The Appalachian Trail (AT)is having a Kickoff Weekend on March 8-10 at Amicalola Falls, Georgia. For those of you familiar with the AT, Amicalola Falls is on the approach to where the trail begins. The event will be in the classical CCC constructed lodge there. Speakers will be Skywalker (author of Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail), AWOL (author of AWOL on the Appalachian Trail) and Winton Porter, owner of Neel’s...

Thank you ‘K-Mart’ for the below book review of Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail. http://www.amazon.com/review/R2CVXLS6Q6G5SX/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1460999428&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=   The reason I wrote this Appalachian Trail narrative was twofold. First, the AT—like with so many mortals–was my lifetime’s journey. But secondly, I had noticed a pattern that I...

This morning I received the following response from Dennis Blanchard, author of Three Hundred Zeroes, about a blog I posted on my website. He makes some salient points. Appalachian Trail books are a cottage industry, probably because we mortal feel compelled-or perhaps cursed–to tell about our lifetime adventures. But the more you read these books, the more you realize how different each person’s experience is. Other than it being...

It’s that time of the year again. Yes, the forests are dormant and it’s almost morbidly cold outside. But in just a couple months, America’s great trail of the masses, the Appalachian Trail, will begin entertaining the 4,000,000 humans who will trek on it at some point or another this year. Out of this four million, approximately 2,000 hikers set out each spring with the objective of walking the trail’s 2,180 mile...

 The Appalachian Trail (AT) and Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) face their weather trials and tribulations inversely. As noted previously, the AT starts at its very highest elevations in the southern Appalachians. And to thru-hike that 2,180 mile national scenic trail, it is necessary to begin in early spring. Thus, you can expect cold, wet weather in the early going, that can border on dangerous. The PCT is just the opposite. PCT thru-hikers start...