The Trail Book

During the summer, I went on a life-changing backpacking journey along the Pacific Crest Trail (the website and the documentary). Over the course of a week, I hiked a total of 30 miles alongside 29 other teenagers from 9 countries and 15 states.

Our group leader, Thomas, stood out to me for his constant kindness and encouragement. When he shared his plans to travel to Japan, I decided to gift my Tales from the Trail book to him! This handcrafted book is a collection of the fun, struggles, friendships, and everything in between that defined our journey. The process of bringing this book to life was as rewarding as the hike itself!

I wrote the pages and planned the sequence to create a smooth flow between the beautiful nature, the amazing people I met, the fun times I had with them, and the challenges I faced. Each page represents a piece of our story. I designed the layout to make a balance of pictures, drawings, words, and 3D elements. I experimented with many techniques, like cutting and folding pop-ups, crafting paper sculptures, and layering textures. Some of my favorite parts are the huge scary bear pop-up, the realistic crawfish paper model, the book spine decorated with pink Himalayan salt and river rocks, the 3D toilet with poop made of brown leather, the page of paper flowers, and the campfire pop-up.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/10uJnXMQ8QBkAP3cAIPET5hN4jJUoEL9lMYbe5iTUSe0/edit?usp=sharing