Trail Mix Paperback – September 28, 2014

My most-often sought books, either on Goodreads or elsewhere, are mysteries, thrillers and legal fiction. But I also happen to very much enjoy mainstream novels, which aren't nearly as available as genre fiction. That's too bad, and yet now and then I run into one with an intriguing premise by a relatively new author. That was how I stumbled on Paulita Kincer's Trail Mix, which I purchased as a download from Amazon onto my iPad.The novel suggested something of a "Thelma and Louise" kind of story, or at least one of two women facing an adventure that very likely almost no one would attempt. I'm talking about Andi and Jess, the protagonists who decide (for all the wrong reasons, really) to tackle a 2,100-mile hiking trip along the Appalachian Trail. Mind you, these two suburban moms, both of whom are struggling with their marriages and teen-age kids who aren't exactly warm and cuddly anymore, never did anything even remotely like hiking over rugged land from Georgia to Maine. I can tell you with certainty that I'd never attempt it (although I did go skydiving once — the thrill of a lifetime.But I digress. You can imagine that a hike of that nature would take just about forever and be arduous. Clearly, it was. It was the author's writing style, though, that grabbed me. Here are two passages I bookmarked to share so you can see why."As Jess walked, Andi continued her tour guide role. She read from the pages she had copied out of the Appalachian Trail Guide. Jess laughed at the specificity of passages, even pointing out where the author saw deer, as if deer would still be there waiting like a Wal-Mart greeter when all the other hikers filed past."And another. This occurs after the two women unexpectedly run into soldiers involved in a training exercise:"Look," Jess turned on Andi. "I'm not the one covered with dirt because I dove to the ground like a dog under the bed during a thunderstorm, so don't use that tone of voice with me. As if I'm not miserable enough already with all this weight on my back and walking about 50 miles today and my knees aching, I need soldiers shooting blanks at me?They walked in silence for a few minutes before Jess giggled."What Andi asked."Suppose I was going to have my first off-trail bathroom experience. So I gather my orange shovel and go off into the woods looking for a likely spot. I dig my shovel in and kaboom, I hit a fake mine. I'm pretty certain I would never go again.Get a sense of the adventure? The potential for change in the women? The possibility of change in their lives? I like that kind of story, and I tore through this book in about four days. (Would've been one day if not for work obligations. I hate how work gets in the way of reading.)I'm not going to tell you how the women fared on their journey. And I'm certainly not going to spoil things by telling you what motivated them to go in the first place. I will only tell you I enjoyed it and recommend it. It's good to break out the routine with mainstream every now and then. This is one of those times.

I don't know how to reconcile the book titled "Trail Mix" I read with most of the reviews. I purchased this book (in part) based on the other reviews and I am very disappointed, I should have saved the money I spent or at least subscribed to kindle unlimited so I could have deleted it quickly and gotten another book. I will admit that I haven't yet finished the book but I have read most of it and just can't bear to continue reading. Sorry Paulita, this book is yuppie soccer Mom drivel...the two women find their weight, food, possible weight loss strategies, dieting, weight, who looks how good in their hiking shorts, food, weight, how much weight they may have lost or gained, who has the more idiotic/controlling husband, food, the numbers on the scale, who has the most difficult and defiant teenage daughter, weight...do you get my drift? The subtitle should be something like "two weight-obsessed eating disordered neurotic suburban Moms go imaginary-hiking on the Appalachian trail", because if these two women profiled here had actually gone hiking they either would have quit early on or they would have (I hope) experienced some reflection on their life choices (rather than just their...you guessed it...weight) and some personal growth while on the trail. Instead of this book I would recommend Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods", Jennifer Phar Davis's "Becoming Odyssa" or almost any other book by someone who actually hiked the AT or the PCT. I did give this two stars (instead of one) because the author is a decent writer...I still did not enjoy the book though, so even good writing does not make the content of this book worth reading in my opinion

Let me start this by daying that I am a "guy" and this is more of a "women's" book, but I love the AT and I love reading about it. I am thrilled that there is a small but growing body of fictional work based on a good knowledge of what it takes to hike the AT for any meaningful distance. I read a lot of the actual thru-hike narratives and, as much as I like them, a bit of fiction makes for a nice relaxing alternative to the usual fare. I'll have to pass on the child based competitiveness of mothers, etc., but I found good insights into getting into the early days on the trail and trying to make it work with trail partners. On the whole it was well written.

If you want an unrealistic description of life on the Trail, this book is for you. If you want spotty character development, this book is for you. If you want pat answers to problems in the characters' personal lives, this book is for you. If you want plot elements that don't advance the plot, but seem to be included only for a tired 'punchline', this book is for you. If you want a few accurate descriptions of places along the Trail, this book might be for you, but there are better choices. I wanted to like this one. I kept reading it because I wanted to like it. In the end, it was a disappointment and I'm glad I got it as a free download a while back during some promotional event.

It was a good bit of fiction with non fictional scenarios mixed in with AT hiking facts also, the friendship had plausibility conflicts and all. I read a lot of these trail hike journals and this was interesting. Hike your own hike but be careful who you leave behind in your quest to finish as you may meet up with them again later on the trail. These quests can bring out the best and the worst in people.

Nice quick read; I have read many accounts of hiking the AT and Pct but no novels so this was a different twist. Being a mom w young adult girls i could understand the mom & wife & wt issues. I appreciated learning a few more insights/tips onthrough hiking the most. Worth reading esp if you ever wondered if you could do it.