Here is a list of books on hiking, field guides, and dog stuff that I have either found useful or just enjoyed reading–or both! (a work in progress)

HIKING MEMOIRS & FIELD GUIDES

A Walk in the Woods – Bill Bryson.
Before there was ‘Wild” there was this awesome book of Bill Bryson’s adventures thru hiking on the AT.  I read this book years ago, before I was really into hiking, and just re-read it again since the movie is coming out.  You don’t need to be a thru hiker to get the humor in this book, or to see yourself in the many little things that went wrong on the trail, or to recognize the beauty in which he describes the trail. It is also very informative at points, but not in that super stuffy, turn the page and skip way.  This book turned me onto Bill Bryson as an author.

Thru-Hiking will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail -Carrot Quinn
Small press, underground, gritty, youthful version of a Walk in the Woods. With the youth, come the trail crushes that Carrot had, and not many memoirs include (TMI for some people.)  Funny at times, and though I have no interest in thru hiking, I found this book quite inspiring to get out there and get some trails done.  It’s the first hiking memoir that I’ve read from a woman, and it covered some things that I’ve always wondered about.

Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest Timber Press Field Guides

When I first started taking photos on the trail, and then writing this blog, I realized that I couldn’t identify most of the wildflowers that I saw so I set out to educate myself. I tried just looking stuff up online, but it seemed like one flower could be four different things.  The book has been much clearer, and is gorgeous to look at.