Years ago, travel writer Cindy Ross would bring Appalachian Trail hikers to her rustic home in central Pennsylvania near the trail and cook them a warm dinner. In 1980, she brought back her future husband, a shy 19-year-old hiker, and fed him venison from a deer she had shot earlier that week.

The two got together a few years later to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, and they married in 1983. By the early 1990s, the outdoor enthusiasts were raising two children, Bryce and Sierra (both named after national parks).

They were not content, however, staying in one place. Over five summers, from 1993 to 1998, Ross and her husband, Todd Gladfelter, hiked the 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail, running along the Rocky Mountains from Canada to Mexico. They took their children, ages 1 and 3, along with four llamas.

Today, Ross, 46, and Gladfelter, 42, live in a log house they built on their 12-acre Pennsyl- vania homestead. Recently, she talked about her Continental Divide odyssey and her new book, Scraping Heaven: A Family's Journey Along the Continental Divide (McGraw-Hill, $19.95).

While families go to places like Disney World, you decided on a trek from Canada to Mexico. Why?

I was never interested in simulated adventure. I wanted my children to know what real adventure and real excitement and real dreams and passion was all about. I don't think you can get that when you go to a theme park.

When you left for your journey nearly a decade ago, what was the reaction of your family?

Todd and I both come from pretty conventional families. They didn't have a clue, and most of them still don't have a clue, about why we do what we do. Some of our family members even think that we live an irresponsible life because we don't work a regular job and we do things that seem unsafe. We have the support, as far as love goes, from our family members, but they don't do what we do, and no one really gets it.

You say in your book that the trip began with "selfish motives." Can you explain?

We really went because Todd and I love it out there, and we wanted to go. And we couldn't go without the kids. It wasn't an option even to drop them off someplace. We wanted their company because they're fun, but we initially wanted to go because we love it.

You used llamas as pack animals. Could you have made the trip without them?

Oh, my God, no! We just did our first llama pack trip since we finished the Continental Divide Trail. This past summer, we did a 70-mile loop in Pennsylvania. We could hike 10 to 12 miles a day, but Todd and I could not carry the kids' backpacks because they're still not strong enough to carry them. So certainly we couldn't have gone without the llamas back then.

What was the most frightening time during the trip?

It was a windstorm in Montana. It was so fierce that we could not even communicate to each other 20 feet away screaming at the tops of our lungs. We just didn't know what to do. We didn't know how to get down from the mountain. We didn't know how to move. That was probably the scariest thing.

And what was the most rewarding experience?

In places like Glacier National Park, or other places in the really high, open ridges where we would top a pass and this whole new world would open up before you. The kids would automatically hop off their llamas. They just had to walk down that trail, and they're holding hands and skipping and singing. You could just tell that they were digging being up at 12,000 feet. Then I knew that we were doing the right thing by having them be out there.

Your children are now 10 and 12 years old. What effect did this trip have on them?

They know that there's this whole other way to learn about life and to absorb knowledge. When I put Sierra in second grade at age 8, she said, "I'm wasting my childhood." They are jaded now. Good enough isn't good enough, even at their young ages. They want as much as life can offer, when it comes to outdoor adventure or anything.

How did the trip change the kids' social interaction with other youngsters?

Adults enjoy being with them as much as they enjoy being with us, their parents. Friends and fellow travelers have always treated them like people, not kids. So they like all kinds of people of all ages. There are repercussions, but I think in the long run they'll probably be much better-rounded individuals and more secure and happy with who they are.

Do they play video games, watch television or surf the Web like most kids their ages?

We don't have a TV; we haven't had one for 25 years. Both of them write a lot. They write longhand, but they do type on the computer sometimes. They don't go online and do any kind of chatting or e-mailing or anything like that.

You endured many hardships on your adventure. Overall, was it worth it?

We always say to ourselves, and we told our children since they were tiny: It's not always going to be fun, but it's always worthwhile. Every challenge and tough time that you go through teaches you something.

So what's your next family trip going to be?

We're probably going to Canada next summer to hike the Canadian Continental Divide for 500 or 600 miles, if we can find some Canadian llamas to borrow, since we can't bring our llamas across the border. And my husband has his heart set on a 500-mile paddle of the Yukon River.

Do you think you will ever settle down?

I hope not. I hope I live long enough to do everything I want. The list is long.