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A review by madisonsites
The Trail Life: How I Loved it, Hated it, and Learned from it by Julie Urbanski
reflective
slow-paced
2.25
Ditto to the other reviewers about the rambling and lack of editing.
I was fine with this until the HYOH chapter where the author came off as extremely childish and, frankly, hypocritical. She complained that people judged their way of hiking but then went on to make judgements about how much money they were spending and that they weren’t “real” thru-hikers if they took alternatives. I think she poorly misinterpreted others as being jealous of them - they were more than likely over their haughty attitude.
From that chapter:
“Many people may not like this, but I think hikers were jealous that we made our own personal brand of long-distance backpacking. We had created a Team Sherpa way of hiking that suited us well, despite being vastly different from the norm. I think it downright scared people that such a different way could be possible. Most others couldn't help but follow a common way of thru-hiking: getting stuck in the web of towns, spending too much money, taking too many zeros, and having a hard time covering the miles when a town was always pulling on them, whether coming in or leaving.
I was fine with this until the HYOH chapter where the author came off as extremely childish and, frankly, hypocritical. She complained that people judged their way of hiking but then went on to make judgements about how much money they were spending and that they weren’t “real” thru-hikers if they took alternatives. I think she poorly misinterpreted others as being jealous of them - they were more than likely over their haughty attitude.
From that chapter:
“Many people may not like this, but I think hikers were jealous that we made our own personal brand of long-distance backpacking. We had created a Team Sherpa way of hiking that suited us well, despite being vastly different from the norm. I think it downright scared people that such a different way could be possible. Most others couldn't help but follow a common way of thru-hiking: getting stuck in the web of towns, spending too much money, taking too many zeros, and having a hard time covering the miles when a town was always pulling on them, whether coming in or leaving.
Optimist and I were also proud of our feats, and perhaps that pride was worn too outwardly on our faces, our demeanor, and our tone.
Other hikers that were prone to being insecure with their way of doing things probably didn't appreciate our pride in doing it our own way. It was so foreign to their own way.”
They didn’t hike that uniquely of a resupply strategy and I don’t think the strategy makes them as special as she wants to believe. Later she writes that they lived together for years before getting married - while valid for people from the Midwest, it was a weird flex to try and support how “different” they are.
This chapter was so obnoxious and immature, I hope she’s grown up and realized that maybe she was really unique to the folks in Ohio but learned that they aren’t any more hipster than everyone else around them now that they live in Vancouver, WA (basically Portland, OR). Honestly, this feels like she’s trying to get back at people on trail or at home in some weird way.