Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home - Softcover

Anderson, Heather

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1680512366 ISBN 13: 9781680512366

Publisher: Mountaineers Books, 2019

Synopsis

National Geographic 2019 Adventurer of the Year

"Beautiful and deftly written and intimate and searing in its honesty, Anish’s is a quest to conquer the trail and her own inner darkness."-Foreword Reviews

"Filled with ruminative self-reflection, soaring natural descriptions and delightful accounts of the gracious, life-sustaining 'trail magic' of hiking culture, Thirst is a testament to human endurance, inspiring to hikers and non-hikers alike."-Shelf Awareness

By age 25, Heather Anderson had hiked what is known as the "Triple Crown" of backpacking: the Appalachian Trail (AT), Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), and Continental Divide Trail (CDT)―a combined distance of 7,900 miles with a vertical gain of more than one million feet. A few years later, she left her job, her marriage, and a dissatisfied life and walked back into those mountains.

In her new memoir, Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home, Heather, whose trail name is "Anish," conveys not only her athleticism and wilderness adventures, but also shares her distinct message of courage--her willingness to turn away from the predictability of a more traditional life in an effort to seek out what most fulfills her. Amid the rigors of the trail--pain, fear, loneliness, and dangers--she discovers the greater rewards of community and of self, conquering her doubts and building confidence. Ultimately, she realizes that records are merely a catalyst, giving her purpose, focus, and a goal to strive toward.

Heather is the second woman to complete the “Double Triple Crown of Backpacking,” completing the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide National Scenic Trails twice each. She holds overall self-supported Fastest Known Times (FKTs) on the Pacific Crest Trail (2013)―hiking it in 60 days, 17 hours, 12 minutes, breaking the previous men’s record by four days and becoming the first women to hold the overall record―and the Arizona Trail (2016), which she completed in 19 days, 17 hours, 9 minutes. She also holds the women’s self-supported FKT on the Appalachian Trail (2015) with a time of 54 days, 7 hours, 48 minutes. Heather has hiked more than twenty thousand miles since 2003, including ten thru-hikes. An ultramarathon runner, she has completed six 100-mile races since August 2011 as well as dozens of 50 km and 50-mile events. She has attempted the infamous Barkley Marathons four times, starting a third loop once. Heather is also an avid mountaineer working on several ascent lists in the US and abroad.

About this title

About the Author

Heather Anderson is a certified personal trainer, through-hiker, ultrarunner, mountaineer, climber, endurance adventurer, and wilderness lover. She is the first female to complete the Triple Crown in a calendar year. When she is not on the trail, she lives in Washington State. Follow her adventures at anishhikes.wordpress.com and @AnishHikes.

Review

Beautiful and deftly written and intimate and searing in its honesty, Anish’s is a quest to conquer the trail and her own inner darkness. (Kristine Morris Foreword Reviews, STARRED review)

With humility and vulnerability, Heather ‘Anish’ Anderson reminds us that the most impressive feats of strength and endurance are entirely human endeavors, achieved one step at a time. Thirst takes the reader to the trail, but also to the heart. (Ben Montgomery, author of Grandma Gatewood's Walk)

How does someone go from an overweight high-schooler to a record-breaking endurance hiker? Certainly not by the conventional route. Averaging 40-plus miles a day, despite dehydration, sleep deprivation, and nighttime encounters with wild animals, Anderson simply never stops walking. Along the trail, she makes peace with her recent divorce and her decision to shuck societal pressure in order to live a non-traditional lifestyle. For her, a purposeful life means to dream big, live courageously, and move in sync with nature. (Brenda Barrera Booklist)

In an illuminating debut memoir about her solo, glass-ceiling and record-smashing thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, Heather Anderson heralds the simple empowering act of putting one foot in front of another. (Lauren Matison Shape)

Early in her new memoir, Thirst, Heather "Anish" Anderson finds herself under the punishing sun on the Pacific Crest Trail, without water and debating whether to press the button on her emergency beacon. She keeps going―and that's the lesson at the core of the book. Keep going. Put one foot in front of the next.... Her message―be courageous and do what makes you happy. You're more capable than you might believe. (Sheila Miller 1889 Magazine)

Impressive as her hiking accomplishments are, [Heather Anderson] can now add one more accolade to the list: author. In her memoir Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home, Heather details her 2015 FKT attempt of the PCT while offering readers glimpses into her personal life and background that led her to hiking. (The Trek)

Cheryl Strayed became famous for Wild, her bestselling memoir of (mis)adventure as a novice backpacker on the Pacific Crest Trail. But that's only one third of hiking's "Triple Crown." By the age of 25, Heather Anderson―or "Anish," as she's known on the single-track―had already completed not only the PCT, but the Appalachian Trail and Continental Divide Trail, as well. She didn't get it out of her system, either; the experience sparked profound life changes spurred her on to even more feats, including FKTs (Fastest Known Times), ultramarathons, and another circuit of the Triple―achievements that compelled National Geographic to designate her their 2019 Adventurer of the Year. (Jon Foro Omnivoracious, The Amazon Book Review "Recommended")

Thirst reads quickly and is well written... It’s personal, with open discussions of Anish’s failed marriage, unfulfilling attempt at conventional life, and her struggles as an overweight child. Finally, it’s a unique book―Anish’s experiences put her in rare company. (Andrew Skurka Outside)

With 28,000 miles to her name, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Heather Anderson has made history on America's most iconic trails.... What makes [Heather] tick is nothing more than the determination to keep walking...that attitude applies whether the 36-year-old Anderson is seeking another hiking record or writing her book, Thirst: 2,600 Miles to Home.... The “thirst” of the title is both literal (she’s stuck without water on the Southern California desert sections of the trail in June) and metaphorical (the force that her keeps her pursuing thru-hiking records). (Doug Schnitzspahn National Geographic)

Thirst is the kind of book that sits in your bones. It makes you want to push harder at whatever it is you do. Anish is possibly the greatest athlete in the world, but she didn’t start that way. This book gives you hope and courage by showing that no matter who you are or where you are at now, you can do more. (Liz "Snorkel" Thomas, author of Long Trails: Mastering the Art of the Thru-Hike)

Edition details

• Publisher: Mountaineers Books
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1680512366
• ISBN 13: 9781680512366
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 208