![]() ![]() ![]() I felt beautiful because my body was capable of hiking over two thousand miles. I felt beautiful because my body was toned, my legs could hike thirty miles a day, and my arms could pull up on branches or brace my fall when I needed them to. But I did feel beautiful, probably more beautiful than I had ever felt. I didn’t look groomed, and I wouldn’t be chosen to be in an outdoor magazine. I wasn’t pretty – at least, not the way the south bounders were pretty. I combed through my nappy hair with my hands, ran a finger over the scratches on my arms, and picked the loose scabs off my old bug bites. “Our last night at the hostel, after taking a shower, I spent several minutes looking in the mirror. I love the sense of empowerment that rings through these lines. After hiking 2000 miles on the trail, she compared herself with hikers who were fairly fresh just starting their journey. My favorite lines from “Becoming Odyssa Adventures on the Appalachian Trail” were on page 274 describing a scene that occurred towards the end of her hike on the AT. I thought she struck a good balance of sharing the highs and lows of a 2000+ mile trek across the country. She didn’t sugar coat the rough spots, nor did she glamorize the wonders. I thought Jennifer did a great job of taking the reader with her along the journey. Though I did learn from her adventure and misadventures. ![]() “Becoming Odyssa Adventures on the Appalachian Trail” reads like an effortless story, it’s not a how-to manual on hiking. ![]()
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