Erin Levens

On Books and Trails

Welcome!

On Books

For a few years now, I’ve become curious about the books on my own shelves.

I am a heavy library user and realize that I have a lot of unread books that I own. My plan is to excavate and explore what is there, to read them in the order that I encounter them, and track that progress here.

I also have a thing for lists. Definitely book lists but also movie lists, hikes, anything to progress along to completion. I don’t know why this is.

On Trails

I’m drawn to trails. It’s the possibility inherent in not knowing what’s around the bend. It’s the sense of exploration. It’s being in nature, of having an adventure. I love trail stories, both current and historical. It’s why I’m so taken with the Braddock’s Road story. I’ve been hiking here and there but have always longed to go more. I’m starting this year hiking very locally and then broadening. And then finally I will begin to section hike the Appalachian Trail. From there, who knows, maybe I’ll have time in my life to do parts of the Continental Divide and Pacific Crest.

I started running at age 36. Over the years, I’ve done a few 5ks, 8ks, and 10ks. And then I got away from it. I’ve done a few Couch 2 5ks here and there but no races in a long time. It’s time to do another 10k. I’m training for the same race that was the first 10k I’ve ever done in 2012.

The Allure of Trails

A photo of a trail fills me with the delicious rise of adventure and possibility. I’ve always loved the feeling of setting off in a local, state or national park with a map, water, and a trail ahead of me. I’m an aspiring Bill Bryson, albeit, without his wit and sarcasm.

This picture was taken today in a local park. I have a Falcon Guide out of the library with a bunch of day hikes (really morning hikes) of nearby parks. I made a list of them in my bullet journal and now I’m checking each one off by writing the date accomplished. I’m considering this the beginning of my training for section hiking the Appalachian Trail.

What I really want to do here on this blog is write about trails and books. I want to go through the books I have and read them with the ultimate goal of decluttering and giving them away after I read them. I also want to kind of study why I have the books that I have. Here on the blog I’ll also track my AT training and trail hiking. And I want to write my book. Books and reading also lead me down trails. One topic organically leads to another and I follow the trail. Or else I get obsessed and dig deep into that one topic, ending up with a sort of text set or syllabus on that topic.