Weathered: Finding Strength on the John Muir Trail

by Christy Teglo

Overview

"You're hiking how far solo?" "How are you going to hike the entire John Muir Trail when you've never even been backpacking before?"

These were the two most common questions that accompanied baffled looks from Christy's corporate coworkers when she mentioned her plans. Legitimate questions Christy had pondered herself. Yet, she couldn't fully express the pull to hike more than 220 miles in the California High Sierra Mountains. She only knew that her whole being told her that she needed to. After six months of research, reading books, watching documentaries, and training hikes, Christy began walking southbound on the world-famous trail.

Throughout her wild journey, Christy encountered freezing temperatures, pelting hail storms, and losing her way, but found trail family, incredible views, and experiences that would change her life forever. Hiking up and over ten different mountain passes gave Christy a lot of time to think about why her nine-year marriage was falling apart, gave her the chance to truly embody her individualism, time to make new friends, and the strength she would need on and off the trail. Her life could never again be the same.

This is one woman's account of the three weeks she spent on the iconic trail.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781737590019
Publisher:	Perspective Through Adventure Publishing
Publication date:	08/31/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	340
File size:	50 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Christy grew up mainly in St. Louis, Missouri (with a few years spent in Colorado). After graduating from college, Christy moved to Los Angeles. At the age of 36, she decided to hike the John Muir Trail solo. It was a time of adventure and meeting new people along the trail that set into motion her desire to follow a new path. She quit her corporate job, sold her house in Los Angeles, and began traveling full-time. Christy writes about her experiences (good and bad), and the people she meets. To learn more about her travels, visit www.TegloGoes.com.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents:

What is the JMT?

You Are Not Prepared

Sweet and Salty

Too Much/Not Enough

Last Bit of Comfort

DAY 1: It's Go Time

DAY 2: Out of Water

DAY 3: Generous Gestures

DAY 4: Wrong Turn

DAY 5: Scariest Night of My Life

DAY 6: Fire!

DAY 7: Solid Structure

DAY 8: Sharing Stories

DAY 9: A Life of My Own

DAY 10: The Possibilities Are Endless

DAY 11: Cheese for Pop-Tart

DAY 12: Unpredictable Weather

DAY 13: Letters of Encouragement

DAY 14: Purple Hands

DAY 15: Period

DAY 16: Golden Staircase

DAY 17: Underestimated

DAY 18: "You Look . . . Weathered"

DAY 19: Cake and Whiskey

DAY 20: Reflection

DAY 21: Just Me and Whitney

DAY 22: Legit Hiker

After the JMT

My New Life Where Are They Now?

Editorial Reviews

2021-10-04
A debut memoir chronicles one woman’s feats of endurance and self-discovery on the John Muir Trail in California.

Teglo was “about to have surgery for two parathyroid tumors, fit but overweight, and sort of a scaredy-cat,” when a co-worker casually mentioned the John Muir Trail. Although she’d never backpacked before, the author became obsessed with the idea of conquering the formidable trail on her own. She soon discovered “the hardest part of the JMT is getting a permit.” After faxing endless applications, she was finally granted one and spent the next few months testing camping gear and hiking trails near her Los Angeles home. On Aug. 31, 2016, she began her hike at Happy Isles, the official start of the trail. Teglo quickly learned that “everything on the JMT is work,” from filtering her water to going to the bathroom to protecting her food in a bear canister. She also struggled to overcome her lack of self-confidence as a hiker, using her competitiveness with other trekkers as motivation. While hiking near crystalline lakes and up rocky peaks, she contemplated her disintegrating marriage and wondered whether she should divorce her husband. Along the way, she met fellow hikers from all over the world. The lessons the author learned from her three-week hike completely changed the trajectory of her life. Reminiscent of Cheryl Strayed’s book Wild—the film of which inspired Teglo—this memoir paints a cleareyed portrait of the challenges and joys involved in hiking the John Muir Trail. The author’s hilarious descriptions of her encounters with a thieving chipmunk and a stubborn marmot underscore how far she traveled out of her comfort zone. The momentum of Teglo’s tale is slowed somewhat by an abundance of exclamation points and occasional mistakes in tense, including when she observes: “California was currently in the worst drought it has ever experienced.” In addition, the author’s laundry list of the preparatory steps she took before her hike could have been more organically woven into the narrative. Nevertheless, Teglo’s depictions of the natural wonders she viewed on the trail and her campfire conversations with fellow adventurers will motivate even the most devoted couch potato to think about lacing up a pair of hiking boots.

An evocative hiking account that offers some powerful lessons.

Kirkus Reviews