers, and outdoor adventurers alike.The Continental Divide Trail, a rugged 3100-mile footpath running along the crest of the Rocky Mountains from Canada to Mexico, is infamous for its tricky mountain passes and snowy traverses. In 1993, Cindy Ross, her husband, and their two toddlers set out together on the Trail. Using llamas as kid-carriers and packers, they successfully hiked the entire route over the next five summers, covering the last 700 miles on tandem mountain bikes in 1998.A keenly observant storyteller, Ross deftly interweaves evocative descriptions of the landscape with dramatic accounts of sudden snowstorms, gale-force winds strong enough to lift a child, and heart-pounding wildlife encounters. Through it all, her intimate reflections on marriage, family, and children provide depth and interest far beyond the high Rocky Mountain peaks. Scraping Heaven features a new afterword by the author.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 14, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 23, 2016
Ross and her husband were not new to thru-hiking when they decided to hike first the Colorado Trail and then the whole Continental Divide Trail: they'd both done both the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, and they knew what such an undertaking entailed. They had, of course, never made such a trek with small children along.
Two adults with children—one still in diapers—requires a great deal more preparation and planning than two adults on their own, and Ross and her husband happily put that preparation in. They found sponsors, calculated how many diapers to bring, and borrowed llamas. Although they don't start the CDT portion of the story until well over a hundred pages in, those hundred-plus pages are useful for both the trial-and-error aspect and for assurance to the concerned reader* that the children were safe.
It bears mention that this was not a one-time thru-hike; that is, they completed it over the course of several summers rather than all at once. The book is actually more interesting for that, because as the kids grow they are capable of more, and their needs change. There's never a moment when they've figured everything out. Still, I struggled much of the time to connect to either Ross or her husband. In the case of the former, I think it came down to the occasional holier-than-thou impression I got regarding life choices. With the latter...Ross says a number of times that her husband is much quieter, not a big talker, but what that meant was that it felt as though a disproportionate amount of his dialogue came when they were fighting and he was slinging nasty promises to quit the trail and let her find somebody else to cart their kids up and down mountains. I needed to see a bit more of the good moments, I think.
Ross makes her living as a writer (or did at the time of publication—it's been a while, so who knows), and, especially given the long time frame over which they walked the CDT, I'm suspect most of the sections in the book started as articles and essays, written throughout the years. Sometimes this is frustrating, as it means that there's some unnecessary repetition (recurring characters being reintroduced section after section). Other times it's perhaps useful, as Ross was able to focus on the details of one section at a time. Most frustrating in terms of structure, for me, was that I wanted more connections between pieces: when Ross says that they can't do any long hikes until the kids are older, I get it. When she says later—after they've been presented with the possibility of using llamas—that they have to do it now, before the kids are too old to put up with being dragged places, I got that too, but I wanted something to tell me it was intentional. After the first leg, Ross and her husband discuss buying some llamas for a business venture. Her husband is initially all for it but starts to worry that it's not a sound investment, especially considering their limited bank accounts; Ross gets upset, and they buy the llamas. Okay. But in the next section she says, casually, that the business hadn't panned out (insurance, logistics), so now the llamas were just for their private use. Again, okay—but I wanted some acknowledgement of the previous anxieties about expense. Later, when Ross takes affront at a ranger saying they should rent horses instead of using their llamas, while she's correct in pointing out that they don't own horses or know how to ride them...that was true of the llamas, too, before somebody suggested using those.
So it's in turns fascinating and frustrating. The kids in particular make the whole experience much more complicated—not surprisingly! Ross's husband, who feels pressure to stick to a schedule, gets grumpy when the kids are allowed to walk (rather than ride a llama or on somebody's back), because they're too small to keep up a good clip. Both adults seem to loathe carrying the children, which—while I can't really blame them—begs the question of why they then committed to doing so (especially on the earlier trips, when the younger child had to be carried all the time rather than llama'd).
I don't know. I was left with something of a feeling of dissatisfaction, and yet I did find the book interesting. I think I preferred the front half, when there was more still to figure out and learn and it felt less like a day-by-day log. I'd probably recommend—I did not do this—finding some of Ross's articles on the experience before committing to the full book. But then, there are few CDT books out there, and I'll take what I can get. This is far from being something I suffered through just for the topic.
As it turns out, I finished this just two days before the author and her husband set off on another wilderness adventure,** their first one since doing the CDT. This time it's by bike, and I expect they'll have a whole new sort of adventure this time.
*Not, actually, me; I generally assume that if somebody's going to die or lose a limb or something in a memoir I'm reading, I'll have known that from the get-go.
**According to the author's website, they were to set off July 21, 2016.
Two adults with children—one still in diapers—requires a great deal more preparation and planning than two adults on their own, and Ross and her husband happily put that preparation in. They found sponsors, calculated how many diapers to bring, and borrowed llamas. Although they don't start the CDT portion of the story until well over a hundred pages in, those hundred-plus pages are useful for both the trial-and-error aspect and for assurance to the concerned reader* that the children were safe.
It bears mention that this was not a one-time thru-hike; that is, they completed it over the course of several summers rather than all at once. The book is actually more interesting for that, because as the kids grow they are capable of more, and their needs change. There's never a moment when they've figured everything out. Still, I struggled much of the time to connect to either Ross or her husband. In the case of the former, I think it came down to the occasional holier-than-thou impression I got regarding life choices. With the latter...Ross says a number of times that her husband is much quieter, not a big talker, but what that meant was that it felt as though a disproportionate amount of his dialogue came when they were fighting and he was slinging nasty promises to quit the trail and let her find somebody else to cart their kids up and down mountains. I needed to see a bit more of the good moments, I think.
Ross makes her living as a writer (or did at the time of publication—it's been a while, so who knows), and, especially given the long time frame over which they walked the CDT, I'm suspect most of the sections in the book started as articles and essays, written throughout the years. Sometimes this is frustrating, as it means that there's some unnecessary repetition (recurring characters being reintroduced section after section). Other times it's perhaps useful, as Ross was able to focus on the details of one section at a time. Most frustrating in terms of structure, for me, was that I wanted more connections between pieces: when Ross says that they can't do any long hikes until the kids are older, I get it. When she says later—after they've been presented with the possibility of using llamas—that they have to do it now, before the kids are too old to put up with being dragged places, I got that too, but I wanted something to tell me it was intentional. After the first leg, Ross and her husband discuss buying some llamas for a business venture. Her husband is initially all for it but starts to worry that it's not a sound investment, especially considering their limited bank accounts; Ross gets upset, and they buy the llamas. Okay. But in the next section she says, casually, that the business hadn't panned out (insurance, logistics), so now the llamas were just for their private use. Again, okay—but I wanted some acknowledgement of the previous anxieties about expense. Later, when Ross takes affront at a ranger saying they should rent horses instead of using their llamas, while she's correct in pointing out that they don't own horses or know how to ride them...that was true of the llamas, too, before somebody suggested using those.
So it's in turns fascinating and frustrating. The kids in particular make the whole experience much more complicated—not surprisingly! Ross's husband, who feels pressure to stick to a schedule, gets grumpy when the kids are allowed to walk (rather than ride a llama or on somebody's back), because they're too small to keep up a good clip. Both adults seem to loathe carrying the children, which—while I can't really blame them—begs the question of why they then committed to doing so (especially on the earlier trips, when the younger child had to be carried all the time rather than llama'd).
I don't know. I was left with something of a feeling of dissatisfaction, and yet I did find the book interesting. I think I preferred the front half, when there was more still to figure out and learn and it felt less like a day-by-day log. I'd probably recommend—I did not do this—finding some of Ross's articles on the experience before committing to the full book. But then, there are few CDT books out there, and I'll take what I can get. This is far from being something I suffered through just for the topic.
As it turns out, I finished this just two days before the author and her husband set off on another wilderness adventure,** their first one since doing the CDT. This time it's by bike, and I expect they'll have a whole new sort of adventure this time.
*Not, actually, me; I generally assume that if somebody's going to die or lose a limb or something in a memoir I'm reading, I'll have known that from the get-go.
**According to the author's website, they were to set off July 21, 2016.
February 20, 2023
I recognize the difficulties of backpacking with young children, however too much of the book was complaining and arguing with the children and husband. I ran a good chunk of the Colorado trail and Continental Divide trail this summer and was looking forward to revisiting the beauty through this book. However, hardly any of the spectacular sights were mentioned. There was a myriad of wildflowers, moose, bear and other animal tracks, the largest aspen groves I’ve ever encountered , crazy scary exposed rocky ridges, and sunrises and sunsets that will take away your breath.
November 30, 2009
Another tale of thru-hiking, but this family actually finished the trail (as opposed to Bryson). And this family is one of those crazy, wonderfully liberal and conservative, live-off-the-land, make-your-own-log-cabin, never-hold-a-normal-job families. Experienced thru-hikers decided to hike the Colorado Trail with their one- and three-year-old on llamas (see why I picked it up?). After that, they did the rest of the Continental Divide Trail (a feat!) in the next three years, section by section. The story is amazing, but these are also amazing people. The book ends up being more about the family than the trail (or the llamas!), which was interesting and enlightening. This one didn't convince me to hike the Continental Divide Trail, but it did make me long for a long backpacking trip and makes me really really really want a llama. Neither of those are surprises, I know. An interesting niche read, but it truly shows why it's really hard to write good books about outdoorsy pursuits. It's really, really hard. Bryson did a good job -- those who are not immensely experienced seem to write a better book. Weird.
July 1, 2017
Typically I'm not a fan of reading about the adventures of others. Neither I nor anyone I personally know would attempt a trip of this magnitude. Throughout the book my thoughts waffled between, "why in the world would you do this?" to "YES! So glad you did this AND wrote about it!". The Continental Divide is certainly something I want to learn more about after reading this book. When I sit here and truly reflect I realized I'm more than a bit jealous of someone who can live the life they live.
September 17, 2020
2.5 stars. I wanted to like this book. Walking the Continental Divide with your family? Cool. When your family includes two children, ages one and three, I'm sure it was challenging. But I didn't expect every child or adult outburst/need/tantrum/conflict to be described in such detail as well as multiple episodes of arrogance and comparison of workload. These people were NOT having a good time and continued to force the situation for several years as they hiked the trail in segments.
July 10, 2021
I really wish the sections didn't get shorter and shorter as we went along. Next time, if you are going to breeze through writing about New Mexico, don't include it. So much time spent on Colorado to just add the New Mexico part as a foot note, please, tell us how you really feel about the state. I really also didn't need to hear about all the drama and bickering- the story was good but how much does adding every single fight and conflict to the book?
January 30, 2018
I mostly enjoyed this book and the family’s adventure but sheltering under trees during thunderstorms? With small children?
It is understandable that this journey took place over multiple summers and, while their reasons for blasting though New Mexico were valid, this is the part of the CDT I know personally, so was disappointed to have it treated almost dismissively.
It is understandable that this journey took place over multiple summers and, while their reasons for blasting though New Mexico were valid, this is the part of the CDT I know personally, so was disappointed to have it treated almost dismissively.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2018
I couldn't finish the book. I love the hiker books and thought how impressive it is that this family walked the trail with their children and alpacas. However, it felt like the author was constantly complaining about her husband or her children. I didn't feel like I was getting much of the journey as it was more of an figuring out the family dynamics.
June 10, 2021
Well written, but not a fan of hiking with toddlers and llamas.
May 23, 2023
Not my favorite trail memoir, although certainly an unusual one. It did get me excited about the CDT, though!
July 14, 2024
amazing
Great to read a book about children learning from nature. I loved the details of their everyday experiences and hardships.
Great to read a book about children learning from nature. I loved the details of their everyday experiences and hardships.
March 5, 2017
Loved reading about Cindy and Todd's adventures with their two young children. What an inspiration!
March 9, 2012
My rating here has more to do with my personal reactions to the book than anything else - if you identify more with the author or her experiences, I can see why you might rate it higher.
I had a lot of trouble with Scraping Heaven and it took me almost three months to get through it, renewing it from the library six times before finally returning it. Considering that I can usually finish a book of this length in a couple of days, that either means the material is difficult to understand (not the case here) or I find myself developing a disliking for either the author or the subject. Since I still find the subject of hiking and llamas and this area of the country very intriguing, that leaves me with the author. I don't know Cindy Ross so all I am basing this on is what I took from this one book.
I don't want to be judgmental but I found her very controlling and bossy. She put her desires ahead of the safety and needs of her family, including two very young children. I'm not against children in the wilderness but knowingly putting your children in life threatening situations (such as taking a shortcut through a beargrass covered climb) in order to make your husband happy so he might sleep with you is wrong. I quickly tired of hearing her complain about not having sex with her husband or not being able to moan when she did because they were on the trail with their kids. Since she shared with the reader the experience of swimming naked all over the wilderness and sharing urination together, I question why she drew the line there. I also came away from the book feeling sorry for her daughter, Sierra, as it read as if she heavily favors her son, Bryce. There were full paragraphs about Bryce playing with dead animals or peeing on trees or being carried by a parent while Sierra wasn't mentioned at all. I'm sure the excuse is that he was younger so required more attention at the time, but Sierra wasn't given that attention in the earlier chapters when she was the same age. The authors ends the book acknowledging that her kids have social issues because of the time spent on the trail. I wish that had been considered when making the decision to go in the first place. I'm not saying that parents should subjugate their own desires but in this case, she comes across as incredibly selfish.
I had a lot of trouble with Scraping Heaven and it took me almost three months to get through it, renewing it from the library six times before finally returning it. Considering that I can usually finish a book of this length in a couple of days, that either means the material is difficult to understand (not the case here) or I find myself developing a disliking for either the author or the subject. Since I still find the subject of hiking and llamas and this area of the country very intriguing, that leaves me with the author. I don't know Cindy Ross so all I am basing this on is what I took from this one book.
I don't want to be judgmental but I found her very controlling and bossy. She put her desires ahead of the safety and needs of her family, including two very young children. I'm not against children in the wilderness but knowingly putting your children in life threatening situations (such as taking a shortcut through a beargrass covered climb) in order to make your husband happy so he might sleep with you is wrong. I quickly tired of hearing her complain about not having sex with her husband or not being able to moan when she did because they were on the trail with their kids. Since she shared with the reader the experience of swimming naked all over the wilderness and sharing urination together, I question why she drew the line there. I also came away from the book feeling sorry for her daughter, Sierra, as it read as if she heavily favors her son, Bryce. There were full paragraphs about Bryce playing with dead animals or peeing on trees or being carried by a parent while Sierra wasn't mentioned at all. I'm sure the excuse is that he was younger so required more attention at the time, but Sierra wasn't given that attention in the earlier chapters when she was the same age. The authors ends the book acknowledging that her kids have social issues because of the time spent on the trail. I wish that had been considered when making the decision to go in the first place. I'm not saying that parents should subjugate their own desires but in this case, she comes across as incredibly selfish.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
March 24, 2015From "Essential Reading: Bravery" by Literary Mama staff:
Literary Reflections Co-Editor Andrea Lani describes a personal journey I'd call as brave as any travel adventure: "Fifteen years ago, I had big plans. My husband and I were on the verge of setting off for the Peace Corps in Africa, and, having already hiked the Colorado Trail, we hoped to complete the much longer Continental Divide Trail (CDT) when we returned. Then we had a baby, and, four years later, two more. We traded in a life of world travel and outdoor adventure for a staid existence of parent-teacher conferences, mortgage payments, and nine-to-five workdays.
"Author Cindy Ross, however," Andrea remarked, "did not let babies slow down her adventures. A veteran of both the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail, she, her husband, and a team of llamas set off on the Colorado Trail and what turned out to be the first leg in a many-year traverse of the CDT when her children were one and three years old. Her book about their adventures, Scraping Heaven: A Family's Journey Along the Continental Divide, chronicles snow and hail, thunder and lightning, blazing heat and near-hypothermic conditions, recalcitrant llamas and recalcitrant husbands, whiny kids and wet diapers. She also describes breath-taking scenery and heart-stopping moments of connections with her family, the kind of life-defining experiences that cannot be crammed into weekend camping trips. I wish I had been as brave as Ross and taken my kids out in the world on big adventures when they were small. Now, with my eldest starting high school next year and the other two galloping along behind, I'm afraid I've missed my chance."
Literary Mama's full Essential Reading post can be found here: http://www.literarymama.com/litreflec...
Literary Reflections Co-Editor Andrea Lani describes a personal journey I'd call as brave as any travel adventure: "Fifteen years ago, I had big plans. My husband and I were on the verge of setting off for the Peace Corps in Africa, and, having already hiked the Colorado Trail, we hoped to complete the much longer Continental Divide Trail (CDT) when we returned. Then we had a baby, and, four years later, two more. We traded in a life of world travel and outdoor adventure for a staid existence of parent-teacher conferences, mortgage payments, and nine-to-five workdays.
"Author Cindy Ross, however," Andrea remarked, "did not let babies slow down her adventures. A veteran of both the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail, she, her husband, and a team of llamas set off on the Colorado Trail and what turned out to be the first leg in a many-year traverse of the CDT when her children were one and three years old. Her book about their adventures, Scraping Heaven: A Family's Journey Along the Continental Divide, chronicles snow and hail, thunder and lightning, blazing heat and near-hypothermic conditions, recalcitrant llamas and recalcitrant husbands, whiny kids and wet diapers. She also describes breath-taking scenery and heart-stopping moments of connections with her family, the kind of life-defining experiences that cannot be crammed into weekend camping trips. I wish I had been as brave as Ross and taken my kids out in the world on big adventures when they were small. Now, with my eldest starting high school next year and the other two galloping along behind, I'm afraid I've missed my chance."
Literary Mama's full Essential Reading post can be found here: http://www.literarymama.com/litreflec...
November 24, 2016
As a parent of active, hiking kids, I really wanted to love this book, but I just couldn't.
I enjoyed the story, which was why I gave this one three stars, but the way the story was told left much to be desired.
I have discovered that sometimes when people choose counter-cultural lifestyles they can get very defensive about those lifestyles, and in writing that comes off as self-righteous. I could not get over the self-righteous tone of this book. The author was a very strong personality that had a lot to say about the shortcomings of her [very] hardworking husband. Her parenting style drove me nuts, so I almost gagged at the end when I saw she was writing a book on parenting.
It was inspiring to me to see that a family with young children could hike the entirety of the Continental Divide Trail, but count me out. If I were to attempt a long hike, this is not how I would want to do it.
I enjoyed the story, which was why I gave this one three stars, but the way the story was told left much to be desired.
I have discovered that sometimes when people choose counter-cultural lifestyles they can get very defensive about those lifestyles, and in writing that comes off as self-righteous. I could not get over the self-righteous tone of this book. The author was a very strong personality that had a lot to say about the shortcomings of her [very] hardworking husband. Her parenting style drove me nuts, so I almost gagged at the end when I saw she was writing a book on parenting.
It was inspiring to me to see that a family with young children could hike the entirety of the Continental Divide Trail, but count me out. If I were to attempt a long hike, this is not how I would want to do it.
February 9, 2010
Cindy Ross provides a heart-felt account of her family's 5-summer treks along the entire Continental Divide Trail. Both being seasoned, long-distance hikers, Todd and Cindy Ross begin their first 500-mile segment in 1993 with their two very young children and a string of llamas to carry the bulk of their gear and the children. Although the family endures extreme weather, exhaustion, hunger, and pain, they are compensated with spectacular views, serene camp spots, and strengthened family ties. Cindy Ross' story of great communal accomplishment brought tears to my eyes and peace to my soul. Highly recommended.
September 6, 2012
Another account of walking the Continental Divide Trail, only done over 5 summers, with two very young children in tow. Cindy Ross wrote an excellent book about her precious hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, but this one was more about the interaction between her and her husband and and their trail life with the kids and the pack of llamas that they used on this adventure. Lots of complaining in these pages. It is a much tougher and longer way to go when you are changing and washing out diapers and attending to fussy kids who demand attention. I am pleased that when I do my hiking , it is generally just me that I have to be concerned about.
January 19, 2016
Cindy Ross can really write. Her story of her family, "one husband, one wife and two small children", traveling the length of the Rocky Mountains from Mexico to Canada in several segments is breathtaking. Take care of the adults, take care of the children and of course do not forget the llamas. It took her family several years, but what an adventure.
April 21, 2011
Loved it. I read this right before I took four of my kids on a three week trip to Montana. Was inspiring to know someone else was as crazy as I was. Every time I wanted to leave a few kids at a rest stop I'd tell myself at least you don't have to take care of llamas too
June 15, 2009
Not as good as her older books.
July 24, 2012
This is the book out of all the books I have that has been borrowed the most.
December 17, 2022
An interesting read, like a vicarious hike in some of America's most beautiful backcountry.
November 6, 2015
I found this very entertaining at first, but it got a little repetitive toward the end.
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