Books and my backpack

When I saw this book’s title–Hitting the Road Without a Map–I immediately hit the “buy” button. Author Fred Rutter rewarded my choice with his likability, writing, honesty, and adventurous spirit. I found myself wishing I had literally been along for the ride.

Rutter and a buddy tackle RV life head on as they drive a mutual friend’s 37-foot motor home with three slide outs to her new residence in the West.

The author doesn’t shy away from expressing his fears and shortcomings, but his story about his 3,100-mile RV journey from Ohio to Oregon is filled with positives. He has a childlike fascination with the scenery of Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park, the Oregon coast, and more. His journey takes him places he could never have imagined.

Readers learn quickly that these are two extraordinary men who have traveled difficult life paths. I was pulling for them every mile.

You can call ’em a bunch of old fogeys, if you dare. But when is the last time you hoisted a backpack onto your shoulders and walked nearly 8,000 miles, completing the Triple Crown of long-distance trekking? That’s what the Wander Women did, joining a growing group of people who view their older years as a time to get outside and find adventure.

Click on the underlined words above to read their stories.

(The journalist should have used ”Crest,” not ”Coast” for the PCT.)

Sue and I fall short of the Wander Women’s accomplishments, but, since we stopped working when I turned 60, we have walked more than 1,400 miles on six famed trails in seven countries, including our recent backpacking adventure on California’s John Muir Trail. But CNN didn’t write about us. Ah, well.

However, we have teamed up to write and illustrate two books about our adventures. You can pick up your copies on Amazon: Camino Sunrise: Walking With My Shadows and Trippin’ Through My 60s: When Adventure Calls, the Trails of Europe Answer.