April 22, 2013
Davis, an Ashville, N.C., native and intrepid hiker, returns to the Appalachian Trail (Becoming Odyssa) to chronicle in this modest work, her record-breaking hike in 2011 from Maine to North Carolina in just over 46 days—2,181 miles at an average of 47 miles a day. After a devastating heartbreak in 2007 at age 24, Davis plunged back into her hiking as a way of healing and finding new purpose, making short work of Vermont’s 272-mile Long Trail by herself in August 2007. With her husband Brew, the newlyweds resolved to take on the Appalachian Trail together, he accompanying her as support as she aimed to attack first the women’s record in August 2008, then the men’s record set by Andrew Thompson in 2005. In June 2011, Davis set out again, but this time the trail and pace proved grueling, and she developed ailments including shin splints and gastrointestinal upsets. She infuses her straightforward account with spiritual elements, deeming her hiking adventures a kind of Christian “calling” by using her “gift and talents to their fullest potential.” In the end, this account will inspire others to take to the trails.
May 15, 2013
A celebrated long-distance hiker's account of how she captured the Appalachian Trail speed-hiking record. For Davis, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail was no ordinary footpath. It was the place where she had met her first love, a man who broke her heart in 2007. Four years later, it became the place to which she once again felt "called" by God to "praise Him with the talents and gifts He had given me." Davis had by then married a fellow Christian named Brew who had been helping her do something totally new: supported hikes. With his help, she broke the women's thru-hiking record in 2008. She did not attempt the overall record until 2011, however, since she knew it would involve her somewhat reluctant then-boyfriend Brew. "I don't know if my husband would ever have agreed to such a difficult, thankless task if we hadn't planned the adventure directly after we got engaged," she writes. Davis began her marathon hike in the rugged mountains of Maine, following the A.T. through 12 other states and into "the heart of backcountry Georgia." Brew faithfully met her with food and water at designated stopping points, while fellow hiking enthusiasts accompanied her along portions of the trail. Over 46 grueling days, Davis endured injuries, illness, emotional meltdowns, sleet storms, extreme heat and stifling humidity, all of which tested the limits of her mind, body, marriage and friendships. In the end, she discovered that her 2,181-mile journey was not just about living out a dream, but about understanding the nature of love. Like the A.T. itself, "love is not always easy and not always fun." At the same time, it is the truest way to becoming "your best self." A serviceably written yet inspired exploration of the meaning of commitment.
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