It's called "White Blaze Fever" and although you will not find the fever mentioned in any medical journal, have no doubt in your mind - it does exist and no one is immune. Only the most casual, most minute contact with the Appalachian Trail is needed to catch the fever. I now welcome you to be my vicarious hiking partner as we pursue the two-inch by six-inch white blazes from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine. Through my daily journal entries - revised only a little - you will share encounters with bear, moose, snakes and other wildlife. You will feel the thrill of viewing the most magnificent vistas east of the Mississippi and come to know a unique collection of individuals guaranteed to bring a smile to your face and warmth to your heart.
Every journey starts with a first step, a second step and sometimes followed by a lot of prep. Hopefully this leads to a third step and many future accomplishments. Our lives have many cycles; right, wrong or indifferent, these poems categorize them into hills, ravines, ditches and mountains. Your first mountain starts at conception and generally takes a breaking point after high school or some form of higher education or armed services. Your second mountain typically lasts the longest. It consists of those working years and can span until your retirement. Marriage, house hunting and children sometimes get entwined into those productive years. Somewhere around 50 years old, sometimes later, one starts to navigate up the third mountain. Your most productive years are behind you and you ponder how do I make a difference when the dash is over on this sphere.
When the cosmic tumblers click into place and the universe opens its vault, miracles can happen. Inspired by his dying father’s dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail, Paul Travers hits the trail and finds that miracle in the healing power of America’s sacred mountains. Dancing with the Mountains… Alzheimer’s, Angels, and the Appalachian Trail – A Journey of Spirit chronicles Paul’s thru-hike to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association and prove that “60 is the new 40.” More than a travelogue, it is a love story about fathers and sons, families battling Alzheimer’s, and the people and places along the Appalachian Trail. Sprinkled with humor and humanity, It is the spiritual response to Bill Bryson’s bestseller A Walk in the Woods. On his pilgrimage, Paul eludes the FBI, meets his guardian angel, survives a lightning strike and a near drowning, encounters the ghost of a relative, acquires a trail name (Sondance), finds a Field of Dreams, walks off the war, solves the death of a Hollywood starlet, discovers Saint Francis and the Buddha in New York, embraces a religious cult, visits ground zero for the 60s hippie movement (Arlo’s not Alice’s Restaurant), receives a sacred stone from a Lakota medicine man, meets a female apostle, discovers his father’s parallel spiritual journey, and copes with the death of his parents. His adventure ultimately reveals nature is not only the handiwork of God but the hand of God that leads each of us on a unique spiritual journey.
A compilation of stories from thru-hikers, a unique group of people who every year brave a 2,100 mile trail through every type of weather, every type of circumstance. Gathered from trail registers, postcards, and personal interviews, these voices come alive and evoke the true spirit of the Appalachian Trail, from the lows of ten consecutive days of rain and cold, to the highs of beautiful sunsets and camaraderie. Each spring, a group of people attempt a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Setzer follows these determined hikers from Georgia to Maine. In this new edition, hikers reveal five years later how their experiences on the Trail changed their lives. 'Originally, I was attracted to the AT for the adventure of walking the whole thing at once... Even as I finished, I did not understand those who chose to repeat the walk. But the next spring I found I wanted to go. And I understood that you never walk the same trail twice... I learned that I walk to fill my heart with wonder, to feed my soul.' - Merlin 'I know I'll be out there again. I don't know when and I don't know with whom. But I know, once more I'll live the nomadic life I loved on the Appalachian Trail.' - Trail Gimp Whether documenting their journey or contemplating its impact on their lives, the voices in A Season on the Appalachian Trail will entrance you with their honesty and humanity.
The Appalachian Trail Hiker is a one-stop guide to preparing for and hiking the A.T. Although primarily geared to prepare and sustain the intrepid thru hiker, the book is also a must-have for anyone who wishes to experience the A.T., whether for an hour or for six months.
Inspiring tale of a lonely hikers journey along the Appalachian Trail. Her humorous and challenging adventures will keep you on the edge of your seat, waiting for the ultimate climb up Katahdin in Maine.
“Want to know what wilderness means to people who live it for over two thousand miles? Then read this extremely interesting, informative, intelligent, and thoughtful book.” —Roger S. Gottlieb, author of Engaging Voices: Tales of Morality and Meaning in an Age of Global Warming “There is no doubt that Bratton’s book will be of value to students and scholars of leisure studies, recreation, and religion. Those who are familiar with the Appalachian Trail sense intuitively that a journey along its length kindles spiritual awakening; this book provides the hard data to prove it’s true.” —David Brill, author of As Far as the Eye Can See: Reflections of an Appalachian Trail Hiker The Appalachian Trail covers 2,180 miles, passing through fourteen states from Georgia to Maine. Each year, an estimated 2–3 million people visit the trail, and almost two thousand attempt a “thru-hike,” walking the entire distance of the path. For many, the journey transcends a mere walk in the woods and becomes a modern-day pilgrimage. In The Spirit of the Appalachian Trail: Community, Environment, and Belief, Susan Power Bratton addresses the spiritual dimensions of hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT). Hikers often comment on how their experience as thru-hikers changes them spiritually forever, but this is the first study to evaluate these religious or quasireligious claims critically. Rather than ask if wilderness and outdoor recreation have benefits for the soul, this volume investigates specifically how long-distance walking might enhance both body and mind. Most who are familiar with the AT sense intuitively that a trek along its length kindles spiritual awakening. Using both a quantitative and qualitative approach, this book provides the hard data to support this notion. Bratton bases her work on five sources: an exhaustive survey of long-distance AT hikers, published trail diaries and memoirs, hikers? own logs and postings, her own personal observations from many years on the trail, and conversations with numerous members of the AT community, including the “trail angels,” residents of small towns along the path who attend to hikers? need for food, shelter, or medical attention. The abundant photographs reinforce the text and enable visualization of the cultural and natural context. This volume is fully indexed with extensive reference and notes sections and detailed appendixes. Written in an engaging and accessible style, The Spirit of the Appalachian Trail presents a full picture of the spirituality of the AT. Susan Power Bratton is professor of environmental studies. She is the author of Six Billion and More: Human Population Regulation and Christian Ethics, Environmental Values in Christian Art, and Christianity, Wilderness, and Wildlife: The Original Desert Solitaire.
