The Last Englishman (Volume 1)

SHORTLISTED FOR OUTDOOR BOOK OF THE YEAR 2012 - THE GREAT OUTDOORS MAGAZINE The Pacific Crest Trail stretches some 2,650 miles from the Mexican border to Canada. It meanders through the scorching deserts of California, the dramatic Sierra Nevada, the volcanic landscape of Oregon and the vast forests of Washington. Every year around 300 hikers attempt to walk its entirety. Of every ten who start, four will give up in the first month alone, and only two will reach Canada. Extremes of heat and cold, the toughness and roughness of the trail and encounters with an assortment of potentially deadly creatures stretch walkers to their absolute limits. It's a lesson Keith Foskett soon learns the hard way, having to deal with blisters and other physical ailments, as well as his inherent phobia of snakes, spiders, bears, getting dirty and camping in the woods after dark. With the harsh winter looming, he enters into a desperate race against time, facing a dangerous, physical and very real threat to become the last Englishman to complete the greatest long distance hiking trail on Earth.