Happy Earth Day! 14 Books to inspire you to get back to nature

PCT crossing sign, south of Lake Tahoe

In Walden, Henry David Thoreau wrote, “We need the tonic of wildness… We can never have enough of nature.”

As most of the country is under coronavirus shelter-in-place orders, and spring unfolds outside our windows, it’s not surprising to have one’s thoughts wander to daydreams of strolling through the woods, or visiting a favorite park.

Here’s 14 books that will get you outside — without having to leave your couch.

14. The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs: Use Outdoor Clues to Find Your Way, Predict the Weather, Locate Water, Track Animals—and Other Forgotten Skills

Remember when you were a kid, and you’d spend all day out in the woods? Okay – maybe today’s kids don’t have those experiences, but growing up in the 1970s, I definitely spent hours and hours wandering around the woods in our neighborhood, and I knew some of them like the back of my hand.

Whether you have a dream of doing an epic thru-hike on any of the great trails of the world, or are just looking to find some new skills to learn with your kids (or for yourself), The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs will hook you in.

You don’t have to be Bear Grylls to get useful information from this book, either. These are the kind of simple skills that any of us could find helpful in while camping or hiking, just for fun in our neighborhood, or even in a true emergency.

13. Reclaiming the Wild Soul: How Earth’s Landscapes Restore Us to Wholeness

In Reclaiming the Wild Soul, author Mary Thompson explores how nature can help us on a mental journey. It is part spiritual guide, and part poetic call to head out to the wilderness to find what can heal our souls.

At a time when technology surrounds us and colors nearly every moment of our days, how refreshing to think about standing under an open sky or a rich canopy of leaves, away from the pressure and noise of modern life. This book can help you decide what kind of environment might match with you the best – deserts, forests, oceans/rivers, mountains, or grasslands. And once you’ve read it, you’ll be eager to find the time to commune with nature and soothe your soul.

12. The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative

Most of us feel recharged by nature – whether it’s something as epic as a thru-hike, a walk through a local park, or even simply getting to stick our bare feet into a small patch of grass.

But what makes us so happy to be out in nature? Why does it recharge us? In The Nature Fix, Florence Williams uses science and research to answer those questions and more – to figure out why nature just makes us happier. She talks about her own experiences as well as other studies, and talks about the importance of getting back to nature, and away from the bustle and noise of the modern world. Good companion reading to Reclaiming the Wild Soul.

11. Under the Stars: How America Fell in Love with Camping

Americans love camping: whether it is truly getting away from it all, or “glamping” in more upscale accommodations.

In Under the Stars, Dan White explores why camping is so popular, and his adventures are both fascinating and hilarious. He discusses how politicians, poets, writers, artists, and outdoor enthusiasts influenced America’s parklands and camping styles.

Along the way, he also shares his own camping experiences, ranging from touching family trips to hilarious adventures. Make some s’mores and cocoa, and curl up with this book.

10. The Pants of Perspective

New Zealand is a fantastic place to visit. The people are friendly, the attitude is laid back, and the countryside is gorgeous. So who wouldn’t want to see as much of it as possible?

Author Anna McNuff once represented Great Britain as a rower; these days, she is an adventurer and endurance athlete. In The Pants of Perspective, McNuff tells the story of running — that’s right, long-distance endurance running the equivalent of more miles than a marathon each day — along New Zealand’s rugged Te Araroa trail, which stretches 1,600 km across the North Island from Cape Reinga to Wellington, and then another 1,300 km along the South Island, from Ship Cove on the Cook Strait to Bluff, at the southern end of the island nation. (Think of it as the Kiwi version of the Appalachian Trail.) The book is funny and inspiring, and you just might want to lace up your own pair of sneakers and hit a trail after reading it.

9. The Most Beautiful Walk in the Wolrd: A Pedestrian in Paris

Yes, Paris is a city, and may seem an odd inclusion about getting out in nature. But since the focus in this book is about walking, and Paris is a city designed to favor pedestrians, I feel compelled to include it on this list.

John Baxter spent a year as a professional “literary walking tour” guide, and Paris is a city rich in artistic and literary history to be explored. James Joyce, Hemingway, Picasso, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein — Baxter’s tales in A Pedestrian in Paris help bring this historical city to life, showing what inspired some of the greatest artists and writers of all time. If you’ve ever been to Paris, this book will take you back; if you’ve never been, you will practically feel as if you’re there.

8. Where’s the Next Shelter?

There are many books about walking the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail; I’m going to skip A Walk In The Woods (which I mentioned in my last post) and Wild (which I didn’t enjoy reading), and tell you instead about some books about these two trails that I have really enjoyed.

In Where’s the Next Shelter?, former Marine Gary Sizer takes to the trail with two others, Lemmy and Megan. This book isn’t simply about the Appalachian Trail itself; it is about the bonding, the soul-searching, and the shared experiences of walking the trail from one end to the other. This book will have you laughing out loud often, and if you’re a fan of Bryson’s Walk, you’ll love this book as well.

7. Overweight, Undertrained, and Terrified: A Camino Diary

Irishman Connor O’Donoghue admits he isn’t the “average” person who attempts a thru-hike; in the opening pages, he admits his struggle with obesity, and wonders at times what he’s gotten himself into.

Having read several travel memoirs of walking the Camino de Santiago, I found most of them rather dry and straightforward. Perhaps it’s because the Camino is shorter than most thru-walks, and one is never very far away from civilization. Overweight, Undertraind, and Terrified is a bit different, mostly because O’Donoghue doesn’t hesitate to poke fun at himself. Sometimes you’ll groan at the obviousness of his mistakes, and at other times, he’ll have you laughing along with him. His persistance to complete the journey is inspiring. It’s different than your usual thru-hike book.

6. Whistler’s Walk: The Appalachian Trail in 142 Days

The motto of thru-hikers is “walk your own walk”, and nowhere is this better illustrated than when you get to reading several memoirs of the same trail, seeing how different people experience the same miles.

William Monk, a.k.a. “Whistler”, is perhaps a bit older than the average person who attempts an Appalachian Trail thru-hike. But he’s prepared for what he’s setting out to do, and in Whistler’s Walk, he takes you the full 2,189 miles, with all its ups and downs (mentally and physically) by his side, starting with preparing for the hike, to the final summit at Mount Katahdin in Maine.

5. On Trails: An Exploration

Compared to other books on this list, On Trails is a bit more cerebrial. It started when author Robert Moor was doing his own thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, and he began to wonder about paths and trails, how they are created, and why certain ones persist while others disappear.

So over the course of several years, Moor explored trails of all kinds, shapes, lengths, and varieties. This isn’t simply about building or maintaining what we think of as a path or trail through the woods; it is deeper than that. It will make you see and understand many aspects of our world on a different level.

4. Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail

What do you imagine yourself attempting at age 65? Would it including walking the entire Appalachian Trail – alone – and would you walk it three times?

Emma ‘Grandma’ Gatewood became a hiking celebrity in the 1950s and ’60s, being outspoken about the conditions on the still-young trail, which had opened in 1937. In Grandma Gatewood’s Walk, you’ll find out the story of the woman who is credited with saving the AT through her own words, as well as the memories of her family and hikers she met in her journeys. This isn’t your typical AT thru-hike memoir, and it’s an important piece of history for those interested in our national trail system.

3. Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail

Mention the Pacific Crest Trail, and most people will probably talk about Wild, which was on Oprah’s book club and was made into a movie. But for me, Carrot Quinn’s Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart was the much more interesting read.

It’s honest, frank, and at times emotionally raw. Her writing style grows as she does, traveling further north along the trail, trying to make the Canadian border ahead of the snow that ends most thru-hikers’ attempts. She’ll laugh and she might even make you cry.

If you want a book that is simply, “We got up, walked x miles, the trail was like this, the weather like that, I was happy to set up camp and get to my ramen noodles”, well, this isn’t that book. Break Your Heart is much more about the mental journey that a thru-hiker trakes along the thousands of miles of trail.

2. Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail

Fresh out of college, Jennifer Pharr Davis wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, so she decided to take a walk: or more precisely, a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail.

She’s young, fit, and hiking solo, but she quickly discovers that attempting a thru-hike is much more difficult than she anticipated. Like every thru-hiker, she experiences a lot of growth along the way, and discovers she’s capable of much more than she originally thought.

It is also a story of “trail magic”, not only the little positive surprises that people give to thru-hikers, but the larger warmth of the trail community, and how it comes together when somebody needs help.

Pharr Davis has consequently gone on to being one of the leading female long-distance hikers, setting speed records for hiking the Appalachian Trail. She has written two follow up books, Called Again: A Story of Love and Triumph, and The Pursuit of Endurance: Harnessing the Record-Breaking Power of Strength and Resilience.

1. The Last Englishman: A 2,640 Mile Hiking Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail

Englishman Keith Foskett has written four excellent, award-winning books about long-distance hiking, covering the Camino de Santiago, the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and walking across Scotland. Picking one as the ‘best’ is a bit challenging; so I’ll go with the first of his books that I read – The Last Englishman.

Foskett’s writing is funny and spirited, and you can picture yourself on the trail with him. Additionally, unlike most PCT memoirs — which seem to lose any enthusiasm for details by the time the author hits Oregon — Foskett has a lot of adventures in Oregon and Washington, and he “hikes his own hike” in order to finish his thru-hike.

If you enjoy The Last Englishman, check out his other hiking tales: Balancing on Blue: A Thru-Hiking Adventure on the Appalachian Trail; The Journey in Between: A Thru-Hiking Adventure on El Camino de Santiago; and High and Low: How I Hiked Away From Depression Across Scotland.

Travel Around the World With These 15 Travel-Inspirational Films (vol. 1)

While we’re in the midst of the current pandemic, it’s hard to think about traveling: we miss it, but since we can’t travel, the best we can do is daydream about it, or plan future adventures.

In the meantime, here are 15 of my favorite travel-inspirational films to give you something to daydream about! I’ll post more lists over the next few weeks.

Links are included in each recap to view the trailer for the films, as well as potential books or other guides to help you discover more about the subject matter.

15. The Way (2011)

15-the way Based on the book Off the Road: A Modern-Day Walk Down the Pilgrim’s Route into Spain by Jack Hitt, and adapted for the screen and directed by Emilio Estevez, The Way tells the story of a father who receives a phone call and discovers that is estranged son has died while traveling the historic El Camino de Santiago, also known as “The Way”, in Spain. Once he arrives there and receives his son’s cremains, he decides to take the pilgrimage himself.

It is not simply a film about self-discovery and growth, but a tale about the adventures that people have while taking one of these pilgrimage walks. There are no limits to the backgrounds or ages or lifestyles of the hikers, or what inspires them; they become bound together on a common quest with a shared goal. It is powerful and moving, and also shows you the beautiful northern Spanish countryside that the historic Camino wanders through.

14. Seven Years in Tibet (1997)

14-seven years in tibet Based on Heinrich Harrer’s memoir of the same name, Seven Years in Tibet tells the story of Heinrich Harrer, one of the first Europeans to ever enter Tibet. An Austrian who was also a Nazi, Harrer was in India when WWII broke out. He was jailed, and eventually escaped, traveling over the Himalayas – without permission to be in Tibet – and eventually reached the city of Lhasa.

He became friends with the young Dalai Lama, a friendship that changed his life and his world outlook; and later, when the Chinese invaded the country in 1950, they fled the country together. You’ll have to make an effort to ignore Brad Pitt’s accent in this (Empire magazine ranked it third on all-time worst movie accents) and instead focus on the beauty of the landscapes. Director Jean-Jacques Annaud snuck a film crew into Tibet, and about 20 minutes of their footage made it into the final film; the rest was filmed in Argentina.

13. Out Of Africa (1985)

13- out of africa Danish author Karen Blixen (a.k.a. Isak Dinesen, played by Meryl Streep) was 28 when she moved to British East Africa (now Kenya) in 1913 to marry Baron Bror von Blixen-Fnecke. Based on her memoir of the same name, Out Of Africa tells the tale of her marriage of convenience (and later subsequent divorce), and her love affair with big-game hunter Denys Finch-Hatton.

About 70% of the film was shot on location in Africa. Out of Africa won a number of accolades, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography. If you’ve ever dreamed of a safari to Africa, this film can help give you a taste of the majesty of the Dark Continent.

12. Score! A Hockey Musical (2011)

12-score Yes, the premise of Score! is downright goofy – a hockey-centered comedic musical. The story centers around Farley Gordon, a home-schooled teenager who becomes an overnight hockey sensation while he navigates the rough waters of instant fame.

Musical numbers aside, it is a cute love story between Farley and his best friend Eve, and most of all, a love letter to the city of Toronto and the sport of hockey. Loaded with hockey and celebrity cameos, if you love hockey, you’ll probably get a few laughs from the film.

You can watch the entire film for free on YouTube.

11. A Walk in the Woods (2015)

11 walk in the woods It really shouldn’t be a surprise that a number of great travel-inspiring films are based on personal memoirs, and here is another one: A Walk in the Woods (starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte) is based on Bill Bryson’s 1997 hilarious tale of attempting to walk the Appalachian Trail, A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail.

Originally completed in 1937, the trail continues to evolve each year. Three million people hike stretches of the Appalachian Trail each year, with under 1,000 people per year doing a full “thru-hike”, or complete hike of the ~2,200 distance between Georgia and Maine. The fastest completion of a thru-hike was set in 2018 (41 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes); but the average hiker takes 5-7 months.

10. Bottle Shock (2008)

10 bottle shock

In 1976, a British wine merchant living in Paris named Steven Spurrier held a blind tasting of French versus American wines at an event that came to be known as the “Judgement of Paris”. It was covered by just one reporter, named George M. Taber, who went on to write a book about the event called Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine.

In 2008, that book was the inspiration for Bottle Shock – and while the film took a few liberties with the true-life narratives, it’s a valentine for Napa Valley and the American spirit of hard work. The late Alan Rickman (who plays Spurrier) is our curmudgeonly guide between the French and American wine worlds; and Dennis Farina plays a great supporting role.

9. The Darjeeling Limited (2009)

9 darjeeling

Wes Anderson is known for his films which are filled with brightly-saturated, vibrant imagery, and dysfunctional families that are searching for a more… normal life.

The Darjeeling Limited is no exception to his style. Three brothers (played by Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman) who have not seen each other in a year, since their father’s funeral, reunite on the title train in India. They eventually travel to see their mother, who they have also not seen in years, and who is now a nun at a convent in the Himalayas.

Most of the film was shot in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and the Himalayan scenes were filmed in Udaipur. India’s amazing, colorful landscapes are perfect for Anderson’s style, and the film garnered a lot of accolades and some minor awards.

8. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

8 mitty

James Thurber’s 1939 short story of the same title was the inspiration for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, telling the story of a man – Walter Mitty – who manages the photo files of Life magazine. The magazine is about to cease publication and convert to only-online presence, and Mitty feels he has the perfect picture for the cover – only he cannot find the negative for it. His pursuits take him to Iceland and the Himalayas – these lush, stunning landscapes are really spectacular on the big screen, but your TV will just have to do! – and he has many adventures along the way.

Starring and directed by Ben Stiller, this is a bit of a departure from his usual manic-comedic roles, although this film can be classified as a comedic drama. The gorgeous scenery will have you eager to leap aboard a flight to Iceland.

7. A Good Year (2006)

7 good year

In A Good Year, Russell Crowe plays Max Skinner, a high-octane British investment banker who inherits his uncle’s chateau and vineyard in Provence, a place that he spent his childhood summers. The film is loosely based on Peter Mayle’s novel of the same name.

Skinner visits the property, expecting to ready to hastily sell it so he can get on with his very busy life, and finds it is poor repair. As he hurries around the property taking pictures, he falls into the empty swimming pool, and is stranded there until Fanny (played by Marion Cotillard) is able to back-handedly rescue him — but because of his mishap, he misses an important work conference call, which causes him to be suspended from work for a week. As he spends the week trying to defend his job while simultaneously trying to ready the estate from work, he comes to understand that he has missed the idyllic Provincale lifestyle, and wonders if the high-stress London workaholic career he’s had is still what he wants out of life. A lovely ballad to Provence!

6. The Bucket List (2007)

6 bucket list

In The Bucket List, billionaire health care magnate Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) is infamous for his cost efficiency. “I run hospitals, not health spas. Two beds to a room, no exceptions!” His philosophy kicks himself in the butt when he becomes ill, and ends up in one of his own hospitals, finding himself roommates with Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman), a blue-collar mechanic. Both men have terminal lung cancer, and they eventually begin to find common ground together.

Carter has been writing a ‘bucket list’, but after discovering he has less than a year to live, he throws away the list. Edward finds the list, and unexpectedly proposes financing the bucket list for the both of them. The two men go on a series of adventures, facing the end of their lives with a joie de vivre, traveling around the globe. The film is a good reminder to not only appreciate every day as if it’s your last, but to also travel when you have the chance.

5. Roman Holiday (1953)

5 roman holiday

What do you do when you’re a princess (Ann, played by Audrey Hepburn) and you’re having a bit of a breakdown due to your overloaded schedule? Why, you run away and have marvelous adventures around Rome with a handsome reporter, Joe (Gregory Peck), of course, doing all the things she always wanted to do, but could never do as a proper princess.

Roman Holiday is a classic romantic film set against the beauty of 1950s Rome, shot at some of the most famous sites in the city, including the Mouth of Truth at Piazza Bocca della Verità – a scene often homaged in later films, like 1994’s charming romantic comedy Only You.

Hepburn won Best Actress for the film, and it was nominated for Best Picture. It continues to inspire travelers to Rome even now, painting an image of a lovely, joyous Italian city.

4. French Kiss (1995)

4 french kiss French Kiss is a perfect romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and Kevin Klein. Kate (Ryan) is an American who is in the process of completing her Canadian citizenship in order to marry her fiancee, Charlie (Timothy Hutton). Charlie has to go to Paris for work, and wants Kate to come with him – but she is terrified of flying – so he goes alone. A few days later, he drunkenly breaks up with her by phone call, saying he has found “the one” in Paris. Anguished, Kate manages to get on a plane in her determination to win Charlie back – and it is on that flight that she meets Luc (Klein), a small-time French crook who is on his way back from the States after a score. Luc uses her to smuggle his loot into France, but then struggles to keep up with her as she chases through France, trying to find Charlie.

This is one of the best romantic comedies of the 1990s, and Ryan and Klein play off each other perfectly. Travel ranges from Paris to the Côte d’Azur. Pair it up with A Good Year, Bottle Shock, and your favorite French-inspired foods and wines for a great weekend of French travel inspiration.

3. Romancing the Stone (1984)

3 romancing

There’s a scene early in Romancing the Stone that will make all travelers laugh: Jack (Michael Douglas) and Joan (Kathleen Wilder) have been hiking through the Colombian jungles. Frustrated by their progress, Jack takes out his machete and whacks the high heels off Joan’s shoes.

“Those were Italian,” Joan bemoans, picking up her beloved shoes.

“Now they’re practical,” Jack glibly replies.

This mid-1980s comedy is a romance, sure, but it’s also a solid comedy that will give you plenty of laughs. Jack clearly takes influence from Raiders of the Lost Ark‘s Indiana Jones, wearing a similar outfit and having a skill with a machete, though he’s more of a freelance opportunist to Jones adventurous researcher.

2. Midnight in Paris (2011)

2 midnight

In Midnight in Paris, Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) is a Hollywood writer on vacation in Paris with his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her family in Paris. He is also struggling to write his first novel, and he is hoping that the city he once lived in will help give him the inspiration he needs to complete it.

The couple runs into friends in Paris, and Inez happily takes up going out and about the city with them. Gil – who is very nostalgic by nature – suddenly finds himself transported back to 1920s Paris, which he regards as the city’s golden age, where he meets Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, among others. He can’t believe this isn’t a dream at first, but soon he is seeking out the transformation every night, making friends with the literary and artistic elite of 1920s Paris.

He then meets Adriana (Marion Cotillard), girlfriend to Pablo Picasso, and finds himself falling in love with her – and doubting his relationship with Inez. Adriana, he finds out, has a nostalgia for what she thinks is Paris’s golden age – the Belle Époque, and Gil begins to wonder if any of us are ever truly satisfied with the age that we live in. A lovely tour of modern Paris and a salute to its history as a hotbed of art, music, literature, and politics.

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

10 raiders In 1981, Steven Spielberg introduced us to one of the most beloved action figures of all time, Indiana Jones, in his film Raiders of the Lost Ark. From the jungles of South America to the frozen villages of Nepal to the deserts of Egypt, Raiders is the film that set the standard for action and comedic adventure in the forty years since, with a leading man who created the larger-than-life casting mold for leading men ever since – and probably inspired many people to have an interest in archeology.

Get your popcorn, put Raiders on, and this timeless film continues to entertain.