Trail magic (noun). An unexpected gift bestowed on long-distance hikers. Raven is two years cancer-free on the day she arrives on the Appalachian Trail, ready to prove to the world that she's more than just a breast cancer survivor. She's still Raven, and she's strong enough to tackle the 2,000-mile journey. Kit shows up with nothing but a hastily-packed bag and a new pair of hiking boots. When her boss and her girlfriend dump her on the same day, she decides now is as good a time as any to tick the AT off her bucket list. Trail magic brings Kit and Raven together on the mountain. Raven needs a friend and Kit needs an experienced hiker to guide her. They share meals, fireside stories, old wounds and new dreams... and a one-man tent in the wilderness. But can they bring that magic with them off the mountain?
Last year, Bob Riley backed out of hiking the 211-mile John Muir Trail with his wife because he was too busy at work. She attempted to finish alone, but didn’t return! Filled with guilt and regret, he vows to show her the remainder of the trail through his own eyes, ears, and thoughts. But did he bite off more than he can chew? Can he finish the hike without her? Without some trail magic? Follow Bob and his trail family as they strive to make the most of second chances along one of the most beautiful mountain trails in the world. How will they handle the daunting physical challenges of thin mountain air, unpredictable weather, wildlife encounters, and climbing thousands of feet a day? Will their emotional baggage outweigh the backpacks digging into their shoulders and containing everything they need for three weeks? Will Thousand Island Lake, the Muir Hut, and Mt. Whitney reward and inspire them as much as the heavily edited vlogs proclaim? Join the adventure from the comfort of your home as you relive your own hike or plan your next adventure. This is a work of fiction.
Take a delectable journey through the religious history of chocolate--a real treat! Explore the surprising Jewish and other religious connections to chocolate in this gastronomic and historical adventure through cultures, countries, centuries and convictions. Rabbi Deborah Prinz draws from her world travels on the trail of chocolate to enchant chocolate lovers of all backgrounds as she unravels religious connections in the early chocolate trade and shows how Jewish and other religious values infuse chocolate today. With mouth-watering recipes, a glossary of chocolaty terms, tips for buying luscious, ethically produced chocolate, a list of sweet chocolate museums around the world and more, this book unwraps tasty facts such as: Some people--including French (Bayonne) chocolate makers--believe that Jews brought chocolate making to France. The bishop of Chiapas, Mexico, was poisoned because he prohibited local women from drinking chocolate during Mass. Although Quakers do not observe Easter, it was a Quaker-owned chocolate company--Fry's--that claimed to have created the first chocolate Easter egg in the United Kingdom. A born-again Christian businessman in the Midwest marketed his caramel chocolate bar as a "Noshie," after the Yiddish word for "snack." Chocolate Chanukah gelt may have developed from St. Nicholas customs. The Mayan "Book of Counsel" taught that gods created humans from chocolate and maize.
Her carelessness during a science experiment at school prompts Alison to visit the magic attic where she learns that she doesn't need to be first in everything.
Are you ready to feel empowered, lose weight, or find real magic in everyday life? Collin Chambers' book, WildWood Magic: A Guide to Walking as a Sacred Path, is a complete step-by-step guide to finding peace, happiness, and purpose through the simple act of taking a walk. Collin offers personal insight and practical strategies to our increasing need to be outside in nature and move our bodies. By integrating walking as a spiritual discipline with all the details of adding a daily movement practice, this comprehensive guide is a solid blueprint for joy and good health. This easy-to-follow book covers all essential information about how walking impacts the whole self-- physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. By outlining simple steps to take, Collin invites the reader to go on an enchanted adventure, even in your own neighborhood. What is unique about this book on such an ordinary subject such as taking a walk, is the invitation to perceive such tasks with renewed eyes. With plenty of humor and personal stories to keep it fun and exciting, this extensive guide is an essential self-care tool. WildWood Magic: A Guide to Walking as a Sacred Path is the perfect pick for nature-lovers looking for inspiration and encouragement on the path to self-transformation.
Trail Magic is the story of one family's success in building an affordable home that runs on sunshine. They succeeded by building a home that produces energy, food and well-being - within the cost of average construction. Written by Carl McDaniel, a biologist, who with his wife Mary, and with many colleagues, accomplished what any new home builder can do: build wisely, environmentally and economically, all the while maintaining sanity. This book raises the bar of what we can accomplish in new home building: a home for the present and sustainable future. Told with humor and frankness, Trail Magic shares the ups and downs, and ins and outs of the story of design, construction, and the first several years of living in a new home. It describes conversations with designers, builders, suppliers and the many individuals that are part of a significant accomplishment: a model environmental home that prospective home owner and builder can replicate.
Known as one of the toughest races in the world, the Tour Divide is an unsupported off-road event. If your tire is flat, you fix it. If you run out of water, you must find more. If you're caught in the middle of nowhere, exhausted and blurry-eyed? Find a spot to nap amidst nature and try not to bother the Grizzlies. Starting from zero, Scott trained for two years while maintaining a busy family life, a freelance career illustrating for the Wall Street Journal and The Atlanta Journal Constitution, and a teaching gig at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Scott was preparing for the ride of his life. In June of 2013, he climbed on that bicycle again, this time to race against 167 other people from all over the world on a trek that would take him from Canada to Mexico in 22 days. Captured through Scott's vivid words and wondrous illustrations, this is the tale of one man's quest to break free of the typical life and conquer his wildest dream.
By age 25, Heather Anderson had hiked what is known as the "Triple Crown" of backpacking: the Appalachian Trail (AT), Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), and Continental Divide Trail (CDT)—a combined distance of 7,900 miles with a vertical gain of more than one million feet. A few years later, she left her job, her marriage, and a dissatisfied life and walked back into those mountains. In her new memoir, Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home, Heather, whose trail name is "Anish," conveys not only her athleticism and wilderness adventures, but also shares her distinct message of courage--her willingness to turn away from the predictability of a more traditional life in an effort to seek out what most fulfills her. Amid the rigors of the trail--pain, fear, loneliness, and dangers--she discovers the greater rewards of community and of self, conquering her doubts and building confidence. Ultimately, she realizes that records are merely a catalyst, giving her purpose, focus, and a goal to strive toward. Heather is the second woman to complete the “Double Triple Crown of Backpacking,” completing the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide National Scenic Trails twice each. She holds overall self-supported Fastest Known Times (FKTs) on the Pacific Crest Trail (2013)—hiking it in 60 days, 17 hours, 12 minutes, breaking the previous men’s record by four days and becoming the first women to hold the overall record—and the Arizona Trail (2016), which she completed in 19 days, 17 hours, 9 minutes. She also holds the women’s self-supported FKT on the Appalachian Trail (2015) with a time of 54 days, 7 hours, 48 minutes. Heather has hiked more than twenty thousand miles since 2003, including ten thru-hikes. An ultramarathon runner, she has completed six 100-mile races since August 2011 as well as dozens of 50 km and 50-mile events. She has attempted the infamous Barkley Marathons four times, starting a third loop once. Heather is also an avid mountaineer working on several ascent lists in the US and abroad.
In 1968, management of the Appalachian Trail shifted from control by an informal alliance of private-citizen volunteers to a designated responsibilty of the National Park Service. To protect it from adverse development, Congress had made the trail part of the national park system and endorsed an unique private/public cooperative management system involving scores of private organizations and public jurisdictions. The volunteers still have the lead role in defining the work, but public agencies have the accountability. This June 1987 history is the inside story of how the pieces of that puzzle were put together, by the chairman of a group of volunteers and state-appointed officials that crafted this model of private/public stewardship of public recreational lands.
