Travels With A Donkey In The Cevennes

This book considered a pioneering classic of outdoor literature recounts Stevenson's 12-day 200 kilometres solo hiking journey through the sparsely populated and impoverished areas of the Cévennes mountains in south-central France in 1878. Largely focusing on Stevenson's humorous descriptions of his stubborn travel companion Modestine the donkey it tells of commissioning one of the first sleeping bags large and heavy enough to require a donkey to carry. Stevenson is several times mistaken for a peddler the usual occupation of someone traveling in his fashion. It also narrates Stevenson's visits to the monastery Lady of the Snows where a country parish priest and an old soldier are horrified to find that Stevenson is a heretic. Detailed observations are made as well about French life religion and politics.