Thinking about the Appalachian Trail?

Sick and tired of the day by day, shelter by shelter accounts published by other former thru hikers?

Hiking the Appalachian Trail is a powerful book that will satisfy your longing.

Just imagine that for the first hike of your life you decided to thru hike the Appalachian Trail. In 2011, Chris "Cleanshave" Miller did just that. With no hiking experience and being physically unprepared for the demands of the trail he still managed to keep hiking the 2,184 miles from Georgia to Maine.

Despite physical injuries, financial setbacks and succumbing to Lyme Disease he managed not only to hike, but to fall in love with the trail and experience a profound personal transformation.

Read Hiking the Appalachian Trail and put yourself on the trail. (Paperback)

Reviews:

"This is NOT Bill Bryson's Appalachian Trail book! Chris gives the reader a look into the darker side of hiking a long distance hike...the mental hike. He does not attempt to make this a primer on how to hike the A.T. I was not bored to tears with daily accounting of mileage and elevations attained. His side stories are both interesting and relevant to his state of mind at the time he is telling them. A different, and entertaining look at his thru hike of the Appalachian Trail, probably best enjoyed by the seasoned hiker." - Rick L. Hatcher "Bearfoot"

He isn't worried that his physical training will prove inadequate, because he hasn't done any. He isn't stressed about equipment choices because he has practically no money to buy equipment. He isn't disappointed in the hike because he had no idea what to expect in the first place. So he just puts his head down and starts walking and (after many strange experiences ranging from hilarious to horrifying) he ends up at the other end of the trail. - Whistlers Mom

Great book on hiking the AT. Chris gives what I believe is an honest account of what he was going through during his hike. These are the kind of things a distance hiker goes through when hiking hour after hour, mile after mile, and there is something about that mental floss that keeps people long distance hiking year after year. I read some of the bad reviews on this book, and I believe that those reviewers are not long distance hikers. Either they tried and failed, or they never tried at all. Because the physical part is easy, but the mental part is what will get you. Here is a quote from another one of Chris's hiking books that stays with me. " How do you explain that to people who are afraid to face themselves? Someone afraid to take those first steps alone into the wilderness? Because out there you WILL meet yourself, and you might not like what you find." - L. Powers