Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
I always look forward to reading books about people's experiences as long distance thru hiking. To read about this author's experience hiking the challenging JMT as a solo hiker is inspiring. Especially since she didn't have much backpacking experience before she set out on her journey.
It's also always interesting to read about fellow hikers and how much a lot of them help each other in this quest.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was around 3.5 stars for me.

It's an interesting read about hiking the John Muir Trail as a solo lady hiker. Teglo shares her experience of being a divorcee, training for the trail, and her experience of hiking alone. The book starts out strong and gives us a deep dive into Teglo's training and what hiking the trail meant to her. There's talk about her faith and her marriage and information on the people she met along the trail. The book is essentially a journal - we get information on every day as she hikes. After a while it felt a bit repetitive, especially when she shares the notes of encouragement in full that she received from friends.

I like that the book has a bit of an epilogue that talks about life after the trail and even talks about keeping in touch with the people she met.

Overall a nice read about hiking.

This is a fascinating book with practical tips on through hiking the John Muir trail. The writing is awkward at many points, but the descriptions of nature and the clear explanations about backpacking equipment and strategy still made this a worthy read for me.

The author talks about a life changing solo backpacking hike along the John Muir trail. It is clear this is not just a physical challenge but an emotional pilgrimage as the author tries to figure out aspects of her own personality and dissolving marriage.

There is some mention of Christianity throughout the book, which is the author’s driving spiritual force. But it is not heavy handed. It’s clear the spiritual star of this book is nature and the author’s own growing belief in her ability to do hard things.

This book will inevitably be compared to Cheryl Strayed’s Wild. While it’s in the same family, it isn’t as raw and emotional. The author holds us at an arm’s length from her ugliest emotions. Additionally, the author goes into more practical tips of how to prepare for such a hike, including how to physically train and select gear.

I ended up having to DNF this book. I wanted to love Weathered, and I really loved the thought behind it, but a few too many negative comments about others on the trail took away from the story for me. I liked the premise of the book, and I loved how detailed Teglo was in describing her preparation for the trail, but there were just too many moments that took away from the reading experience for me, personally.

I picked up Christy Teglo's memoir, Weathered: Finding strength on the John Muir Trail (Perspective Through Adventure 2021) mostly out of curiosity. How does a thirty-something woman who wasn’t a hiker (though she did love the outdoors) decide her first great hiking adventure should be the daunting 220-mile John Muir trail. That is a monster of a hike, started by many finished by few, that starts in Yosemite Valley, winds its way through the California High Sierra mountains, and finishes at Mount Whitney. That's the 14,494-foot tall Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States. Not only does she pick this hike, she finishes it, proving her chops at preparation and tenacity for a grueling ordeal.

In this book, Christy provides a template on how she does it, including preparation, foods she bought, equipment she selected, physical preparation, and everything in between. Then, she takes you on the trek with her, each of the twenty-one days, what she covered, saw, ate, people she met, how she became stronger each step of the way. In the end, she discovers she not only proved to herself she can do anything she sets her mind to, she figures out what to do about her failing marriage and the rest of her life.

Here is a sampling:

I asked, “Mount Whitney? Tell me more about the trail.” Barry explained, “Mount Whitney is the
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You see, hikers have a distinct look. They wear khaki and earth tones; they’re fit, they eat granola, and they love to “live off the land.”
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it was so cold. The trees were blocking the sun again, but my clothes mostly dried. I packed up and set off. Everyone around that area was gone, of course. I wore shorts and a T-shirt because I figured it would warm up again, but it didn’t for several hours.
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If you like outdoors stories about people who push themselves to the limit just because they can, this is the book for you. The author isn't a Peter Matthiessen (one of the greatest nature writers ever) or even close, but her story is exceptional. That's why I awarded it 5/5.

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Weathered: Finding Strength on the John Muir Trail by Christy Teglo is a memoir of the author, hiking this difficult trail which changed her life. Ms.Teglo was a corporate executive, and is now a full time traveler.

Without a doubt, I enjoy reading travel memoirs very much. They’re a lot of fun, gives me ideas for future (hopefully) trips, in addition to allowing me to learn about far off places.

Weathered: Finding Strength on the John Muir Trail by Christy Teglo emphatically focused on the author’s growth throughout her hike. A difficult 220 miles, which she did in approximately three weeks, amazingly her first long hike, not to mention going solo. Ms. Teglo was going through a difficult time in her life, her marriage was in disarray, and she needed some space to think. After months of preparing, she finally started on this monumental task.

I have never heard of The John Muir Trail before I started this book. The author does include many photos, but they weren’t included in my galley. The trail, however, looks amazing and certainly worth the trouble to hike, even if it’s just for a day.

Encountering weather and trail hazards, Ms. Teglo braved and persevered. But nothing is simple, she did find clarity of mind, but even after finishing she needed time to put her life back in order. Throughout the book, the author gives preparation tips, trail tips, and lessons learned.

I enjoyed reading about the people she met, but I felt she could have expounded on this subject. I’ve done a lot of traveling, and the people one meet are usually the highlight, and most memorable moments, as well as fodder to stories which get better anytime you tell it.

The book could have used more editing. The writing, at times, made no sense or was simply repetitive. Lots of “because..” and other conjunctions which were either out of place, and made little sense as to why they were included. This was very conspicuous, and really hampered the reading and enjoyment of reading about her trip. It was especially noticeable at the last part, which was very well written, introspective, and an excellent way to wrap up this magnificent adventure.