Border Walk

by Mark J. Hainds

They told him,



"You won't make it!

They will kidnap and kill you!"

Undeterred, he left his family and his job for a 1,000-plus mile

trek along the Texas-Mexico Border. And on the banks of the

Rio Grande, he began to realize just how wrong we are, about

virtually every aspect of life and death along La Frontera.

320 pages, Paperback

Published February 21, 2018

About the author

Mark Hainds is a leading expert on artificial regeneration of longleaf pine, having worked two decades as the Research Coordinator for The Longleaf Alliance (LLA) and as a Research Associate with Auburn University (AU). He resigned these dual positions in Nov, 2014, to walk the Texas-Mexico Border, a trek he finished seven weeks later, on December 21st, 2014. "Border Walk", his nonfiction account of the trek, was published in 2018. The walk was also featured in a full-length film on PBS titled "La Frontera." On the two year anniversary of finishing the eastern half of the US-Mexico Border, Mark returned to El Paso, Texas and walked west through New Mexico, Arizona, and California. On November 24, 2017, Mark became the first person in history to have walked the entire US-Mexico border.

Reviews

[Karen Fasimpaur · Rating 5 out of 5]

The new book “Border Walk” by Mark Hainds is not only an important book about the realities of our borderlands, but it is a hugely enjoyable read full of juicy details about the people, the food, the animals, and the land along the Texas border from El Paso to Brownsville.

After quitting his job in 2014, Hainds set out to walk the US-Mexico border. In the course of doing so, he explored the narratives that popular media have perpetuated about this region and set out to “tell the truth” in a way that would allow him to come back and look the people he met in the eye when he was done. In this book, he does this masterfully. His stories of the kindnesses that many strangers extended to him along the way are touching. As a resident of the borderlands myself, his assessment of the area rings true, unlike many of the stories I hear from outsiders. Hainds has walked the border walk and told the truth as he’s seen it.

Hainds is an exceptional writer, weaving the everyday interactions over his many miles of walking into a compelling story that was hard to put down. One can’t help reading the book and wishing you could invite Hainds over for dinner and walk a few miles on the road with him.

When I reached the end of “Border Walk,” I felt sad it was over, but I am heartened to know that there's another book in the works on the rest of the southern border. I can’t wait to read the next installment.

[Brent Bruton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Hainds account of his 1,000-mile walk of the Texas-Mexico border confounds and contradicts widely held stereotypes of life on the border. His documentation and interpretations could hardly be more timely given current controversy regarding the border. Hainds is an astute observer. He documents the plants and animal environment, the jackrabbits, deer, havelina, rattlesnakes, spiders and birds. He brings his education, and experience including an advanced degree in forestry and 20 years of experience as a forester and educator and even his experience as a military medic, to focus on the ecology of the border. However, the heart of the book deals with human society and culture found in border.
Border Walk is a compelling account of author Mark Hainds’ arduous but extremely well-planned walk of the thousand-mile length of the Texas- Mexico border. The walk was planned and carried out well the current controversies involving the border. His trek involved prior scouting, use of available local information and extensive preparation including even physical conditioning for the walk. Usually he did not walk alone. He formed a combination of friends and former associates that he named the “Tex-Mex Compadres”. For the most part he did not camp but rather stayed in motels or other accommodations in border communities. At the end of each day and a day average walk of about 20 miles, he carefully noted his location at the point where he would end the walk for the day and return to that specific location to begin the walk the following day. Typically, he would be picked up by one of the compadres at a planned location. When one of his companions accompanied him for a day’s walk they would be met and picked up another companion in a truck and driven to the pre-arranged accommodation for the night. Each companion was assigned to a preplanned segment of the trek.
Despite his background as a naturalist and professional forester, the author’s central interest focuses on his participate observation of the lives and habits of the people living on the border, his interviews of longtime residents and community leaders. Contrary to popular stereotypes the author found and came to know mostly positive, welcoming people who offered gracious hospitality. Many individuals went out of their way to aid and support the author’s quest to understand the human culture of border life. Some offered free meals and free lodging. The warm hospitality of the people became more poignant and meaningful that any danger or hostility that some would expect. However, it did not escape my attention that the companion who walked with him on what he expected to be the potentially most dangerous section of the walk was his longtime friend who is an active law officer with all the knowledge, skills and experience that occupation involves. The book’s most compelling focus documents the insights and feeling of people whose lives are grounded in the history and culture of the border.
What accounted for openness and generosity of so many people along his trek? Perhaps there was an admiration for a sincere, unassuming good listener who would walk a thousand miles in effort to meet people and tell their story in a fair and compassionate way. Often, the author saw, not danger and malice, but shared humanity and good will. The shared attitudes, concerns and experiences led Mark Hainds to comment upon what he saw as the absurdity and futility of a border wall and instead focused on shared humanity that calls for building bridges to unite not walls to divide.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m glad I purchased this book from Front Street Books in Alpine, TX on a recent trip to Big Bend, and I’m glad I read it (it was displayed next to The Tecate Journals and I had a long talk with the shop owner about which to buy since she’d read both). I’m especially glad to have further evidence in my arsenal about how the TX-Mexico border isn’t like “Sicario” in the day-to-day and how ridiculous the border wall is. The author’s interview with the author of the aforementioned book was actually my favorite part of this book, so now I feel like I’m going to need to read them both, too. I love the way he perfectly encapsulated what “the border” really is - and it’s not an arbitrary line in the sand separating countries, people, or culture.

I kept thinking, throughout this book, how only a white guy could make this trip so largely uneventfully. I don’t think a woman could safely walk this same route alone, and I don’t think a person of color would make it through all the law enforcement questioning without a WHOLE LOT more problems. I also don’t know if so many locals would stop to talk, offer help, etc., and for the notes on racism that were mentioned in this book, I believe it would have framed the story much differently if the author looked a bit different, unfortunately. And I felt like he acknowledged this in the book as well.

Having read many of these “I’m going through some kind of life transition and I need to go ‘find myself’ in the wild” type books (and they are innumerable) I’m just annoyed that this is an option for so many men. While he’s off figuring out life and literally considering that he might die while doing it, his pregnant wife (pregnant with a miracle baby I might add) is home, taking care of household business & also his other child as well. It sounds like the author hit the lottery as far as his family life. I’m guessing the amazing woman he’s married to couldn’t decide to take two months “OFF” from the real world and her motherly responsibilities to go snorkeling in Bali or something. The double standard is crazy.

Also, HOW is the author downing all these burritos (even gas station burritos), frijoles, and cervezas while essentially walking a full marathon most days? I would need to be eating for peak nutrition and performance, but he clearly has an iron constitution.

Anyway, the book was a good, quick read, and I enjoyed the musings on wildlife and landscape since I’ve been to many of the places he walks through as well. I’d definitely like to see the film too.

[Sierra Stiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has been a long time since I’ve been captivated by a book and lost my sense of time. I read Border Walk in less than 24 hours.

The book is a compelling, compassionate, and personal story. Hainds' writing is fantastic and has produced a book that I believe will persist as a great and insightful adventure story and an honest photograph of a time in history along a border wrought with conflict and beauty.

The author's humble voice paints his perception of environmental and cultural diversity as welcome and sought after, and glimpses into his personal memoir of childhood on a Missouri farm add poignancy to the story.

This is no dry historical/ political story, it is a page-turning adventure and an intimate glimpse into the lives of the people who live along the Texas-Mexico border.

[Roy Skinner]

I have read both of Mark’s books and really enjoyed them. Mark fully experiences his adventures and then communicates his experiences very clearly. Reading the book is like taking the trek with him without the sore feet and exhaustion. One heck of a good deal.
I enjoyed his descriptions of his interactions with the Border Patrol agents. These days we mostly hear how awful they are. He described them as hard working people who really care about others.
I especially enjoyed his interview with Keith Bowden the author of The Tecate Journal. The interview is very enlightening.
I highly recommend this book. It was a very interesting story.

[Warren Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look at what life is really like down on the border. This guy took a 1000 mile walk on the U.S.- Mexico border and wrote a great book about it. I read this author’s first book “The Year of the Pig” and I’ve been impressed with his sense of adventure and his ability to take the reader along with him on the journey. I would highly recommend this read for anyone who is looking to educate themselves on what is really happening down on the border or anyone just looking for a great read. Well done!