My Own Hike: A Woman's Journey on the Appalachian Trail

by Nancy Shepherd

At the age of 41, and having never backpacked more than thirty miles in her life, Nancy Shepherd sets off to hike the 2,168 miles of the Appalachian Trail. “My Own Hike” follows along as she grows from an inexperienced hiker into a confident long-distance backpacker and gains the self-assurance to go beyond the perceived “rules” of the trail and end the hike on her own terms.

230 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2005

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about the author’s hiking the Appalachian Trail at the age of 41 and admired the fact that she truly “hiked her own hike”. Yes, she wrote about the pain and the exhaustion but also about experiencing her new found strength of “not being afraid to hike alone”. She writes of the challenges, the fellow hikers, and the emotional roller coaster that the hike allowed her to experience. There wasn’t any of the “hiked 30 miles today and still made into town to get drunk” type of writing but much more personal and uplifting.

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the reading of a journal. Shephard recounts the names of shelters and places as if the reader knew all about the ACT. She uses trail jargon without explanation also. Too many chapters are simply an account of miles, flora, fauna, and food. However, Shephard's goal of giving an account of the pain of a thru hike is met. I have read many accounts of thru hikes where the writer is looking back on the journey with rose colored glasses. Shepherds blisters rarely go away. Even towards the end of the hike she's experiencing muscle pain, fatigue, and the desire to quit out of fear. Her accounts of scrambling over slippery bare rock with sheer drop-offs are frightening. I would recommend this book for anyone considering a thru hike so that the hiker considers his hike carefully and thoroughly prepares.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a journal, rather than a story. Some of the entries are jumbled, expecting a reader to understand things that aren't explained well. The writer just expects you be in her head. At other spots, later, she makes references to a made up story in her head, one the reader is expected to understand and follow, although this story is just thrown in in the middle of the journal entry. Italics are used, but still confusing. This is not a happy, feel good, story. It truly discusses daily pain, how hard it to do such an epic journey, and how often she thought of quitting. A better editor would have made this a 4 star book.

[Kris Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these long-distance hiking books because they aren't just about hiking, they are as much about finding yourself. Maybe it's not necessary to work 9-5 Monday-Friday, trying to climb the corporate ladder, just to buy more stuff you don't need, maybe we all need to figure out how to be happier with less while LIVING more....

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. I certainly liked this author better than AWOL. Maybe I expect too much from these books, but the two I've read so far go about like this: I walked, I met people, I ate a lot, I thought about quitting, I smelled bad, I saw a bear, it was rainy, it was snowy, the weather was great, I was happy, I was sad, repeat.

[Jennifer Almeida · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read thoroughly enjoyed this one. I felt like I was hiking along side sometime! I couldn't put it down.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was good. I really liked that it was broken down by date. Not all hiking books do that.
I'm not so sure about this whole HYOH movement but I can't hold that against the book, which was good.