Susan Alcorn began hiking at the age of 48 with a hike up Mt. Whitney. Several years later, on a trip over Piute Pass she started thinking about how she wasn’t seeing many older women on the trails and soon started looking into it. She collected over three dozen interview with women from across the country.
"My goal was to write a book that would acknowledge the accomplishments of the women backpackers I had talked to, and to inspire and encourage others to venture into the wilderness."
Her second book, "Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago" is about a 400 mile hike she made with her husband, Ralph along the ancient pilgrimage trail across Northern Spain, the Camino de Santiago. The book features historical and cultural information about this trail along with a modern perspective of hiking it.
Her website, www.backpack45.com has information about these trails as well as her book.
Well northbounder thru-hiker season on the Appalachian Trail is in full swing and it’s time to check in with Miss Janet, of the well-known hiker hostel, Miss Janet’s House. In my conversation with her, she talks about a typical day in her life during thru-hiker season and her observations on the current crop of thru-hikers.. I also speak with a thru-hiker hopeful, Six Pack, who was staying at Miss Janet’s house. Six pack talks about his previous hiking experience, his motivations for starting his long walk and describes the culture shock of fully entering the world of a thru-hiker.
