Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail by Jennifer Pharr DavisMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I've been interested in the Appalachian Trail since I was 12 or 13, when I first heard of it. For a while, I wanted to hike the trail. Unfortunately, it never happened. But that doesn't mean I can't live vicariously through books about the trail. That's where Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail by Jennifer Pharr Davis comes in.
Jennifer started hiking the trail shortly after finishing college, picking Odyssa as her trail name. She started at the southern end of the trail, hiking alone, making it all the way to the end in Maine.
The book describes the trail, the thru-hikers she met, along with assorted others. One thru-hiker appeared to stalk her for several days, while other hikers were more acceptible.
At one point, she met two young men (Nightwalker and Mooch) who were hiking together; Jennifer managed to hike on and off with them, finally finishing the AT with the pair. She even managed to give Nightwalker's mom a trail name of Magic Mama, as Magic Mama periodically met up with the three to offer trail magic (helping out with food, etc).
There was one part of the book when Jennifer thought of quitting, as she ran across someone who died on the trail. But after taking a few days off, she was able to complete her hike.
If you're looking for a good read dealing with the Appalachian Trail, I highly recommend Jennifer Pharr Davis's Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail. Definitely one of my favorite AT books.
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