A Reader on a Journey: “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer

For my 2019 writing challenge and in preparation for the Pacific Crest Trail in 2020, I am spending the entire year reading and writing about books focused on a journey. For my fourth book, I dove into “Wild by Nature” by Sarah Marquis.

Spoiling Nature

“Leave No Trace” should be the bedrock of every hiker’s time in the wild. Simply, it means that no one and nothing should ever know you were there. Every item of food, every item of gear, and everything you brought with you should leave with you. This allows the delicate balance between nature and man to stay intact. To read, “Into Thin Air,” is to read a story of men and women hellbent on spoiling nature in pursuit of standing on the highest point in the world. A mountainside littered with human waste, oxygen tanks, and bodies of the fallen fills almost every inch of every page. It is enough to frustrate and infuriate the most passive of nature loves.

Overcoming Yourself

There are very few challenges in this world like summitting Mt. Everest. In the grand scheme of things, my attempt at a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail next year fails in comparison. Still, something similar is required of both adventures. Everything will hurt. Everything in your mind will be telling you to quit. Every day will bring its own unique…