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Journeys North - a review

Reviewed by Rees Hughes (aka, Boris, Uncle Rico, Mr. Question and part of Team Geezer)

Journeys North by Barney ‘Scout’ Mann

In the process of compiling tales from the PCT for two volumes of The Pacific Crest Trailside Reader and the nearly nine years of curating the companion website, I have literally read hundreds of accounts of hiking the trail. Unless you were among the first or the fastest or walked it in winter, most of the accounts incorporated the same basic elements. When I opened Journeys North, it was with a certain skepticism that there was still a fresh angle on a well-told story.

I know Scout and have benefited from his kindness and, from afar, have admired his generous contributions to the PCT, the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, and the Partnership for the National Trails System. He is the big charismatic personality, complete with the compassion and warmth, portrayed in Journeys North.

To my pleasant surprise, the structure of Journeys North works well and carves out a unique and compelling approach to telling the story of thru-hiking the PCT. Scout does this by weaving together the stories of half a dozen thru-hikers plus a number of additional ancillary hikers to provide readers with a sense of the challenge of the trail, trail culture, and the full range of trail experiences. Most important is his account of the thru-hike he and his wife, Sandy (Frodo), were undertaking which provides the narrative thread that holds the book together. Scout, who knows the PCT, the people, and the history well, draws upon that knowledge to add richness to the story and share interesting asides.

Although the Class of 2007 serves as the basis for the book, most aspects of walking the PCT have a timeless quality so the Journeys North rarely feels dated. [Notably, the ADZPCTKO has been discontinued, Hiker Heaven has closed, and Andrea Dismore passed away in 2017] It also feels deeply personal. The backstories of Blazer, Nadine, Tony, Bounty Hunter, Dalton and others help the readers genuinely care about the success of these hikers both on the trail and in life. And Scout maintains the same spirit of disclosure about his own life with Frodo. In the end, we all find that walking the trail is not an escape from our problems. Instead the trail gives us the strength and the confidence to address them head on. I certainly found myself rooting for Blazer’s happiness.

The book has moments of lightness and humor (e.g., the source of trail names, the watermelon on ice at Dicks Pass, Scout and Frodo shaving their heads, the trail magic north of Tehachapi [a version of this story is included in The Pacific Crest Trailside Reader: California], the tradition of Hike Naked Day). There are sections of genuine tension (the early arrival of winter in the North Cascades, even Frodo’s dental emergency made me anxious). And the book includes plenty of the reasons that so many of us have a deep love for the PCT.

My criticisms of Journeys North are somewhat petty. Scout is clearly an extrovert and gifted at bringing people together. Too many people. It is fitting that the inside of the back cover is a composite photo of hundreds of hikers. I appreciated Scout’s efforts to honor so many of those who shared the 2007 experience with him and Frodo but from my perspective as a reader, it was very difficult to track all of the players. The core group, given the shifting back and forth in time and location, was challenging enough to keep straight. But when all of the other names were included the result was overwhelming. In the final chapter alone, in addition to Scout’s primary characters (Scout, Frodo, Dalton, Blazer, Nadine and Pacha) we also have Figaro, Chigger, Guts, Chuckwagon, Lotto, Disco Dan, Patrick, Clara, Gesh, Junkfood, Recline, Roswell, Chris, Kim, Heidi, Grace, Stacie and Conrad. Phew.

In his Acknowledgments, Scout talks about the process of finding his narrative voice. It is a special challenge for us amateur writers who have made this a second career. For me, even though I found some of the metaphors a little awkward, the writing was very accessible, paced nicely, and the reading easy.

In sum, Journeys North turns out to be a refreshing and authentic account of thru-hiking the PCT that should delight armchair hikers and allow seasoned PCT veterans the opportunity to relive their own experience.