Cindy Ross - Scraping Heaven: A Familys Journey Along the Continental Divide Trail

Praise for Scraping Heaven

Not only are readers given the opportunity to experience the sheer beauty and at times frightening dangers of the trail, but they also watch two children grow and learn to call the trail their home. Well written, captivating, and incredibly educational, this adventure is a lesson in the simplicity of life and the beauty of accomplishment.

Publishers Weekly

Cindy Ross is one of todays most eloquent and thoughtful writers on the connection between humans and the natural world. In Scraping Heaven she told the tale of a grand family adventure across the Continental Divide, one that baptized her young children in rain and wind and spirit, and grounded them in the worlds of other creatures. They live, in those years, an authentic life. A big life. With this book, she shows how all of us invite humility and wonder into our lives, not only through great adventures, but through everyday communion with the rest of nature.

Richard Louv, author of The Nature Principle and Last Child in the Woods

This is both an epic adventure of the first order and the heartwarming story of the family who accomplished it.

San Francisco Chronicle

An involved and involvingly dramatic story of a long-distance trek testing hearts and minds. Anyone interested in stories of survival and the outdoors will find Scraping Heaven to be a thoroughly moving, intensely memorable account of a familys impossible endeavor.

Midwest Book Review

When I hiked the Continental Divide Trail at the age of 31, it was the hardest thing Id ever done. Reading Cindy Rosss Scraping Heaven brought it all backthe dramatic mountain landscape, the challenges of route-finding, the changing ecosystems as the trail moved through different latitudes and elevations. But Cindys journey had an added twist that seems almost mind-boggling: She and her husband Todd hiked the nearly 3000-mile long trail with llamas and young children. Cindy takes the reader on a big-hearted adventure into some of Americas most spectacular wildernesses and mountain landscapes.

Karen Berger, author of Americas Great Hiking Trails

Scraping Heaven is a triumpha jaw-dropping account of an extended adventure on the Continental Divide Trail, a highly original look into family dynamics in the wilderness, and a groundbreaking book on marriage and parenting. Its a treasure, vividly written with warmth, insight, and humor.

Gail D. Storey, author of I Promise Not to Suffer

The 3100-mile Continental Divide Trail is one of the most scenic and wild trails in the United States. It is difficult for experienced hikers to traverse solo or in groups. I cant imagine the challenge and joy that would come from navigating the path as a family with llamas! Cindy Ross is my role model and should serve as an inspiration for parents and backpackers alike. The opportunities that she has provided her children at a young age can only serve to help them be more confident and compassionate individuals.

Jennifer Pharr Davis, author, speaker, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year

Scraping Heaven is a masterpiece. When I read it I was simultaneously inspired by the deep family bond of the Ross-Gladfelter clan and riveted by the adventure-novel-like narrative. Dont be surprised if the first thing you do after reading this book is lace up some hiking boots and head for the nearest mountain peak!

Kenny Ballentine, director of Nature Kids and founder of The Nature Kids Institute

Sure to strike home with anyone who loves the outdoors, thanks to its coverage of topics that range from the controversial to the personal... An inspirational read.

Mountain Bike

The trip was a tremendous undertaking, considering all the possibilities for hardship, and Ross easily reflects on its many facets. When she writes about what she saw and how she processed what she saw, she gives the hike a solid context; like so much of travel, the trip becomes a life-changing force.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Rosss writing invites us to share her familys journey along the backbone of America, with honesty, vulnerability, laughter, andmost of alllove; and hopefully plants a seed for all of us to imagine our own adventure on the Continental Divide Trail.

Teresa Martinez, executive director and co-founder, Continental Divide Trail Coalition

Scraping Heaven is not your run-of-the-hill trekking adventure. Poopy diapers, recalcitrant llamas, marital dynamics when youre sharing a tent with two little onesthats something new. The thoughtfulness and close intimacy of her account really brings this adventure to life. Its reassuring to read the afterword: to know that not only did the whole family make it to the end of the trail but that the kids turned into remarkably self-assured and accomplished adults. And the relationships among all the family members not only survived but thrived amid the hardships. A powerful, beautiful, inspiring book.

Ian Marshall, author of Border Crossings and Peak Experiences

This new version of Scraping Heaven comes at an ideal time for the Appalachian Trail, which is seeing more hikers than ever before, whether it be for an afternoon or a month. Cindy Rosss story is an inspiration to all people who have a dream to hike one of Americas eleven great national scenic trails, and especially for the families that want to bring that experience to their children.

Ron Tipton, executive director and CEO of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy

While Ms. Ross does not have the polished published names of Bryson or Strayed, I find her narratives of her long-distance hikes of the Big Three (AT, PCT, and CDT) are more authentic, substantive, and entertaining. I applaud Mountaineers Books for printing a new edition of Scraping Heaven so a whole new audience can experience the adventure of a person (and a family) who is not a train wreck and who actually walk the entire trail that they write about. The journey described within these covers is so singular that it hasnt been close to duplicated. Enjoy their insights from an elevated perspective. Integrate them into your own lives. This is where freedom lies.

Warren Doyle, PhD, founder of Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association and founder/director of Appalachian Trail Institute

Reading Scraping Heaven feels a bit like reading a diary: Its candid, personal, and engrossing. Ross puts herself and her family under a microscope and invites readers along to watch them stumble and succeed. In the end, they accomplished more than they imagined they could, met an array of interesting and kind strangers, witnessed nature in all her glory, and learned that children can thrive in a rugged environment when loving parents lead the way.

York Daily Record, York, Pennsylvania

Rosss chatty, rough-around-the-edges style gives readers a feeling of closeness to the author, as if we are listening to stories around the campfire.

The Reading Eagle, Reading, Pennsylvania

SCRAPING
HEAVEN

SCRAPING
HEAVEN

A Familys Journey Along the Continental Divide Trail

CINDY ROSS

Mountaineers Books is the publishing division of The Mountaineers, an organization founded in 1906 and dedicated to the exploration, preservation, and enjoyment of outdoor and wilderness areas.