On her second night of college, amidst the excitement of new friends, new classes, and a new campus, Aspen Matis was raped by a fellow freshman. She stumbled through her first semester until she finally decided to run. The only road in sight: the 2,650 mile Pacific Crest Trail leading from Mexico to Canada. Now, in this grippingly honest and inspiring memoir of adventure, Aspen recounts her journey from shattered girl to self-reliant woman, as she discovered herself in the wilderness of the American West. Along the way, she learns to trust others again, but more importantly she learns to trust herself. A poignant testament to the transformative power of self-reliance, Girl In The Woods is a story of survival, self-discovery, and liberation, but most of all, it is a story of finding hope and healing in nature.