- ホーム
- > 洋書
- > 英文書
- > Multicultural Non-Fiction
Full Description
Beginning when their children were one and three years old - barely old enough to walk across their living room rug - Cindy Ross and her husband spent five extraordinary summers hiking the length of the 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail from Canada to Mexico. Ross undertook the challenge to teach her children that any worthwhile experience comes with its own set of challenges. Scraping Heaven is a revealing, touching account of one family's metamorphosis - an appealing adventure in a setting few will ever encounter. It is both an entertaining narrative of the trek and a heartfelt record of one family's growth. To the day-to-day challenges facing new parents, Ross added risky mountain crossings, winds strong enough to pick up a child, fears of bear and mountain lion attacks, snowy traverses, and in one instance, being chased by an angry bison. Ross, author of four books and a prolific freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, and Washington Post, writes frankly about overcoming her fears of thrusting her children into a harsh but stunningly beautiful environment.
The Continental Divide Trail runs along the crest of the Rocky Mountains. To walk along it, Ross writes, is "to scrape heaven." Much of the Trail is unfinished, just a designated route in a guidebook. Its remoteness meant that Ross and her family rarely saw other people. She and her husband, Todd Gladfelter, accompanied occasionally by friends, used llamas as kid-carriers and packers, which enabled them to go into the wilderness for weeks at a stretch, and take necessary supplies such as 100 cloth diapers. They finished the final 700 miles of the trip in 1998 on tandem mountain bikes. Scraping Heaven recounts the family's growing intimacy with the land, and with each other. Scraping Heaven will appeal to parents, backpackers, and anyone interested in travel narratives. We will be able to capitalize on Ross's media connections to publicize the book. Of Ross's A Woman's Journey, author Annie Dillard wrote, "She has put together a beautiful book, a wonderfully fascinating narrative." Publishers Weekly wrote, "Ross lets readers into her heart." Of her Kids in the Wild, The Denver Post wrote, "Ross and Gladfelter have produced a guide that will comfort and inspire parents."
Contents
Prologue
Part One: The Colorado Trail, 1992 - 93
1 A Dream Takes Root: September 1992
2 On the Road: June 22, 1993
3 The First Week: July 6, 1993
4 The Ten Mile Range: July 16, 1993
5 The Cochetopa Hills: August 1, 1993
6 Company Arrives: August 18, 1993
7 The Last Stretch: August 25, 1993
8 At Home: September 4, 1993
Part Two: The Continental Divide Trail, Canada to Chief Joseph Pass, Montana, 1995
9 A New Dream: Spring 1994
10 A Challenging Start: July 12, 1995
11 Scapegoat and "the Bob": July 25, 1995
12 Glacier National Park: August 9, 1995
13 Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness: August 26, 1995
Part Three: The Continental Divide Trail, Chief Joseph Pass, Tetons, 1996
14 The Centennial Mountains: July 1, 1996
15 The Beaverhead Mountains: July 23, 1996
16 The Southern Bitterroots: August 7, 1996
17 Yellowstone: August 22, 1996
18 The Teton Wilderness: August 28, 1996
Part Four: The Continental Divide Trail, Through Wyoming, 1997
19 The Great Divide Basin: June 21, 1997
20 The Wind River Range: July 21, 1997
21 The Mikulsky Boys: August 8, 1997
Part Five: The Continental Divide Trail, To Mexico, 1998
22 Northern Colorado: July 28, 1998
23 The San Juan Mountains: August 15, 1998
24 Cycling New Mexico: September 6, 1998
25 The Last Days: September 22, 1998
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
