For as long as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed being outdoors, especially camping and hiking—just didn’t do much of it. If I’d had my druthers growing up, I would have joined Cub Scouts and then Boy Scouts; however, being a pastor’s kid, it wasn’t an option. Scout meetings always conflicted with a regular church event. The older I got, the more life’s responsibilities seemed to push the desire for the outdoors into the background.
Living in Vermont in my late 30s and early 40s rekindled that faint ember. Vermont is simply eye candy for those who love the outdoors! So we took up biking and hiking. Our hikes consisted of day hikes whenever we got a chance to get away for a day or while on vacation.
About ten years ago, I started reading stories of people who took extensive backpacking treks. Most of these attempted thru-hikes of the Appalachian Trail—a nearly 2,200-mile trail from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mt. Katahdin in Maine. I was inspired! I began accumulating equipment to do some backpacking myself, with the eventual goal of hiking the 278-mile Long Trail in Vermont (this summer?). A good bit of my leisure reading focused on backpacking and hiking adventures.
All that background brings me to an entertaining book Chris gave me as a Christmas gift this year—Two Miles an Hour. In brief, author-hiker Robert Buckley recounts his foray into backpacking and long- distance hiking that, like me, didn’t begin until he was well into his 50s. My overall reaction to his adventures parallels that of a podcast series I listen to occasionally, “Mighty Blue on the Appalachian Trail.” Mighty Blue is the trail name for hiker Steve Adams who accomplished his first thru-hike of the AT in his early-60s—and he’s done it again since! Anyway, my response:
“Hey, if they can do it, maybe there is hope for me, too!”
Two Miles an Hour is wonderful nightstand reading. The five main sections—each covering a different journey—are broken down into day-by-day chapters of a few pages. A couple chapters can easily be read in a few minutes before sleep beckons.
The Journey Begins
The book begins at Buckley’s beginning. At age 57, he left his home in Marion, Iowa, and headed out on his first solo long-distance backpacking trip, an 8-day, 85-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail. The trek began in Gaylordsville, CT; his destination, North Adams, MA. Fortunately for the aspiring backpacker, he recounts all the mistakes he made as a novice, starting with his 47-pound backpack! Admitting he’d never backpacked, he looks back on the old flannel sleeping bag and the huge 5-person tent that he stuffed in an antique backpack from his Boy Scout days as chalks it up to the learning curve. Sharing his goofs helps the reader avoid similar mistakes. A little over a week after the adventure began, he strolled into North Adams, caught a bus to Albany, NY, and flew home. Success. And an appetite whetted for further adventure.
The balance of Two Miles an Hour takes us to the British Isles and covers four separate hikes. The first, the Coast to Coast Trail in England is 190 miles, taking Buckley 12 days to complete. He began on the west coast in St. Bees, hoping to have a westerly wind aid his journey east until he reached Robin Hood Bay on the east coast. The wind didn’t always cooperate! Some days demanded leaning into a strong, gusty near-gale coming from the northeast.
With England behind him, Buckley traveled a couple years later to Ireland and allowed himself 16 days to take on the 240-mile Head to Head trail. Unlike his previous treks, this trail was one of his own making; there are no prescribed walks across Ireland. So he recounts the months of planning involved in figuring out the trip. Any wife would appreciate his description of turning a guest bedroom of their home into “Command Center,” with maps pinned on three of the four walls.
When you entered the room, you immediately saw taped up maps of the entire country of Ireland, in bits and pieces, stretching from one side of the country to the other and from one side of the room to the other (I still can’t believe my wife let me do that).
After Ireland, Scotland called and the 110-mile West Highland Way trail. He sallied forth from Glasgow, and nine days later arrived in Fort William. The journey takes the pilgrim through some of the most scenic landscapes in the country—the region, really. Of course, this is the British Isles, so weather can be a bit unpredictable. One notable day, for example, Buckley swears he and his hiking partner saw Brigadoon in the Scottish foggy mist!
So what follows England, Ireland, and Scotland? Why, Wales, of course. So just after celebrating his 70th birthday, Buckley once again left the prairie of Iowa behind and flew east to tackle the 160-mile Pembrokeshire Coastal Path. He began in the north at Poppit Sands and soon discovered he should have put more effort in researching the path. He assumed that the trail would simply follow the cliffs from the heights, affording spectacular views of St. George’s Channel and the Celtic Sea. Well, follow the cliffs it does, but not exclusively from the top! Turns out the 186 miles was a series of eleven grueling up-and-down days. Nevertheless, eleven days after stepping out on the trail he stepped in to Tenby.
I’m saving the full story for a Pastor’s Page post sometime soon, but one of the most humorous incidents on the Pembrokeshire Path involved a cow that had gotten out of her pasture and blocked the path. All I’ll say at this point is this was along the top of the cliff…the trail hugs the edge of the cliff…and, well, let’s just say it could’ve ended better.
By the way, it should be noted that the British Isles adventures were significantly different from Buckley’s first backpacking trip in one major way. Whereas his AT trek involved sleeping in a tent or shelter every night, his B.I. trips were a bit more, shall we say, comfortable? He carried a pack with clothes and some snacks for the day, but every night he stayed in a hostel or B&B. So no sleeping bag on a half-inch mat and going days without a shower. He certainly found himself in some rather sketchy places along the way, but when I mentioned this detail to Chris, she remarked, “Now that kind of backpacking I could enjoy! A shower every day and a bed to sleep in every night!?!”
So why the title?
After his first couple of treks, Buckley looked at the distance covered each day and the amount of time it took, and it consistently averaged about two miles an hour. Incidentally, speaking very generally, that is the rule of thumb. Slower uphill, probably a bit faster downhill (but not a given!), and a good clip on level ground.
Parallels
One of the reasons I enjoy reading books on backpacking and hiking is I find so many parallels to the Christian life. For example, at the conclusion of his first section, the author ends with “Robert Buckley, Fellow Pilgrim.” John Bunyan, you may recall, purposely titled his allegory of the Christian life Pilgrim’s Progress. I recently wrote a devotional based on that analogy as well.
But there’s so much more. Taking one day at a time. Focusing on the path. Problems encountered when straying from the path. The burden of a pack. Trusting for the supply of water. Camaraderie of fellow pilgrims. The blessing of “trail magic.” Enduring hardship. Walking through pain. Staying focused on the goal, the destination. Finding encouragement from those who’ve gone before.
I could go on and on. Maybe someday after I’ve taken a real backpacking trip, perhaps the Long Trail, I’ll have the personal experience and insight to write a book on the subject. We’ll see.
In the meantime, on we go…at two miles an hour.
Sounds like a good read. Think I’ll get a copy.