Upcoming Book Signings
As the weather turns cooler, access to trails can be limited. If you find yourself inclined to curl up with a good book and read about other hikers when you aren't on the trail yourself, check out these upcoming book signings! (Hello early holiday gift?) Book Signings will take place at our downtown Asheville location (70 College St, Asheville, NC 28801)
Heather "Anish" Anderson
November 17, 2021
4pm-6pm
National Geographic Adventurer of the year, Heather "Anish" Anderson is a speedy hiker. She holds FKT (Fastest Known Time) Records on the Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail, and Arizona Trail. She is also a Triple Triple Crowner. This is not a typo. Anish has hiked all three of the country's major long trails three times each. She's also completed a Calendar Year Triple Crown, a title that currently only 4 other people hold.
MUD ROCKS BLAZES: LETTING GO ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL SUMMARY
Despite her success setting a self-supported Fastest Known Time record on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2013, Anish still had such deep-seated insecurities that she became convinced her feat had been a fluke. So two years later she set out again, this time hiking through mud, rocks, and mountain blazes to crush her constant self-doubt and seek the true source of her strength and purpose.
The 2,180 miles of the Appalachian Trail, from Maine to Georgia, did not make it easy. Anderson struggled with its infamous rain, humidity, insects, and steep grades for 54 days. But because she had to fight for every step, she knew when she reached the summit of Springer Mountain, the AT’s southern terminus, that she had fully earned the trail. Of greater value, she learned to love herself and her body, and to feel the depth of her power. Examining emotional scars as well as her relationship with her mother, Anderson’s deeply internal yet highly physical journey in Mud, Rocks, Blazes is an essential story.
Get the chance to meet Heather "Anish" Anderson in person. Anish will be selling and signing both of her books (Thirst and Mud Rocks Blazes). The event is free and open to the public!
Nancy East
November 27, 2021
2pm-4pm
Nancy East, an avid hiker and backpacker (and BRHC Guide), is a firm believer that you’re never too old to be what you might have been. She is a former veterinarian, a member of Haywood County’s Search and Rescue Team, a founding board member of the WNC Wilderness Safety Fund, a Gossamer Gear Ambassador, and a Southern Appalachian Naturalist.
In 2019, she and her good friend, Chris Ford, set the fastest known time (FKT) for a mixed-gender team on the Tour de LeConte Challenge. In 2020, they set the overall FKT for the Smokies 900 Challenge. Nancy has hiked all the trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park four times, and she continues going back for more.
CHASING THE SMOKIES MOON SUMMARY
Before she went missing, Susan Clements was hiking with her daughter on one of the most popular trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, less than a mile from Clingmans Dome.
When Nancy East’s search and rescue team joined the effort to find her, she learned Susan was a mother to three children who adored her. What Nancy didn’t know then was how much the search for Susan would influence her own life’s path afterward.
Two years later, Nancy and her good friend, Chris Ford, set out to improve the speed record of hiking all 801 miles of trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park while raising funds for hiker safety and preparedness.
While chasing the record, the duo faced tropical storm rains, swollen, unbridged creek crossings, injuries, night hiking, and wildlife encounters. Their arduous journey also became intertwined in one of the most rare human-bear tragedies in the park’s history. Maintaining a positive mental attitude was their superpower through it all.
The enormous feat of endurance was one of the most grueling endeavors that Nancy, a mother and everyday athlete, had ever faced. However, the hardest things she had endured were in her past. The strength she gained from those experiences was now moving her forward, one difficult step at a time.
Chasing the Smokies Moon is a story of grief, hope, empowerment, and love, and the thread that binds them all.
Meet Nancy! East will be selling and signing her book in person. The event is free and open to the public!
“If you think that setting trail records is about speed and hubris, Nancy East will prove you wrong. It is not her success, but her vulnerability that will encourage you to keep moving forward when the next step feels impossible. It is not her impressive miles, but rather her insightful reflections that allow you to recognize feelings of gratitude and connectedness in the midst of pain and loss. And it is not her attributes as a hiker, but her roles as a mother, spouse, and friend that make this book a valuable resource for anyone who is trying to navigate through relationships – and adventure.” — Jennifer Pharr Davis
