Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella L. Bird (1991, Paperback)

This is a collection of letters Isabella wrote to her sister while she was traveling through Colorado during the mid 19th century. If you've ever longed to turn the clock back while visiting a place, her words will do so. It's mesmerizing to read of Estes Park when it had only 4 inhabitants, of the characters she meets on her journey, the respect she was afforded when traveling in rough company and her unflapable ability to go with the flow in seemingly any situation. The most riveting story is her ascent of Long's Peak which can only be described as unimaginable. As a backpacker and lover of the Colorado mountains, this is a woman I would very much like to have met. Her frill-less writing had me transfixed from the first page.