“Over the Top & Back Again: Hiking X the Alps” ($14.95, Pilgrim’s Tales)
Travel adventure writer Brandon Wilson and his very patient and tolerant wife, Cheryl, hike across the Via Alpina, which runs more than 1,000 miles through eight countries on the backbone of the Alps, because it’s thereor at least, it’s supposed to be. But sometimes it’s not, and sometimes it’s poorly marked or not at all. At every step, it’s arduous to boot, because each day of hiking requires that the couple make 3,000 vertical feet, and with the addition of injuries, health issues, food that’s terrible or nonexistent, summer ice storms and a whole host of other obstacles, you’d think they would just throw their walking sticks in the air and quit. But no — they laugh and adapt, and then Brandon turned it into this funny and compelling story filled with the quirky characters who helped them along the way and descriptions of the scenery that go a long way toward explaining why the trail is worth the suffering. Kyle Wagner
