Free Kindle Upload of Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail

Posted by on January 20, 2013 in Appalachian Trail, Appalachian trail Books, Skywalker--Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail | 0 comments

The popular Appalachian Trail narrative, Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Walker, will be available for a free download on Amazon Kindle on Monday and Tuesday, January 21-22. This narrative of Bill Walker’s 2005 thru-hike has sold steadily since being published four years ago. Walker had developed a virtual obsession that he was going to thru-hike the 2,175 mile Appalachian Trail in one hiking season. This was in spite of the fact that he had never even spent the night outside at at 44.

What ensued was a 171 day slog that resembled a see-saw battle between his determination on the one hand, and incompetence on the other. Due to his near 7-foot height, Walker picked up the trail name, ‘Skywalker’. At the end of the day, he not only fell heavily for trail life, but also concluded that the Appalachian Trail is the very best way to see America.

He decided to write a narrative of his experiences focusing on the cutting-edge experiences of trail life. “Most hiking books,” says Walker, “are written by experts, for other experts, in a narrow kind of hiker’s language. Well, even after hiking almost the entire length of the country, I am anything but an expert. And I wanted to tell about this daily struggle from an average hiker’s perspective.”

Bill Walker is the author of Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail (2008)l. He is also the author of Skywalker–Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail (2010), as well as The Best Way–El Camino de Santiago (2012). Walker, who is 6’11”, is currently working on a whimsical book on the subject of height.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *