Welcome to my fourth annual winter reading list!
Each winter, I recommend a few outdoor-related books to keep people motivated for the upcoming hiking season. As an avid reader, I enjoy fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, and just about everything in between. Yet nothing quite gets my spirits up during the dark and gloomy winters like an inspiring book set in the outdoors.
Following along other people’s journeys as they wander outside gets my motivation going for the upcoming adventure season. Here’s a few great reads I enjoyed this past year to get you started down that road.
If you’re interested in even more outdoor book ideas, head down to the end of this post, where I also have links to my prior winter reading lists.
WINTER 2022 READING LIST
A Long Walk on THe Beach
While preparing for my thru-hike of the Oregon Coast Trail last year, I was on the prowl for something that would give me the flavor of this relatively obscure trail. Lucky for me, I stumbled upon Jon Penfold’s delightful and hilarious book. The author does an outstanding job of capturing the simultaneous excitement and utter boredom of a long-distance hike while he and his partner, Katelin, navigate their way down the Oregon Coast. During their journey, they meet a cast of colorful characters, push their relationship’s boundaries, overcome miles of sand, and develop an absurd roadwalking game that will leave you chuckling to yourself the next time an RV drives by. If you’re longing for a trail memoir that diverges from the Triple Crown Trails, this book will delight. Penfold is no stranger to the outdoors either (he previously wrote another adventure memoir about bikepacking across the country and paddling down the Mississippi River).
The Sunset Route
Fans of Carrot Quinn’s Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart are in for another engaging ride with her sophomore book, The Sunset Route. While in her early 20s, Quinn was living part-time in Portland, Oregon, and (illegally) riding freight trains to random places around the U.S. for a bit of adventure. Although much of this story is set on the backdrop of that raucous chapter of her life, it’s truly a memoir about and learning to make peace with her childhood. The author grapples with the trauma of searching for her schizophrenic mother in Alaska and the unfulfilled longing to know a father who moved on to another family. Quinn weaves her personal tale of immense grief with vivid self-discovery. Often compared to the best-selling memoirs, Wild and Educated, Carrot Quinn is a truly talented writer with a unique voice. Pick the book up for the allure of riding the rails, but stay for the story about resilience, forgiveness, and hope.
48 Mountains: THe Nature of Fear
John White’s memoir is a nostalgic throwback to highpointing before the age of the internet. The author and his co-worker, Mike Gauthier, set off on a handful of epically long trips to nab as many state high points as possible during the 1990s. The pals criss-cross much of the lower 48 as if they are racing in the Cannonball Run, taking turns driving and sleeping, while trying to seeing how many thousands of miles they can put on their rental car in mere days. As a result of this marathon-style of highpointing, White and Gauthier often arrive at their destination after dark (earning themselves the nickname, “the night shift”) and regularly getting lost, chased, or fighting nature during the final steps to each summit. Highpointers who enjoy a slower, more scenic approach to their hobby might find themselves frustrated by this frenetic journey. But you have to admire White and Gauthier’s fearlessness in navigating in the most rural parts of this country long before Google Maps or GPS were mainstream tools. The author’s stories are humorous and sometimes even scary, including one high point trip where he was struck by lightening! But most importantly, this book reminds us all of the immense work the Highpointers Club has done over the past few decades in marking trails and working with private landowners to help us gain easier access to many of these locales.
How to Be Alone
I originally discovered Nicole “Tink” Antoinette’s book after she was featured on an Episode #121 of the Backpacker Radio podcast. Back in 2017, Antoinette felt her increasing indecisiveness and needs for societal validation was quickly becoming crippling. She simply couldn’t make a decision without asking others to weigh in. To remedy this, she set on a solo thru-hike of the Arizona Trail to learn to embrace being completely alone. This self-published trail memoir follows a rollercoaster of a journey, revealing the unique fears and challenges that come along with being a solo female hiker in the backcountry. Her journey showcases what long-distance backpacking is really like — blisters, knee pain, monotony, and moments of sheer exhilaration. I was so completely drawn in with her narrative style and pacing that I consumed this 230-page book in a single day! The digital version is available on Antoinette’s website and she allows readers to name their own price when purchasing it. Additionally, 10% of her proceeds are donated the Indigenous Environmental Network, a grassroots organization created by indigenous people to help protect sacred tribal sites, land, and resources.
The Lobster Chronicles
I came across this book in 2019 while staying in a hostel near the end of my Appalachian Trail thru-hike and assumed it was just a local book about lobstering. But then the author’s novel background pulled me in. Greenlaw is perhaps best-known for her role in the Sebastian Junger’s 1997’s book, The Perfect Storm (she was the female boat captain who tried to warn the crew of the Andrea Gail about the impending storm), and after two decades in commercial swordfishing, she settled down in coastal Maine. This best-selling book shares the story of what it’s like to live on a tiny island of just 70 year-round residents, weaving together stories about lobstering and life. Humorous, light-hearted, and captivating – reading about this niche part of the outdoors will bring a unique flavor to your winter reading list. Her equally noteworthy book, The Hungry Ocean, provides even more insight to what it’s like to be a female boat captain while attempting to catch upwards of 60,000 pounds of fish in a one-month marathon fishing excursion off Newfoundland.
NEED EVEN MORE MOTIVATION IN THE OFF-SEASON? CHECK OUT:
- My 2021 reading list: 6 Best Outdoor Books to Hunker Down with During Winter
- My 2020 reading list: 5 Outstanding Outdoor Books to Beat the Wintertime Blues
- My 2019 reading list: 5 Awesome Books to Keep You Motivated in the Off-Season