THRUHIKERS: A GUIDE TO LIFE ON THE TRAIL

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On a sunny September day in 2022, while we were canoeing down the Columbia River and approaching the completion of the Pacific Northwest Circuit, we got an email from an editor named Olivia at DK Books wondering if we were interested in writing something. That was exciting!

Several years ago, before we ever started hiking long-distance trails, we had dreamed of writing a hiking guide book. But at that time, without the backpacking experience we have now or the support of a major publisher, the idea didn’t get far off the ground. As we canoed along and thought about the project Olivia just proposed, we were leaning towards taking it on. We were finishing up our third major thruhike of 2,500+ miles, we had assembled an arsenal of delicious dehydrated recipes, and there were a few million people cheering our trips on social media who might actually be interested in reading it!

During the course of more than 10,000 miles and an uncountable number of nights spent camping on the trail, we had honed in an effective system for backpacking. That included major aspects like packing philosophy, trip planning, and nutrition, and more specific details that can feel like second-nature to us now but weren’t obvious when we were starting out: What’s the right tent to buy? How do you pass the time on trail? Where do you find drinking water? Are wild animals dangerous? Over the next several months we worked with Olivia to define and outline a book that would let us share what we’ve learned from with readers who want to have more fun outside. And then, over the last year, we wrote it. The book has three parts that cover the three components of almost any trip:

1. Preparation/planning
2. Time on the trail
3. Eating! (recipes)

The book is written with useful information for everybody from day hikers considering their first overnight trip to seasoned pros looking who continuously refine their approach. A big part of what makes hiking fun for us is the food we eat while out there, so we share about 25 of our nutritious and fulfilling recipes that taste great on the trail. We also include a ton of stories of our own experiences on long thruhikes and from our early days getting into the outdoors.

Writing this book was a heck of an experience! The most intense time was when we had our editor, a photographer, and a professional food designer at our house and in the mountains for a photoshoot. Our house felt like it had been turned into a film studio! This project took lots of effort and kept us from getting outside last year as much as we would have liked to, but if we succeed in sharing what we’ve learned to help others have more fun exploring the outdoors, it was absolutely worth it! We hope you enjoy it!

-Tim and Renee