We're in the Mountains, Not Over the Hill: Tales and Tips from Seasoned Women Backpackers

Susan Alcorn spiked her guide book with stories from 30 rebel backpackers. Many of the women Alcorn interviewed were raised in an era when women didn't sleep on the ground in the woods.First-time backpackers reported feeing intoxicated in the wilderness. Judy overcame the discomfort and "experienced a profound sense of connectedness and accomplishment." Marey scared off a bear. "I exploded from the tent, yelling, and slammed my ski pole on the rock, sparks flew," she said. "The bear catapulted off the high boulder and disappeared into the blackness."The discomforts and dangers are real. Alcorn devotes an entire chapter to bears. Before going to sleep, she gathers her "arsenal," piling rocks at the head of her sleeping bag.After the campfire tales, you read the specifics on how to prepare for your own wilderness trip. The Equipment chapter covers the best pepper spray to use on bears and the best light-weight tarp tents to buy. Her advice comes from thousands of miles of hiking experience on the Pacific Crest Trail, which she completed. Her purpose is to show women of any age and fitness level how they can begin backpacking.I enjoyed reading the Kindle version of Susan Alcorn's book on my iPhone. I'm usually commuting on the train to downtown San Francisco and the stories made me feel I was outdoors. About reading Kindle books on an iPhone, it's not easy to skip around. It took me a while to find the table of contents. Highlighting the text turned out to be the easiest way to navigate between the personal travelogs, interviews and the nitty-gritty details.Practical and personal best sum up this excellent book. I loved my backpacking trip in Lake Tahoe's Desolation Wilderness on my 40th birthday. I'm looking forward to more trips.---Donna Peck

I give it all the stars possible for being not only a Unique personal history, but also a slice of research into an unexamined world-that of older women backpackers. I found this book of Tips and Tales to be a engagingly written gem, inspiring, informative, and delightful. The author has an honest way of communicating. Reading it and also her Patagonia book, I was able to size myself up as probably a 3 mile dayhiker who might be able to evolve into a llama pack hiker with a pack guide - provided I get a bath every day (in short I am not very tough- but I love armchair and bedside travel reading!)

A lot of laughs here and stories that I can empathise with. Mostly about hiking in the US but as I have never hiked over in the US I did not know the trails, which was a shame. An enjoyable read, especially if you are a seasoned hiker.

stories were great but became a little repetitive by the end of the book, however, easy to read a story or two, put it down for a week and then pick it up again.

Good hiking/backpacking read.

I found this book very annoying to read because of the way it intertwines the various women's stories (for the most part) rather than telling them one at a time. I also guess I expected this to be about WOMEN backpacking (Since the subtitle is "Tales and Tips from Seasoned Women Backpackers") so I got very turned off by the author's recounting how her husband gets up in the a.m. and fixes her tea or how he patiently puts up with her while she whines. I did enjoy the Llama chapter, and I can't say it was a waste of time, but it was not what I expected.

you may or may not like this book. I was hoping to learn more from these aging women (like myself) through their experiences hiking in the wilderness. There are some things to be learned but overall I found it pretty boring. I quit reading about half way through. I may finish it someday.

As a mid 50's woman who doesn't consider herself over the hill and still have lots of hiking and camping I want to do, this book really gave me the belief that I still have a lot of life left in me and we don't have to stop going and doing just because we get older. This book is funny, uplifting and encouraging.