Scraping heaven
Subtitle: a family's journey along the Continental Divide
By: Cindy Ross.
Publisher: Ragged Mountain Press/McGraw-Hill
Published: 2002
Place of publication: Camden, Me
Language: eng
Number of pages: 325
Subjects: Ross, Cindy -- Travel -- Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.; Ross, Cindy -- Family.; Hiking -- Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.; Llama pack camping -- Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.; Continental Divide National Scenic Trail -- Description and travel.
Description: "When Cindy Ross first met Todd Gladfelter, in 1980, they were both already avid long-distance hikers. By their eighth wedding anniversary they had trekked many thousands of miles together on the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and beyond. Their family would soon include two young children, but their shared passion for the long haul never diminished, taking them even farther than they ever had gone before.

Scraping Heaven is the warm and heartfelt account of their incredible adventure in a wilderness few will ever explore.".

"Running along the crest of the Rocky Mountains from Canada to Mexico, the 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail (CDT) divides the waters of the North American continent. To the native people of the West it is the backbone of the world, and to walk it is to scrape heaven. Remote and still unfinished, the CDT is the "big league" of hiking, a vast and challenging terrain. Over five summers, from 1993 to 1998, Cindy and Todd hiked the entire trail with their children.".

"For a couple whose love for hiking was a life force, the chance to share the joy of an extended mountain trip with their young son and daughter, ages one and three, was both an indescribable thrill and a decision of enormous magnitude. It was a challenge that would involve the addition of llamas as kid-carriers and pack animals, the participation of numerous individuals and sponsors, and incredible planning.

And there was the fear to contend with: fear of injury, violent electrical storms, mountain lions, and the unknown.".

"Their journey compounded the ordinary challenges of marriage, parenting, and family life with snowy traverses, winds strong enough to lift a child, fatigue, ornery animals, steep mountain crossings, and the countless other trials of a harsh but stunningly beautiful environment. But it taught their children more about self-reliance, trust, interdependence, and self-determination than anything else could have done."--BOOK JACKET.
Table of contents: title: A dream takes route, September 1992; title: On the road, June 22, 1993; title: The first week, July 6, 1993; title: The Ten Mile Range, July 16, 1993; title: The Cochetopa Hills, August 1, 1993; title: Company arrives, August 18, 1993; title: The last stretch, August 25, 1993; title: At home, September 4, 1993; title: A new dream, Spring 1994; title: A challenging start, July 12, 1995; title: Scapegoat and "The Bob", July 25, 1995; title: Glacier National Park, August 9, 1995; title: Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness, August 26, 1995; title: The Centenniel Mountains, July 1, 1996; title: The Beaverhead Mountains, July 23, 1996; title: The Southern Bitteroots, August 7, 1996; title: Yellowstone, August 22, 1996; title: The Teton Wilderness, August 28, 1996; title: The Great Divide Basin, June 21, 1997; title: The Wind River Range, July 21, 1997; title: The Mikulsky boys, August 8, 1997; title: Northern Colorado, July 28, 1998; title: The San Juan Mountains, August 15, 1998; title: Cycling New Mexico, September 6, 1998; title: The last days, September 22, 1998.