The Eleventh Essential: Literary Companionship on the Trail?

Supposedly the Kindle's battery life is long enough to read War and Peace….I'm skeptical, but that'd be good for a week at least, I'd think. If you're on a thru-hike I don't know what you'd do. When I'm hiking I read almost twice as much as I do at home, so I burn through books (literally as well, of course), but only stay out for a few days at a time, so running out of something isn't much of a problem. Though, I'd almost rather run out of food before running out of a book.

I always bring a paperback on the trail with good intentions, but always end up reading much less than I had planned. I guess I end up too tired or just enjoy being out there more than in my head. I get through maybe a chapter before I hit the sack.

I might bring nature/environment-themed stuff like Abbey, or just plain classic lit that I haven't read before because those books always come in cheap paperbacks, or go for poetry like Gary Snyder or Robinson Jeffers. Stuff that you can read, wonder, and read again.

BTW – I completely agree that Blood Meridian is a top American novel – probably one of the best books I've read -but I've never read it on the trail. (Actually, I read it last year commuting on BART.)

I'm currently reading Colin Fletcher's "The Man Who Walked Through Time" about the first hike across Grand Canyon National Park in the 1960's. I'm reading it on my commute, but it would make a great trail book. Especially his chapter called "Life" and the description of the Beaver Sand Bar. There may be no better description of the benefits of getting outdoors.

I actually get a good deal of reading done on the trail. On my last long trip I managed to polish off three 300 plus page books on a 10 day, 235 mile trip.

To keep from carrying three books I would buy a new book at each resupply spot. The books I had read I simply gave away to people at my resupply points. Inside the front cover of each of the books I wrote a bit about myself, my hike, and that once done with the book each person should give it away to someone else.

I never carried more than one paperback book at a time.

I just gotta say I love Steinbeck and sea of Cortez is a lost classic. I often read every single scrap of writing in trail books, (Gasp! He carries the whole book?!) I love Johnny Molloy's books. I love trail books with history and geology lessons.

"I love trail books with history and geology lessons."

Then you might like The Secret Knowledge of Water by Craig Childs. I rarely carry a book on the trail, although I am an addict at home. But that book I took with me on a weekend trip because I didn't want stop reading it, even read in camp.

Cool, thank you.