Skywalker Discusses The Importance of Neel’s Gap on the Appalachian Trail
I recently received a very negative one-star review on Amazon for my narrative, Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail. The reviewer mentioned that I had written the wrong name for the outfitter at Neel’s Gap, and thus my facts could not be trusted. I replied to the reviewer that I had used the wrong name on purpose. I had a traditional publisher, Indigo Publishing, that insisted that I use a pseudonym because I had written some unflattering things about the outfitter (Note: I have self-published since then and thus...
read moreSkywalker Comprehensively Reviews ‘Wild–From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail’, by Cheryl Strayed
“Nobody in particular looked like a murderer or rapist, but nobody in particular didn’t look like one either.” That line is a sample quote from Cheryl Strayed’s powerful Pacific Crest Trail narrative, ‘Wild’. You’ve got to hand it to her. She meets the Pat Conroy test. “I want it all,” Conroy has written about what she is looking for in the books he reads. “That’s all I ask for an author. That they tell me everything in their gut.” Yes indeed, in her story of hiking alone...
read moreSkywalker Philosophy on Doing Presentations of Hiker Books
Like most hikers and authors, I love doing presentations to groups. Heck, you spend almost six months thru-hiking, around the most diverse cast of characters imaginable, passing through almost every type of weather possible, feeling half-starved, dehydrated, scared to death (if you’re me!), and bone-tired. And then if you decide to write about it–as I’m wont to do–you spend approximately the next year obsessing over the most colorful, but faithful, way to recount the journey. So when you get the opportunity to do a ...
read moreCamino de Santiago Pilgrims Prefer Appalachian Trail; Anna Purna Circuit Trekkers Prefer Pacific Crest Trail
“If you want to see America, hike the Appalachian Trail,” I have told many Camino de Santiago pilgrims. “Don’t go to Disney World or Las Vegas.” This is sincere advice. Having lived and traveled extensively overseas, I am acutely sensitive to the persistent current of anti-Americanism running through Europeans of all stripes. A discussion of the origins of this virus is beyond the purview of this article. But suffice it to say that it is a cause of some concern for the overseas traveler (or in my case, overseas...
read moreHikers Looking Overseas to Annapurna Circuit in Nepal
Hiking overseas can seem like a daunting proposition to many. But it really doesn’t have to be terribly hazardous. Many people are learning that–even Americans! Americans have traditionally liked to avoid perilous situations while overseas. We generally wait until something has become popular before showing up. For that reason, the Camino de Santiago is now being inundated by Americans. Of course, Europeans walked the Camino en masse during medieval times. More recently the pilgrimage has regained favor. And in the wake of the...
read moreSkywalker–Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail (Free Amazon Kindle)
The outdoor narrative, Skywalker–Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail (2010), will be available for free Amazon Kindle upload on Saturday and Sunday, September 22 and 23. This is the story of 6’11” Bill Walker’s (Skywalker) 2009 hike of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The Pacific Crest Trail runs 2,663 miles from the California-Mexico border to the Washington-Canada border. It is renowned in the hiking community for its stunning beauty. Indeed, the variety of terrain that the PCT traverses is mind-boggling. The...
read moreAmazon Sports and Outdoor Books Department Recommends Skywalker–Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail
Are you looking for something in our Sports & Outdoors books department? If so, you might be interested in these items. Skywalker: Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail by Bill Walker List Price: $10.95 Price: $8.31 You Save: $2.64 (24%) Pacific Crest Trail Data Book: Mileages, Landmarks, Facilities, Resupply Data, and Essential Trail Information for the Entire Pacific Crest Trail, from Mexico to Canada by Benedict Go Price: $9.95 A Blistered Kind of Love:...
read moreHiker Dying of Thirst Rescued on the Pacific Crest Trail
Very Big Thank You to the fine folks out in Palm Springs who saved my life on the 12th as I attempted to make it from high above Snow Creek down to Snow Creek on the North Side of San Jacinto with 1/10th quart of water left from the gallon I brought with me from Fuller Ridge Trail… oranges and apples kept me going until they were rejected by my body and I purged them..after that I fell asleep under the shade of a rock, still sweating..Had that random hiker named Elijah not woke me up, gave me the last swig of his water and encourage me to...
read moreAppalachian Trail Books–Bill Bryson, Skywalker, and AWOL
“What books do you recommend that I read?” I’m often asked by people contemplating a thru-hike of the famed Appalachian Trail. Objectively, it’s a good question. But it’s a bit ironic that they ask me. For two reasons. To begin with, I wrote a narrative on the Appalachian Trail called Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail. And as we all know, authors are notoriously poor judges of their own work. So anything I write here must be taken with a grain of salt. The reason I decided to write a book...
read moreShould a Long-Distance Hiker Do the Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail first?
Which should I do first–the Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail?” This is a frequent question I get. Incidentally, it was not a question that I personally had. Being from the state of Georgia, it was only natural that when I became virtually obsessed with attempting a long-distance hike, it would be the Appalachian Trail. I was born and raised in the state of Georgia. Further, Bill Bryson’s bestselling narrative, A Walk in the Woods, piqued my interest (and millions of others!) in our nation’s most popular...
read more
Follow Us!