Breaking Trail

National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Jennifer Pharr Davis unlocks the secret to maximizing perseverance–on and off the trail

In 36 thrilling days, Melanie Radzicki McManus hiked 1,100 miles around Wisconsin, landing her in the elite group of Ice Age Trail thru-hikers known as the Thousand-Milers. In prose that's alternately harrowing and humorous, Thousand-Miler takes you with her through Wisconsin's forests, prairies, wetlands, and farms, past the geologic wonders carved by long-ago glaciers, and into the neighborhood bars and gathering places of far-flung small towns.

Since their debut album Trail of the Hunter Gatherers launched in 2010 at the prestigious Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto, the bold compositions and brilliant playing of Zebrina have caught the attention of legendary New York-based music producer, composer and performer, John Zorn, and his experimental music label Tzadik Records. In May 2013, Zebrina went into the studio to record their sophomore album Hamidbar Medaber (The Desert Speaks), with special guest and klezmer pioneer, San Francisco-based Ben Goldberg (New Klezmer Trio, Unfold Ordinary Mind, Tin Hat) on clarinet.

In Journeys North, legendary trail angel, thru hiker, and former PCTA board member Barney Scout Mann spins a compelling tale of six hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2007 as they walk from Mexico to Canada. This ensemble story unfolds as these half-dozen hikers—including Barney and his wife, Sandy—trod north, slowly forming relationships and revealing their deepest secrets and aspirations. They face a once-in-a-generation drought and early severe winter storms that test their will in this bare-knuckled adventure. In fact, only a third of all the hikers who set out on the trail that year would finish.