Thirst

"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

"A refreshingly candid account of how an average person can harness a steadfast determination to achieve the spectacular." ― Outside

Named "50 Best Hiking Books of all Time" by BACKPACKER MAGAZINE

By age twenty-five, Heather Anderson had hiked the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide Trails--a combined distance of nearly eight thousand miles with a vertical gain of more than one million feet. Then, feeling it was time to settle down, Heather retired from long-distance hiking, married, and started a career. But her urge for wilderness was too strong, and she realized that nothing could replace the comfort she found while hiking. Her marriage crumbled. She quit her job. And she walked back into the mountains.

In Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home, Heather, whose trail name is "Anish," explores her motivations in returning to the trail--and to her record-setting success on the PCT when she hiked 40-plus miles a day, often walking late into the night by glow of a headlamp, and facing down rattlesnakes, mountain lions, bears, raging rivers, snow, and lightning. She shares her joy in leaving behind a mundane life, and amid the rigors of the trail--the pain, fear, loneliness, and dangers--she discovers the greater rewards of both community and self-fulfillment. She learns that setting records is merely a catalyst, teaching her how to live a life of courage, confidence, and purpose.