Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail Garners Four 5-Star Reviews on Amazon in One Day!
Immediately butteflies wafted through my stomach. Why? Because when I turned on the computer this morning, I saw that I had 88 reviews on the Amazon page for Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail. This compared to 84 the previous day. The obvious question was whether the four new reviews would be good or bad. Lo and behold, all four were five-star reviews. Ultra-cool. Now I don’t want to get cocky. This book isn’t any better than it was 24 hours ago. In fact, getting four stellar reviews in one day could fairly...
read moreGlobal Warming Leading Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers to Begin Early
“I’m giving up my lease in February,” a 2013 Appalachian Trail thru-hiker wannabe recently told me. “Why February?” I wanted to know. “Because I’m starting on March 4th, my birthday.” “Wow.” Let me say that again. Wow. Because I started the Appalachian Trail (AT) two times–once on April 5th, and the other on April 10th. And if I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t begin a bit earlier. Why? The Southern Appalachians. The most difficult two states on the AT are widely...
read moreAppalachian Trail Kickoff Event at Amicalola Falls
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 Gap outdoor store. The event is open to the public and is meant to build momentum for the upcoming...
read moreBook Reviews for Skywalker’s Appalachian Trail Book Show Readers ‘Get It’
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 wanted to break. Most Appalachian Trail books-indeed, most hiking books–are written by experts,...
read moreThree Hundred Zeroes Author and Skywalker See Eye to Eye
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 on the same piece of real estate and a very intense experience, almost everything else diverges. So...
read moreAppalachian Trail Book Sales Increase as Hikers Prepare for Season
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 length, all the way from Springer Mountain in north Georgia to Mount Katahdin in norhtern Maine. They...
read morePacific Crest Trail Hikers Will Face Coldest Weather in Northern Cascades
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 their 2,663 mile journey in the scorching heat of the desert. After 703 miles, they enter the very...
read moreAmazon Produces Audio Book of Skywalker–Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail
Skywalker–Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail has just been released in audio format on Amazon.com Those interested in purchasing the recording can access the following link http://www.amazon.com/Skywalker-Highs-Pacific-Crest-Trail/dp/B00B581A9G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1359147349&sr=8-2&keywords=skywalker+highs+and+lows+on+the+pacific+crest+trail The audio is 7 hours and 53 minutes in length and the narrator is none other than the author himself, Bill Walker (‘Skywalker’). That is unusual...
read moreSkywalker Does Interview with Randall St. Germain About Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails
Randall St. Germain, author of Camino de Santiago in 20 Days, recently gave me an extensive interview. Randall has done and written about the Camino de Santiago himself. He knew I had done the same. But like most outdoors people, he was curious about other trails and routes. For that reason he had lots of questions about the journeys on the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail. I enjoyed the interview, probably because his questioning proved to be incisive. The interview can be seen in its entirety by accessing this link...
read moreCold Weather Can Be Major Threat to Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers
“Don’t start before April 1st unless you have great ability or extensive training in dealing with cold weather.” That is the advice I routinely give aspiring Appalachian Trail (AT) thru-hikers. I would like to add that Appalachian Trail thru-hikers need to have their ‘game face’ on from the beginning. Because the toughest two states on the AT are the last two–New Hampshire and Maine. But the next most difficult are the first two–Georgia and North Carolina (and parts of Tennnesse). Whether you begin a...
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