Becoming Odyssa: Women on the Appalachian Trail: Sarah Gingerich

    One of the sources I used for my final paper was Jennifer Pharr Davis’s book, Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail, in which she retells her experience as a woman hiking the Appalachian Trail. This book serves as a powerful example of a modern woman pilgrim reclaiming agency and redefining the meaning of identity. 

    She began her thru-hiking at the age of 21, and faced a lot of physical and emotional challenges, but she describes feeling more alive because of the trail’s hardships. She reframes difficulties faced on the trail as an opportunity for reliance, and she used the trail to step out of societal expectations for women. She describes how, without access to a mirror, or really even acknowledging how she looked at all, she realized she really was perceived on the trail by her actions, and not her appearance. This freedom enabled her to explore independence, community, and understanding herself more than she had been able to in the industrial, more self-centered world. Ultimately, she realized she was “no longer defined by [her] resume,” highlighting the trail’s role in her reshaping of where she found her identity. 

    Last class, Catlynh mentioned the separation on the trail from one’s resume, and how on the trail, you are truly perceived by the way you act. There isn’t an accomplishment-based prejudice on the trail in regards to what you do outside of it, which is really cool, and I think that would be an amazing thing to experience. When this conversation was being had in class, I was immediately reminded of this “resume” quote from Becoming Odyssa, and just thought I would share it here! 

Pharr Davis, Jennifer. Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail. Rev. ed. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press, 2010.

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