Highs and Lows on the John Muir Trail

Solo Pacific Crest Trail memoir by a first-time thru-hiker — shares Aksamit's day-by-day grit, Sierra Nevada terrain, and emotional transformation arc.

Readers asking 'what to read after Highs and Lows on the John Muir Trail' almost always land on Wild, and for good reason. Cheryl Strayed's account of hiking a large stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail — which overlaps with JMT country in the High Sierra — is driven by the same raw, unfiltered honesty that makes Aksamit's journal so compelling. Both books document the relentless physical toll of carrying a heavy pack through high-altitude passes, and both use the trail as a lens for deeper personal reckoning. Where Aksamit hikes with her husband and leans into the practical (her gear lists and itineraries are gold), Strayed goes alone and leans into the psychological. Together they make an ideal pairing: one for the trip-planning brain, one for the emotional soul. Sierra Nevada veterans and first-timers alike will find Wild impossible to put down.

Another faith-and-endurance long-trail memoir — matches Aksamit's reflective, journal-style voice and the quiet spiritual dimension many JMT hikers report.

For readers who connected with the meditative, introspective undercurrent in Highs and Lows on the John Muir Trail, Five Million Steps by Lon Chenowith offers a kindred experience on a different iconic American trail. Like Aksamit, Chenowith writes in a close, personal voice that makes you feel you're walking alongside him, processing both the physical demands of a thru-hike and the larger questions those demands surface. The Appalachian Trail replaces the High Sierra, but the emotional rhythm — daily struggles, moments of grace, the camaraderie of the trail community — will feel immediately familiar. If you liked the way Aksamit's journal moved between practical detail and quiet wonder, Chenowith's faith-forward perspective adds another dimension without ever feeling preachy. A strong pick for readers who want long-trail memoirs that go beyond the miles and into what those miles mean.

Women adventuring in wild landscapes — shares Aksamit's empowering female-in-the-backcountry perspective and inspires readers planning their own outdoor journey.

If you liked Highs and Lows on the John Muir Trail and found Inga Aksamit's perspective as a woman navigating a demanding wilderness route particularly energizing, She Explores by Gale Straub is a natural companion read. Straub gathers stories from women who have pursued life-changing adventures — backpacking, van life, solo travel in remote terrain — creating a mosaic that celebrates the same spirit of self-determination Aksamit embodies on the JMT. The format is anthology-style rather than a single narrative, so it works beautifully as a book to dip into between planning sessions. Readers actively researching a JMT or Sierra Nevada trip will find it motivating without being intimidating, and the diversity of voices means there's nearly always a story that mirrors your own situation. A great pick for women considering their first big backcountry adventure or anyone who wants to feel part of a broader community of outdoor explorers.

Grueling American wilderness trek told with self-deprecating humor and deep landscape reverence — ideal for JMT readers who love trail suffering done entertainingly.

Fans of Highs and Lows on the John Muir Trail who loved Aksamit's willingness to document the ugly, painful side of backcountry travel — blisters, exhaustion, moments of serious doubt — will find a kindred spirit in Kevin Fedarko's A Walk in the Park. Fedarko, a veteran Grand Canyon journalist, attempts to walk the entire length of the Canyon on foot with a photographer friend, and the result is a tragicomic adventure that swings between breathtaking landscape writing and honest accounts of how thoroughly the wilderness can humble you. Like Aksamit's JMT journal, this book earns its wonder because it doesn't skip the suffering. The Grand Canyon setting gives it a distinct visual texture from the Sierra Nevada, but the emotional core — two people testing their limits against an iconic American landscape — maps directly onto what makes Highs and Lows so satisfying. A top pick for anyone searching for books like Highs and Lows on the John Muir Trail.