The Downhill Hiking Club

Author: Dom Joly
Publisher: Constable
ISBN: 1472128427
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Book Description
Three men. 470 kilometres. Twenty-one days. Welcome to the Downhill Hiking Club . . . At a boozy, cricket-filled afternoon at Lord's, Dom Joly convinces his two closest friends to agree to the unthinkable: a challenging hike across Lebanon, from the Israeli border in the south, along the spine of the country's mountain range, all the way to the Syrian border in the north. For Joly it is something of a homecoming, having grown up in Beirut. It was a happy childhood, though he did go to school with Osama bin Laden. Arriving in Lebanon armed with copious amounts of Vaseline - and no walking experience, bar taking the dog for the occasional stroll - Dom, Chris and Harry don't quite know what they've got themselves into. Joined by their bemused chaperone Caroll, they meet a variety of characters along the way including Ali, a stony-faced Hezbollah Museum guide who seems unperturbed by circling Israeli jets, and part-time Londoner Raf, who challenges Dom and the boys to a brain-freeze drinking contest. From a hair-raising creep along the 'Valley of the Skulls' to accidentally flashing an unsuspecting Ethiopian cook, the three friends just about manage to keep going. With more than a smattering of persiflage and some cringe-worthy moments, The Downhill Hiking Club is a big-hearted, witty and affectionate love letter to Lebanon and its rich history with a meditation on family and homeland at its heart. Written with Dom's trademark humour, it is a paean to both the simple joys of friendship and to growing old disgracefully.

The Downhill Hiking Club

Author: Dom Joly
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1472128427
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 320

The Unlikely Thru-Hiker

Author: Derick Lugo
Publisher: Appalachian Mountain Club
ISBN: 9781628421187
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Book Description
Derick Lugo had never been hiking. He didn't even know if he liked being outside all that much. He certainly couldn't imagine going more than a day without manicuring his goatee. But with a job overseas cut short and no immediate plans, this fixture of the greater New York comedy circuit began to think about what he might do with months of free time and no commitments. He had heard of the Appalachian Trail and knew of its potential for danger and adventure, but he had never seriously considered attempting to hike all 2,192 miles of it. Then again, what could go wrong for a young black man from the city trekking solo through the East Coast backwoods? The Unlikely Thru-Hiker is the story of how an unknowing ambassador of one of the AT's least common demographics, unfamiliar with both the outdoors and thru-hiking culture, sets off with an extremely overweight pack and a willfully can-do attitude to conquer the infamous trail. What follows are eye-opening lessons on preparation, humility, race relations, and nature's wild unpredictability. But this isn't a hard-nosed memoir of discouragement or intolerance. What sets Lugo apart from the typical walk in the woods is his refusal to let any challenge squash his inner Pollyanna. Through it all, he perseveres with humor, tenacity, and an unshakeable commitment to grooming--earning him the trail name "Mr. Fabulous"--that sees him from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Katahdin in Maine.

The Dark Tourist

Author: Dom Joly
Publisher: Robinson
ISBN: 1472146050
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 251

Book Description
Ever since he can remember, Dom Joly has been fascinated by travel to odd places. In part this stems from a childhood spent in war-torn Lebanon, where instead of swapping marbles in the schoolyard, he had a shrapnel collection -- the schoolboy currency of Beirut. Dom's upbringing was interspersed with terrifying days and nights spent hunkered in the family basement under Syrian rocket attack or coming across a pile of severed heads from a sectarian execution in the pine forests near his home. These early experiences left Dom with a profound loathing for the sanitized experiences of the modern day travel industry and a taste for the darkest of places. In this brilliantly odd and hilariously told travel memoir, Dom Joly sets out on a quest to visit those destinations from which the average tourist would, and should, run a mile. The more insalubrious the place, the more interesting is the journey and so we follow Dom as he skis in Iran on segregated slopes, spends a weekend in Chernobyl, tours the assassination sites of America and becomes one of the few Westerners to be granted entry into North Korea. Eventually Dom journeys back to his roots in Beirut only to discover he was at school with Osama Bin Laden. Funny and frightening in equal measure, this is a uniquely bizarre and compelling travelogue from one of the most fearless and innovative comedians around.

The Dog Who Took Me Up a Mountain

Author: Rick Crandall
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0757322697
Category : Pets
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Book Description
The uplifting story of two unlikely mountaineers: a man in late middle age and a fearless pint-sized pup who, together, scale Colorado's highest peaks. By the time life had finished hitting Rick Crandall from all sides, he was at the lowest point of his life, both personally and professionally. Depressed to find himself facing a mid-late-life age crisis and watching his finances crumble as the tech industry bubble burst, he hopes his future isn't headed downhill. It was at this critical juncture in their new marriage that his wife Pamela made an astute and life-changing suggestion: "Let's get a dog." So begins the story of Emme, a 200-pound Saint Bernard trapped in the body of 5-pound Australian terrier puppy. Soon, Emme and Rick hit the hiking trails around Aspen, Colorado. While she is groomed to be a show dog, it's soon obvious that her heart is in the hills and with Rick, who decides to add more challenging hikes to the mix. Before long, they are scaling Colorado's "fourteeners," peaks with altitudes of over 14,000 feet. On one magical day, Emme climbs to the top of four "fourteeners," a quarter of the sixteen such peaks she will complete during her life without once being carried on a trail or on the rocks on the way to a summit. In mountaineering Rick realizes he has found—in his late sixties—his life's new passion. This is where Emme has led him—out of the abyss and to the top of the mountain. She was never really walking behind: she was nudging him along until he found his stride. Even after Rick understood the glory of climbing, it was Emme still doing the leading, until Rick learned how to lead himself.

Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast

Author: David Goodman
Publisher: Appalachian Mountain Club
ISBN: 9781628421248
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Book Description
Updated for the first time in ten years, the "bible of Eastern backcountry skiing" returns with an all-new edition, fully revised to reflect the latest and greatest off-piste lines--as well as the trove of newly created and rehabilitated ski glades in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, New York, and Massachusetts.

Hiking Trails of Southwestern Colorado, Fifth Edition

Author: John Peel
Publisher: Graphic Arts Books
ISBN: 151326298X
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Book Description
Now with a fresh design, this fifth edition of the bestselling authoritative guide for hikers in Southwestern Colorado features new and updated trails, clear maps, and beautiful color photographs. Used by beginner and seasoned hikers alike for years now, Hiking Trails of Southwestern Colorado shares the best nature-walking excursions around Durango, Silverton, Vallecito, and the Colorado Trail areas. Taking you everywhere from the refreshing waters of Ice Lakes Basin to the glorious views of Engineer Mountain, this new edition of the guidebook includes: More than 60 trails and climbs plus 12 new hikes, accompanied by corresponding maps and color photographs Distance, elevation, difficulty rating, and duration for each hike General overview of the trail as well as quick but important details on the route Options to other paths and trails for the wandering adventurer Enjoy the natural landscape and wild beauty of Southwestern Colorado with this comprehensive guide to Southwestern Colorado’s favorite trails.

Tahoe Rim Trail

Author: Tim Hauserman
Publisher: Wilderness Press
ISBN: 0899977103
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
The 165-mile Tahoe Rim Trail is considered one of the world's premier trails. Accessible by hikers, equestrians, skiers and mountain bikers (for the non-wilderness portions), it winds completely around spectacular Lake Tahoe, the highest and largest alpine lake in North America. The trail crosses through six counties, three national forests, and two states and was completed in 2001 largely by volunteer labor. The best-selling Tahoe Rim Trail has been revised to reflect the latest conditions and routing of the trail and includes information for over 20 miles of new trail. Updated topographic maps depict the entire route, along with the easy (and fun) to read trail directions, the book includes fascinating information on the plants and animals you'll see along the trail, plus essential advice for planning a hike on the TRT, whether it's a day's outing or a 2-week circuit of the entire lake. The first and only how-to guide to this popular trail, it is the official guidebook of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, whose mission is to improve, maintain and promote the trail.

Here Comes The Clown

Author: Dom Joly
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0857207695
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 300

Book Description
In 2004 Dom Joly wrote a spoof autobiography called Look At Me, Look At Me. In Here Comes the Clown, he takes up the story of his life from 14th January 2000 when the very first episode of Trigger Happy TVaired on Channel 4 and everything changed for him. Suddenly he was famous; reality was weirder than any fiction he could conjure up. This is the story of what happened next, through snippets of recollections from his adventures in showbusiness...

Backpacker

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 88

Book Description
Backpacker brings the outdoors straight to the reader's doorstep, inspiring and enabling them to go more places and enjoy nature more often. The authority on active adventure, Backpacker is the world's first GPS-enabled magazine, and the only magazine whose editors personally test the hiking trails, camping gear, and survival tips they publish. Backpacker's Editors' Choice Awards, an industry honor recognizing design, feature and product innovation, has become the gold standard against which all other outdoor-industry awards are measured.