Trespassing Across America

One Man’s Epic, Never-Done-Before (and Sort of Illegal) Hike Across the Heartland

By: Ken Ilgunas

Narrated by: Andrew Eiden

Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Told with sincerity, humor, and wit, Trespassing Across America is both a fascinating account of one man's remarkable journey along the Keystone XL pipeline and a meditation on climate change, the beauty of the natural world, and the extremes to which we can push ourselves - both physically and mentally.

It started as a far-fetched idea - to hike the entire length of the proposed route of the Keystone XL pipeline. But in the months that followed, it grew into something more for Ken Ilgunas.

It became an irresistible adventure - an opportunity not only to draw attention to global warming but to explore his personal limits. So in September 2012, he strapped on his backpack, stuck out his thumb on the interstate just north of Denver, Colorado, and hitchhiked 1,500 miles to the Alberta tar sands. Once there, he turned around and began his 1,900-mile trek to the XL's endpoint on the Gulf Coast of Texas, a journey he would complete entirely on foot, almost exclusively walking across private property.

Both a travel memoir and a reflection on climate change, Trespassing Across America is filled with colorful characters, harrowing physical trials, and strange encounters with the weather, terrain, and animals of America's plains. A tribute to the Great Plains and the people who live there, Ilgunas' memoir grapples with difficult questions about our place in the world: What is our personal responsibility as stewards of the land? As members of a rapidly warming planet? As mere individuals up against something as powerful as the fossil fuel industry? Ultimately, Trespassing Across America is a call to embrace the belief that a life lived not half wild is a life only half lived.

©2016 Ken Ilgunas (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Awesome book!

Loved it. It was very entertaining. I could picture it happening as I was reading.

Fantastic read!!!

Please keep writing! Perhaps a new trip to West coast!! I’m patiently waiting to read about your next journey.

All books should be this good.

I've been riveted by this book every spare moment for the past few days and am sad it's over. It's great on so many levels. The author's journey is epic, and I loved the way he shared it from the origination of the idea to the last step. He tells it in a simple and straightforward style that includes a bit of everything, as if he's telling the whole thing to a friend -- humor, pain, elaborate descriptions, reactions, fears, reflections -- from the big moments to the mundane. Nights in the tent, cow attacks, run-ins with gun-toting locals, feelings of accomplishment, self-doubt. And woven all throughout is a deep exploration not only of information about the Keystone XL pipeline, but about environmentalism, apathy, people's deeply ingrained beliefs and how/why they originate, how to stand up for something you believe in without people dismissing you as crazy -- there's just so much here. And thankfully, the narrator was so good I had to go back after the first hour and check to remind myself whether or not it was narrated by the author. It is not, but the narrator really sold it. Excellent all around, and I will be pushing it on all my friends.

what an adventure he was brave and determined

if you are a hiker, you will love his adventure even more. He had a great experience!

Still relevant...

The thoughts the writer has towards the end of this book and the parallels he draws between the pipeline and science deniers and Lincoln’s quote perfectly sum up the issues we currently face with COVID-19. Again, we as a country face such a large group of “free thinking” and such independent “freedom loving” science deniers that mistrust data and facts.

I enjoyed the stories of the people you met along the way and how you grew as a person. Excellent read! Highly recommend.

Enjoyed for the environmental views, the adventure

Enjoyed for the environmental views, the adventure, the hiking journey, the idea of crossing the country on foot, the people you'd meet... some gems of writing now and then but not a masterpiece... story intrigued me... brings up compelling questions along the way (most I have asked myself before but still enjoyed hearing)... I like the honesty in his self discoveries.. the fear of cows made me laugh (being a country girl from Texas who has never considered a cow to scary, maybe a mean bull but not pasture cows, lol)... loved the instances of kindness and generosity shown... I will be looking up his blog and most likely checking out other books he has published.

Listened to it twice! Great book.

An authentic account of the author's adventure through the Great Plains and a thoughtful examination of the impact of the pipeline. Such great detail I could practically smell his weary hiker stink (in a good way)! Ilgunas includes various POVs of colorful landowners and discusses his own hypocrisy as a consumer in the petroleum era (reminded me a bit of Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire in that regard). He leaves the listener with the hope that the next generation will put a stop to the debate of global warming, accept it as fact and take action to undo the environmental harm of past generations. Fantastic book! So many great thoughts! A true book of adventure.

Inspiring

I enjoyed listening to this book. it put my in touch with parts of myself that long to be reawakened.

Enjoyable Story

I enjoyed both the story and the narration. The conclusion that the author eventually reaches I deeply agree and I'm grateful for his willingness to share his raw experience.

Amazing and enlightening

Would you consider the audio edition of Trespassing Across America to be better than the print version?

Did not read the print version

Any additional comments?

An eye opening experience that is even better when you are driving through the plains states listening to this book of travels. This book highlights the importance of having an open mind and also tells the many varying opinions people have that live in different parts of the country. A must read for all, even if you don't like hiking or aren't interested in the topic of oil pipelines.