A Hike for Mike: An Uplifting Adventure Across the Sierra Nevada for Depression Awareness by Jeff Alt; Dreams Shared Publications; Price: Rs.703; 198 pp
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It’s not the best of times. around the world people live in desperate fear of indiscriminate terror strikes, suicide bombings, economic meltdowns, crashing currencies and stockmarkets. These are only some of the new depressants which have dashed high hopes about the new millennium.
In this troubled and uncertain scenario, how does an individual cope? The answer isn’t so complicated if one decides to escape from it all and connect with nature — even if for a brief interregnum. More than a century ago, Henry Thoreau wrote about the elating impact of nature. “Think of our life in nature… to come in contact with it — rocks, trees, wind on our cheeks!” Experiencing this presence while walking through green forest, traversing hills and dale, fording streams in hidden valleys, offers rest, recreation and a tremendous high, which refreshes and rejuvenates mind, body and soul.
That’s the prescription of celebrated American motivational speaker, seasoned hiker, speech pathologist and teacher Jeff Alt. In his latest book A Hike for Mike, Alt, also the author of an award winning hiking travelogue A Walk for Sunshine, recounts an excursion through the famous 218-mile John Muir Trail in California undertaken in memory of his brother-in-law, Mike, who committed suicide due to depression. Through the book which is a daily diary of the experiences of Alt and his wife Beth over three weeks, Alt also educates people about the seriousness of depression.
“This is a story about the courage of Beth and Jeff Alt, who became survivors after losing Beth’s brother Mike to suicide. They were determined, like many of the 180,000 who lose a loved one to suicide each year, to do what they could to help other families learn about depression and the terrible toll of suicide,” writes Dr. Jerry Reed, executive director of the Suicide Prevention Action Network, USA in a foreword to A Hike for Mike.
To combat their grief and heighten awareness about the signs and symptoms of suicidal depression — which claims 31,000 lives in the US annually — the Alts packed their hiking gear to head for an expedition across the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Starting in the famous Yosemite National Park near Happy Isles (4,035 ft above sea level), they walked the entire length of the 218 miles (355 km) John Muir Trail, crossing Mt. Whitney (14,496 ft) before journey’s end in Whitney Portal. Spurred on by their mission, the Alts completed this arduous trek, vividly described by the author as nature at its untamed best. The jagged trail is fraught with the dangers of sudden and extreme temperature swings, lightning and thunderstorms, flash floods, bears and mountain lions.
The travelogue flows smoothly across 24 chapters, the last of which titled ‘Depression: Get the facts’ is wholly dedicated to educate readers on how to fight and overcome depression.
There’s plenty of valuable advice to actual and aspiring trekkers in this narrative. For instance it emphasises the importance of proper preparation for cross-country hiking, and details the planning required to make wilderness treks enjoyable and mishaps free. The author’s list of must-haves includes sturdy and comfy backpacks, special clothing including underwear, warm sleeping bags, portable water filter, alpine tent, cutlery, food, toiletries, etc. Comfortable hiking boots and a first-aid kit are also sine qua non. Appropriately this book was released on September 10 (2005), which is also World Suicide Prevention Day.
Though Alt has extensively explored mountain ranges in the US, his lack of international experience is quite evident in the book. He describes Mt. Whitney (14,496 ft) as a formidable challenge, and warns of the dangers of altitude sickness at 9,000 ft above sea level. In India we have a full-fledged city (Leh) with a commercial airport operating at 11,500 ft, surrounded by villages where thousands of people live permanently, farming during summer and herding livestock in winter. Someone unaware of the high altitude towns and villages of the Himalayan foothills, is likely to be misled to believe that there’s no life beyond 10,000 ft above sea level.
Moreover while the author deserves full credit for informative insights related to trekking, hiking and exploring the wilderness, the same can’t be said of the editors of A Hike for Mike. It’s strewn with irritating typographical errors, which detract from a purposive book and a labour of love, which deserved better.
Srinidhi Raghavendra