Exploring the Spirit of Wildness w/ Laura Waterman

I first came across the work of Laura Waterman while conducting research on the origins of the Appalachian Trail. As many of our listeners are surely aware by now, I completed a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2022, and am currently working on a 10-episode documentary radio series about the AT’s history and cultural influence in partnership with New Hampshire Public Radio. I was seeking information about the history of trail building in the Northeastern US, where the first modern long distance hiking trails were born, and I found everything that I was looking for in “Forest and Crag” by Laura and Guy Waterman.

“Forest and Crag” is a comprehensive history of Mountain climbing in the Northeast - it is dense with information, but with a writing style that is accessible and compelling. Despite being first published over 35 years ago, it remains the best resource on this topic by a long shot. I was looking for someone to interview for my podcast series, so I also conducted research on the authors of this book - Laura and Guy Waterman. What I found was a story even more fascinating than the history of trail building laid out in “Forest and Crag”.

I began reading Laura Waterman’s first memoir, “Losing the Garden”, and the story of Laura and Guy’s truly unique life together began to unfold in front of me. While the two of them were writing “Forest and Crag”, they were living in a rural Vermont homestead in a cabin they built themselves with no electricity or plumbing. They lived like they were in the 19th century for almost 30 years, until Guy’s depression intensified, and he decided to take his own life in the year 2000.

But this wasn’t a typical suicide. Guy drew Laura into the planning of this effort to take his own life, and Laura, seeing no other option, went along with Guy’s plan. Guy ultimately chose to die by exposing himself to the elements on a winter hike of the Franconia Ridge - the site of the iconic New Hampshire ridge-line trail that Laura and Guy had maintained for almost 20 years.

Laura published her first memoir “Losing the Garden” in 2005, but felt that she had left unanswered questions about her decision to go along with her husband’s plan to commit suicide. Her second memoir, published just a few months ago, “Calling Wild Places Home”, seeks to answer these questions, adding depth to the story of Laura’s truly unique life. Now 84 years old, Laura shares her reflections on the past, on aging, and the evolution of her writing style. It was truly an honor for me to have the opportunity to speak with Laura Waterman, and I hope that you enjoy the conversation as much as I did!

-Matt Podolsky