Three friends, women in their fifties, set out to hike “the most beautiful long-distance trail in the world,” the John Muir Trail. From the outset, their adventure is complicated by self-inflicted accidents and ferocious weather, then enriched when they “adopt” a young hiker abandoned by her partner along the trail.
The women experience the terror of lightning at eleven-thousand feet, the thrill of walking through a towering waterfall, and the joy of dancing among midnight moonshadows. For a month, they live immersed in vast natural beauty, tackle the trail’s physical demands, and find camaraderie among an ensemble cast of eccentric trail characters. Together, they are pulled forward toward the trail’s end atop the highest peak in the High Sierra, Mt. Whitney, and the culmination of their transformative journey.
Force of Nature is equal parts gripping adventure tale, personal memoir, and vivid nature writing.
My Review
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — 5 out of 5 stars
Perfect read for adventure-minded women of all ages. I felt like I was right there on the John Muir Trail, one of the three women coping with backpacks, tents, rivers, and exhaustion.