Nan Shepherd (1893–1981)

Highlight is "Frost and Snow" which begins to explore how our senses expand
what our body and mind feel, every minute, day and night.

Odd inclusions: mentioning locations not shown on the map, "fey,"
the eternal sadness of the interlocked stags, the many mountain deaths -
do we always need the reminder of Death to Love Life?

Thoreau would have enjoyed this book!
Even without an accompanying set of photographs or a video,
readers join the summits, plateaus, lochs, and pine-needle "compacted balls."
(How welcome their photo would be.)… (more)

Slow to start, but really, really good. Nan builds up a view of her mountains in layers, starting with the physical forms of the mountains, and then moving on to water, snow, air, plants, animals, people, and the higher senses of existence. It's kinda reminiscent of the Judeo-Christian creation story.

Like the mountains, best read with a quiet mind. I found that the book didn't really capture my attention or pull me in like other books have, but I found that when I was calm and undistracted and could give it the time it needed, it was glorious. There are so many breathtaking moments, but they show up unannounced, and in a paragraph, they're over again. So you need to be paying attention.

I'll read this again sometime when my mind is less scattered.… (more)

The Living Mountain is by typical measures a slim volume. But I found it to be like the TARDIS: bigger on the inside. I found it took me longer to read than I anticipated because I needed to dwell on passages. Not because they were obscure or profound (though some were). But because Shepherd is writing about living life. And some discussions just should not be rushed.
If you are going to read this version of The Living Mountain, do yourself a favor. Go straight to Shepherd's material and only then, if you are so inclined, read Robert Macfarlane's introduction. I love Macfarlane's books but in this case he is not adding any particular insights, in my opinion. And the introduction is FAR too long. Shame on the editor for not reining Macfarlane in.… (more)

The author spent most of her life wandering the Cairngorms, a low range of mountains of northern Scotland. Her book was rejected by publishers who deemed it too esoteric for the tastes of the time (during WWII) so the author put it away for 30 years until she felt the time had come when a book of meditations while hiking would be appreciated. It’s not a coffee table book so to make up for the lack of photos and maps of actual trails followed on her hikes, watch the numerous Youtube videos that replicate her travels in the Cairngorms.… (more)