A Blistered Kind of Love: One Couple's Trial by Trail

by Angela & Duffy Ballard

"You'll cry," said Meadow Ed, the itinerant trail angel, "and sometimes, that tent is going to seem awfully small for the two of ya... I've seen many couples torn apart on this trail."

Ahead lay the Pacific Crest Trail, zigzagging from Mexico to Canada for 2,655 miles. Behind? Angela's elementary school conquest of Turkey Mountain, Duffy's adolescent vision quest, and one abbreviated practice hike together. They were green and about to face four and a half months of extremes - scorching heat, numbing cold, bone-aching weariness, and isolation. Not complete isolation however; they would have each other. But only if they could stand trekking side-by-side, all day, every day, becoming dirtier, hungrier, and crabbier with each step. They were in love, though - and no matter what anyone said, being in love had to help, didn't it?

A Blistered Kind of Love: One Couple's Trial by Trail chronicles a young couple's clumsy adventures in the wilderness. In alternating voices, they chart their course from the chaparral-lined desert floor, up and over the snowy flanks of the High Sierra, and on through the lush forests of the cascades. Along the way they wage a food fight, discover the unfortunate effects of freeze-dried food on digestion, and bond with a motley crew of hikers and locals with names like Crazy Legs and Catch-23.

As the journey progresses, Angela struggles to overcome Meadow Ed's skepticism and to keep up with Duffy's long legs, all the while battling pain and panic attacks. Duffy is stricken with profound hair and weight loss, turning him into the incredible shrinking man with the incredible sloughing scalp.

A blend of humor, adventure, and introspection, this engaging narrative ultimately delivers something more - a (blistered kind of) love story.