Karen Berger (1) (1959–)
Author of Trailside Guide: Hiking and Backpacking, New Edition
For other authors named Karen Berger, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Karen Berger has hiked more than 17,000 miles on six continents. She is one of approximately thirty people who have thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail. She is the author of nine books about outdoor adventure, and she has been a contributing show more editor to Backpacker magazine, and a hiking editor for GORP.com. Berger is currently a columnist for Scouting magazine show less
Works by Karen Berger
Where The Waters Divide: A Walk Across America Along the Continental Divide (1993) 64 copies, 1 review
America's Great Hiking Trails: Appalachian, Pacific Crest, Continental Divide, North Country, Ice Age, Potomac Heritage, Florida, Natchez Trace, Arizona, Pacific Northwest, New… (2014) 56 copies, 1 review
Hiking the Triple Crown : Appalachian Trail - Pacific Crest Trail - Continental Divide Trail - How to Hike America's Longest Trails (2001) 44 copies, 1 review
Essential Knots: Secure Your Gear When Camping, Hiking, Fishing, and Playing Outdoors (Adventure Skills Guides) (2019) 23 copies
Great Hiking Trails of the World: 80 Trails, 75,000 Miles, 38 Countries, 6 Continents (2017) 17 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1959
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Northwestern University (BA, Music)
- Occupations
- writer
hiker - Short biography
- [excerpted from author's website]
I'm best known for my writing about hiking an backpacking. (For starts, I've hiked 18,000 miles, and I've written 13 book about hiking.) For the past 20 years, my books and magazine articles have explored long-distance hiking trails worldwide. I was one of the first women to thru-hike the so-called Triple Crown — the entire Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide national scenic trails.
In addition to hiking some 18,000 miles on six continents, I'm a former outdoor education instructor and guide with worldwide experience in scuba diving, horseback riding, kayaking, climbing, and skiing. I've been on several extended expeditions in Africa, Asia, and North America, each lasting between 7 and 17 months. I've taught outdoor skills including horseback riding, kayaking, canoeing, orienteering, survival, skiing, leave-no-trace wilderness ethics, nature studies, and more.
I have a degree in music from Northwestern University, where I studied piano and music journalism. I perform and teach classical, jazz, and pop/rock piano, and recreationally play bass, hammered dulcimer, cello, and guitar. I am the author of three Idiot's Guides on music: The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Piano Chords, the Complete Idiot's Guide to Teaching Music on Your Own, and the Complete Idiot's Guide to Piano Exercises (for which I also composed and recorded the musical examples).
My writing, editing, photography and website work have earned more than 20 awards and finalist honors: Gold from the Lowell Thomas Awards program, a silver National Outdoor Book Award, three golds from Foreword Magazine's IndieFab awards program, and multiple awards from the Educational Press Society of America, Banff Mountain Books Competition, the North American Travel Journalists Association, and the Society of American Travel Writers Eastern Chapter. In addition to my own books, my work has appeared in several collections and anthologies, including Journeys of a Lifetime (National Geographic) and The Appalachian Trail Reader (Oxford University Press). - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- New York, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- New Rochelle, New York, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- New York, USA
Members
Reviews
My wife and I hiked the Colorado portion of the Continental Divide trail in 1981, and things haven't changed much since then. Maps are outdated, trails on the map don't exist on the ground, cows share many of your water supplies, and you will soon become excellent with map and compass. But, that said, it is always a joy to read about someone's experience covering ground you know well.
Karen Berger goes to a lot of trouble to fill you in on the details of the politics of land and wildlife show more management in the West. And she does a good job of covering the important elements of the hike, so you have a good sense of what the walking was like. show less
Karen Berger goes to a lot of trouble to fill you in on the details of the politics of land and wildlife show more management in the West. And she does a good job of covering the important elements of the hike, so you have a good sense of what the walking was like. show less
Hiking the Triple Crown : Appalachian Trail - Pacific Crest Trail - Continental Divide Trail - How to Hike America's Lon by Karen Berger
This book was a joy to read cover to cover. It may be because I have a passion for backpacking, but the book also gives a new perspective on America, wild places and how much stamina early settlers had.
America's Great Hiking Trails: Appalachian, Pacific Crest, Continental Divide, North Country, Ice Age, Potomac Heritage, Florida, Natchez Trace, Arizona, Pacific Northwest, New England by Karen Berger
Gorgeous coffee table book -- don't try to take it hiking with you.
The book discussed what hiking and backpacking is and its essentials, its do's and dont's, the pro's and cons and its wonderful reasons why people get out of their comfort zone and do backpacking. Of course before setting out one should know its basics which was elaborated on this book, along with your gears needed, what to carry, foods needed and camping. All in all this book is so impressive as it got everything covered for your backpacking and hiking adventure trip.
Awards
You May Also Like
Statistics
- Works
- 20
- Members
- 786
- Popularity
- #32,383
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 5
- ISBNs
- 53
- Languages
- 10