Reviewed by Lindsey Grudnicki
In her memoir Summoning the Mountains, Amy Allen takes the reader by the hand, throws a pack onto her shoulders, and brings her along for quite a journey.
Determined to fulfill her dream of hiking the entirety of the Appalachian Trail, Allen sets out to traverse 2175 miles of wilderness and to learn, if not the secret to contentment, then at least a little something about herself, her values, and her future. Her endeavor is not so much a mid-life crisis as it is an attempt by a strong, free-spirited woman to rediscover herself and her place in the world.
This rediscovery comes from a change of scene (the footpath runs across numerous states, up mountains, down valleys, through forests, and along rivers) and a dramatic alteration of lifestyle (or, life condensed to a backpack). The new challenges Amy faces bring her back to her fundamental self, with all of her talents, flaws, instincts and passions.
“The pale line that divides wisdom from insanity grows fainter as we age, or perhaps we no longer need lines to divide the two for we have come to recognize that they are one in the same,” Allen begins. She exposes the reader first to the insanity of her adventure: Amy sells her home, quits her job, and leaves her two sons entirely in their father’s care in order to realize her goal of “thru-hiking” the Trail – or making the trip in a single continuous hike over the course of six months. As her journey progresses, that “pale line” does indeed grow faint as we witness her amazing perseverance, blossoming friendships, and sense of wonder at the beauty of the world.
Amy describes the joys and hardships of the hike in great detail, documenting her happiness in simple pleasures (showers, seeing friends, and ice cream, to name a few) in equal measure to her frustrations and fears. Injury, homesickness, fatigue, and mosquitoes are the tough realities of her hike, yet they do not prevent Allen – and her readers – from seeing the humor in humanity’s battle against the elements and the nobility of engaging with nature at a deeper, more soulful level.
While much of her memoir records her daily progress along the trail, Allen is at her best when she pauses in her walk and offers a statement – sometimes no more than a sentence or two – that sheds light on her spiritual and emotional growth. She learns to trust herself, to trust the direction she has chosen even if that direction leads to the unknown:
“The questions I came out here to nurse are all still there. No answers have miraculously surfaced. I still have no idea what job I will have when I come off the trail. I do not know what I want to be when I grow up, and I don’t know which crazy dream to pursue next. What I have learned, I’ve learned from following the Trail itself. Many times along the way, I would look up seeking the next white blaze, and it would be nowhere in sight… There was a day, though, when I finally accepted that just following the trail beneath my feet would reveal the next blaze.”
Summoning the Mountains offers some lovely descriptions of wildlife and natural beauty, and explores the culture of long-distance hiking; yet it is Allen’s insightful musings that give the book its power. As she learns to have “faith that what comes next will be revealed all in good time,” Amy shares a key to fulfilling dreams, overcoming difficulties, and finding happiness that we, in our resistance to the insanity that accompanies wisdom, may be overlooking in our own lives.
Summoning the Mountains is now available from Saille Productions. Learn more about Amy Allen and her work here: http://www.amyallenbooks.com/ or check out her Facebook page.
Photo credit: “Noontime in the Smokies” by Lindsey Grudnicki
