“Anyhow we never know where we must go nor what guides we are to get – men, storms, guardian angels…” – John Muir
This book made me want to go hike or spend a night under the stars even if you aren’t the nature- typ.
The book is written from Mari’s point of view. After her parents divorce a couple years ago Mari felt the need to have a perfect life and according to her Instagram followers Mari does now have one. But inside, she feels superficial and lost. The comments on her account are hollow and mean nothing to her. This stands in great comparison to the heartfelt and honest comments on the account of Mari’s cousin, Bri. Bri and Mari once used to be best friends and planned on hiking the John Muir Trail together until they lost touch. Two months ago, Bri died by the preparation for the hike but her Instagram is still filled with pictures of her life well-lived.
The story begins tearful and full of regret: Mari feels like “that maybe if I hadn’t completely lost myself, I would’ve been with her on all these adventures”. Now, Mari wants so badly to do something that is real and means something: “I want to feel a connection- to life, and the world, and to other people.”
So, when her aunt sends Bri’s equipment for the John Muir Trail to Mari’s doorstep and Mari sees that Bri has written her name on the wilderness permit too, she takes the opportunity and travels – without further preparation – to Yosemite National Park.
First, Mari just wants to walk to the first stop to prove that she can go for something crazy, just as Bri. But then one day turns into two and two days into three. On the way, Mari takes courage in the presence of Bri that she feels all around her in the wilderness. She wants to take a role model in Bri, who “seems to have touched everyone she met in a meaningful, inspiring way.” After three or four days Mari meets a group of strangers and the long way ahead of her is now filled with laughter and making friends.
Being on the trail learns Mari that going out is really going in and she takes that seriously. She is desperate to going from lost to found. Therefore, she resists the feelings that arise in her for Josh, the unofficial leader of the group. While Mari goes from fumbling her way through the plan of her cousin and having the feeling of being on the trail by accident, to making the hike her very own, she realizes that Josh and her new friends just might help her to see who she really is and what she is capable of.
