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List

Top 10 Backpacking Books

May 20, 2026 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

I am about to head back out to finish the northernmost 100 miles of the Arizona National Scenic Trail (follow along live), so it seemed like a good time for this list. As is often the case when I start ranking the top 10 books in any given category, I thought to myself that I have not read enough books in the backpacking genre to really leave any off the list. And again, as usual, I remembered ones that I had forgotten and started making hard decisions about what got shifted to the Honorable Mentions. There are so many first-person narratives about hiking long trails in the U.S. that I have not really scratched the surface here. I hope you are inspired to pick up one of them, just as I was to recently read Heather Anderson’s Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home after reading reviews. The next backpacking book on my to read list is Carrot Quinn’s Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail. Click here to see all the Top 10 Lists.

If you or someone you love are interested in hiking or backpacking in the 155 National Forests, our travel guidebook Out in the Woods makes a great gift!

10. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (2012)

The most famous book about the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail can be heartbreaking to read, but it is better than the movie version.

9. Northland: A 4,000-Mile Journey along America’s Forgotten Border by Porter Fox (2018)

The northern U.S. border with Canada is the subject of this autobiography that involves traveling by canoe, freighter, car, and foot.

8. A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko (2024)

Mostly a series of off-trail misadventures and a what-not-to-do guide set in Grand Canyon National Park by the author of The Emerald Mile (#2 on the Top 10 Non-Fiction Books Set in a National Park).

7. The Sun Is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds by Caroline Van Hemert (2019)

A well-written account of a biologist and her husband’s epic journey by rowboat, ski, foot, raft, and canoe.

6. Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery (2014)

A fun biography of the woman who popularized thru-hiking the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (and was an Honorable Mention for the Top 10 Non-Fiction Books on National Forests)

5. How to Be Alone: an 800-mile hike on the Arizona Trail by Nicole Antoinette (2023)

I read this autobiography before my own trip in the opposite direction on the Arizona National Scenic Trail where I spent the great majority of my hours walking alone.

4. The Pursuit of Endurance: Harnessing the Record-Breaking Power of Strength and Resilience by Jennifer Pharr Davis (2018)

At a library event in Wyoming, I got to meet this author and one-time record holder for the Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

3. Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home by Heather Anderson (2019)

An engrossing narrative of chasing the FKT for the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail in 2013, she also wrote Mud, Rocks, Blazes: Letting Go on the Appalachian Trail (2021) and Farther: Eight Months on America’s Triple Crown Trails (2026).

2. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson (1998)

This funny tale of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail was an Honorable Mention on the Top 10 Non-Fiction Books Set in a National Park list (which is by far my most popular Top 10 List).

…and finally the #1 backpacking book:

1. A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins (1979)

This is the book that inspired that part of Forrest Gump where he walks on roads for years. I was blown away when I read this as a teenager and I think it had a big impact on me (I even hiked with a Siberian husky like the author).

Honorable Mentions

You Are Here by David Nicholls (2024)

This book does not fit this list at all because it is the only one that is fiction and it is set in England, but I have not identified with a protagonist this much in decades.

Freedom by Sebastian Junger (2021)

All 400 miles walked on the railroad lines of the east coast during the 2020 pandemic were breaking trespassing laws, which gives this narrative an added sense of danger.

On Trails: An Exploration by Robert Moor (2016)

A reflection on trails of all kinds by a man who thru-hiked the Appalachian National Scenic Trail was an Honorable Mention for the Top 10 Non-Fiction Books on National Forests.

The Last Season by Eric Blehm (2006)

A well-researched investigation into the disappearance of a National Park Ranger in the rugged backcountry of California’s Sierra Nevadas also placed on the Top 10 Non-Fiction Books Set in a National Park list.

A Long Trek Home: 4,000 Miles by Boot, Raft, and Ski by Erin McKittrick (2009)

An Honorable Mention for the Top 10 Non-Fiction Books Set in Alaska, most of this amazing journey was spent paddling on water, not walking under the weight of a pack raft.

Know someone who loves National Parks? Gift them our travel guidebook A Park to Yourself: Finding Solitude in America’s 63 National Parks.

Arizona, Update

Arizona Trail Days 24 to 34

April 9, 2026 Raven About The Parks 8 Comments

After two “zero days” I returned to the Gila River at the lowest point on the Arizona Trail (AZT) where temperatures had cooled considerably from two weeks before. In 36 days (including six zeroes), I have now completed the southernmost 713 miles on the 800-mile AZT since starting on March 4, 2026. Good news is the National Park Service is planning to reopen the North Kaibab Trail on May 15, so I plan to wait to do the final 100 miles through the Grand Canyon and up to the Utah border.

This journey has exceeded my expectations as my first “long trail.” I have seen amazing wildlife and scenery. I met some interesting people. I had days where I did not see another person. It has been introspective and healing. I have walked further and faster than I imagined possible. I’m thankful that past thru-hikers have made this a socially acceptable (even laudable) activity. Mostly, it’s just really fun and feels like an accomplishment to walk between two arbitrary borderlines. I could not have done it without my parents and friends driving all across the state to resupply me. I cannot say thank you enough!

Arizona Trail Day 26, Mile 265 to 291 plus 2 when I took a wrong turn from the Gila River where I took an afternoon dip. So many grasshoppers! Tried out a sun umbrella then didn’t need it when clouds rolled in for an awesome sunset hour. This was my restart point after avoiding desert heat for two weeks.

Arizona Trail Day 27, Mile 291 to 321 across Highway 60 climbing steeply into the Superstition Wilderness. Started at 5 a.m. when it was sprinkling and my sun umbrella worked well for rain. Saw my first ever Gila monster, which was amazing.

Arizona Trail Day 28, Mile 321 to 347 down from Reavis Ranch in Tonto National Forest to Roosevelt Lake. It was nice to hike a while with Michelle and Adam from Seattle. I saw my second ever Gila monster, which was also amazing! Big thanks to my parents who drove down from Pine to resupply me before sunset.

Arizona Trail Day 29, Mile 347 to 366 across Roosevelt Lake Bridge up into the Four Peaks Wilderness. Shake Spring was flowing nicely this afternoon so I decided to camp nearby and cut my day short to enjoy the shade.

Arizona Trail Day 30, Mile 366 to 387 down the mountain from Four Peaks Wilderness to the Beeline Highway 87. At some point Saturday I surpassed 600 miles on the 800-mile Arizona National Scenic Trail! My parents brought me a milkshake down from Payson, which tasted amazing.

Arizona Trail Day 32, Mile 387 to 417 into the Mazatzal Wilderness after a zero day to spend Easter with family in Chandler. Cloudy and drizzly weather helped me stay cool and I didn’t have to drink much. Cumulative 6,500-foot ascent and 4,000-foot descent over the 30 miles! Great sunset over Horseshoe Lake.

Arizona Trail Day 33, Mile 417 to 442 out of the Mazatzal Mountains down to the East Verde River where I took an afternoon swim. I met a lot of friendly people backpacking today, including one volunteer doing trail maintenance who provided trail magic in the form of a delicious cheese stick.

Arizona Trail Day 34, Mile 442 to 459 back home to Pine. I have now completed the southernmost 713 miles of the AZT since March 4. I plan to finish the final 100 miles when North Kaibab Trail through Grand Canyon National Park opens after May 15. I could not have done this without the help of my parents and friends along the way. Thank you so much!

I have also been updating my Instagram account daily with photos: https://www.instagram.com/ravenabouttheparks/

Arizona, Update

Arizona Trail Days 6 to 13

March 19, 2026 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Miles 101 to 265 required big climbs in Saguaro National Park and the Santa Catalina Mountains within Coronado National Forest. Lots of cool Sonoran Desert wildflowers and wildlife along the way, plus some great sunsets on the way to the Gila River. Thursday I am taking a “zero day” off the trail with my family in Chandler and probably going to a Mark Chesnutt concert.

Arizona Trail Day 6, Mile 101 to 101 a “Zero Day” in Tucson with a huge breakfast at Rocking K, one Talenti gelato (for a backup container to cold soak meals), and night in the camper van with my trail angel Mom.

Arizona Trail Day 7, Mile 101 to 126 after my first “zero day” passed under Interstate 10 to the border with Saguaro National Park and saw the first saguaro cacti along the route. I achieved my goal of finding a rock in the shape of Arizona! Enjoyed talking and walking with Ziggy, a Navy veteran. Big thank you to my Mom for meeting up with me in Tucson.

Arizona Trail Day 8, Mile 126 to 144 from spines to pines in Saguaro National Park. Over 6,000 feet cumulative elevation gain in the Rincon Mountains. Camped with and hiked with some fellow NAU Lumberjacks and two young women from Florida.

Arizona Trail Day 9, Mile 144 to 164 out of the Rincon Mountains to the Catalina Highway. Lots of wildflowers in bloom! I met Trail Angel Gabriel who I helped to fill up a water cache with 48 gallons. Thanks to all the trail angels out there.

Arizona Trail Day 10, Mile 164 to 187 up Mt. Lemmon in Coronado National Forest. Another great memory made in the Santa Catalina Mountains and my first horned lizard of the trip was seen above 8,000 feet in elevation. Thanks to my Mom for meeting me at the top with my big backpack. I was told by one AZT finisher that this is the “classic Lemmon cheat.” I’ll take any help I can get.

Arizona Trail Day 11, Mile 187 to 215 down the west side of the Santa Catalina Mountains, a cumulative drop of around 8,000 feet. I had two wonderful trail angels meet me in Oracle for lunch. Thanks everyone for your support in this endeavor! Sunrise to sunset was 12:01 so now unofficially past the equinox. Yay!

Arizona Trail Day 12, Mile 215 to 245 past Antelope Peak in the Sonoran Desert. I saw my first wild desert tortoise in my life! I hiked a while with Martin and Mama Goose who were great to talk to. I avoided the heat of the day and went to the movie Hoppers in Oro Valley with my Mom, then did 8.5 miles after sunset.

Arizona Trail Day 13, Mile 245 to 265 down to the Kelvin Bridge across the Gila River. Starting in the dark, I was able to finish before noon for a pickup from my parents. With temperatures 28 degrees above average for the next few days, I’ve decided to head home to Pine to cover some higher elevation miles on the AZT then come back when it cools down.

You can keep track of where I am at on the Garmin website through this link: https://live.garmin.com/ScottSink

I will also be updating my Instagram account with photos when I have signal: https://www.instagram.com/ravenabouttheparks/

Found a rock almost in the shape of the state

Know someone who loves National Parks? Gift them my travel guide A Park to Yourself: Finding Solitude in America’s 63 National Parks.

Update

Starting the Arizona Trail This Week!

March 2, 2026 Raven About The Parks 8 Comments

This week I am starting out northbound on the Arizona National Scenic Trail. According to the official website, it is 800 miles (with 105,000 feet of cumulative elevation gain) from the international border with Mexico in Coronado National Memorial to the Stateline Campground on the Utah border in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. Due to last summer’s Dragon Bravo Fire in Grand Canyon National Park, more than 20 miles of the trail is closed on the North Rim making a thru-hike impossible this year. Since I am already in northern Arizona, I am going to begin by backpacking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon to spend one night before turning around and driving south to the official start. That will be on Wednesday! Once I return to Grand Canyon National Park (Mile 700), I will get a ride north to finish up the trail.

You can keep track of where I am at on the Garmin website through this link: https://live.garmin.com/ScottSink

I will also be updating my Instagram account with photos when I have signal: https://www.instagram.com/ravenabouttheparks/

I recently moved back to Arizona for the 5th time in my life and I thought backpacking across the state would be a great way to reconnect. If you haven’t already read it, check out my 7-day Arizona Road Trip Itinerary with plenty of options to make it a month-long visit.

Once I finish the Arizona Trail, then I will get back to writing my latest guidebook American History 101: Reliving a Country’s Past at 101 National Park Service Sites, which I hope to publish by July 4, 2026, for the 250th anniversary of the vote to approve the Declaration of Independence.

Here are links to my blog posts on the public lands I will be traversing on the Arizona Trail:

Grand Canyon National Park

Coronado National Memorial

Coronado National Forest

Saguaro National Park

Tonto National Forest

Coconino National Forest

Walnut Canyon National Monument

Kaibab National Forest

Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni–Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

Know someone who loves exploring new National Monuments? Gift them our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments that is available for sale on Amazon.com.

California

Mendocino National Forest

February 11, 2026 Raven About The Parks 4 Comments

Mendocino National Forest

California

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region

1,079,850 acres (911,733 federal/ 168,117 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/mendocino

Overview

Originally called California National Forest in 1908, this area between Interstate 5 and Highway 101 was renamed Mendocino National Forest 24 years later. It stretches north-south along the Coast Range covering parts of six counties north of San Francisco. Similar to Los Padres National Forest, it contains rocky serpentine ridgelines where only specially adapted plants can tolerate the heavy metals in the soil, like Sargent cypress and the shorter McNab cypress. Both species can be found along Frenzel Creek near Little Stoney Campground. In 1953, a Forest Service employee and 14 volunteer firefighters died in the Rattlesnake Fire and a memorial overlooking Rattlesnake Canyon is located off Forest Highway 7 on Alder Springs Road. Mendocino National Forest includes the northern portion of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument (see our full blog post), established in 2015 and administered in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management.

Know someone who loves the National Forests? Gift them our travel guidebook Out in the Woods so they can learn more about all 155 National Forests.

Highlights

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, Lake Pillsbury, Thomes Gorge, Hull Mountain, Frenzel Creek, Harvey Peak, Ide’s Cove Trail

Must-Do Activity

There are 18 National Forests in California (the most of any state), but Mendocino is the only one not crossed by a paved highway. It is a wonderful destination for outdoor recreation, both motorized and non-motorized, including Hull Mountain which is popular with hang gliders. Lake Pillsbury is 2,280 acres and offers boat ramps, campgrounds, and a resort, while 35-acre Letts Lake has a campground and access to hiking trails.

Best Trail

As we drove the winding road from Stonyford to the tiny roadside pullout for Deafy Glade Trail, we passed campgrounds full of RVs that were getting ready for a motorcycle event. Our hike took us far from any road noise, as we dropped down to and waded across the frigid South Fork of Stony Creek and then climbed steeply to 5,300 feet in elevation. The trail continued to the summit of 7,056-foot Snow Mountain, but we already had great views of the Rice Valley and decided to turn around at the 4.5-mile point, just inside the official boundary of the Snow Mountain Wilderness. We expected a desolate landscape after reading about recent fires, but about three-quarters of the trees along the trail were still alive and showed only minor charring at their bases.

Watchable Wildlife

Mendocino National Forest protects a biodiverse area home to tule elk, black-tailed deer, river otters, black bears, and mountain lions. Rivers that drain these highlands are used by California coastal chinook salmon and Northern California steelhead. Fishing in the lakes is a popular activity and a chance to see ospreys and bald eagles.

Photographic Opportunity

On Deafy Glade Trail, there were congregations of lady bugs that numbered in the hundreds along the South Fork of Stony Creek.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Fouts Springs Road (Forest Road M10) is a well-maintained gravel road that crosses the National Forest west of Stonyford. That area is popular with motorcycles and OHVs, so keep an eye out for them while driving.

Camping

Mendocino National Forest manages Bear Creek Campground and Lower Nye Dispersed Campground among many others, plus there are countless places for dispersed camping.

Wilderness Areas

Sanhedrin Wilderness

Snow Mountain Wilderness

Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness (also in Six Rivers and Trinity National Forests)

Yuki Wilderness (also run by the Bureau of Land Management)

Lassen National Forest (California)

Point Reyes National Seashore (California)

Nearest National Park

Redwood