The numerous readers of Bill Bryson’s Appalachian Trail narrative, A Walk in the Woods, will recall how he and his hapless sidekick, Katz, got bogged down in nasty, early springtime weather in the southern Appalachians. At one point, they were forced to take three days off in some out of the way hiker’s hostel. Of course, they began in March when the weather is notoriously dicey in these parts. I have been quite vociferous in...

You may have seen my tweets and posts relating to ‘Beware the Ides of March’. I was referring to those thru-hiker candidates on the Appalachian Trail who begin in March. To be sure, this has its advantages. If you’re a hiker of modest strength, this gives you an extra month to make it all the way to Mount Katahdin in northern Maine. But the perils of bad–even dangerous–weather loom. Yesterday a hiker was rescued off...

Are book reviews important? You’re darn right they are–in their entirety. Yes, individual reviews can be overrated, to be sure. For example, I recently received a review that said my Appalachian Trail narrative, Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail was, “Better than Bryson”. Of course, the reviewer was referring to the international bestseller, A Walk in the Woods, by renowned travel writer, Bill...

“Why go northbound?” many potential thru-hikers ask me. Good question. Approximately 15% of Appalachian Trail thru-hikers  do choose to go southbound. But the rest walk from Springer Mountain in north Georgia to Mount Katahdin in northern Maine. Why? Some say it is because the first thru-hiker, Earl Shaffer, established the tradition of the northbound thru-hike in 1951. But surely there are more profound reasons that that....

  “Better than Bryson” was the Title of a Review I got for Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail. My first reaction was I’m glad it was somebody that said that! But secondly, I am glad he did say it, just because of the relevant discussion it brings about. What this reader-reviewer was referring to, of course, was the iconic Appalachian Trail book, A Walk in the Woods, by renowned travel writer, Bill...

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...