AWOL on the Appalachian Trail

There's a great little store in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, called The Day Hiker. It's in the middle of the Parkway, in a conglomeration of stores called The Village Shops. My daughter, Tori, and I like to visit it each time we're in the Smokies because they have the best assortment of hiking-oriented T-shirts. (They also stock a lot of good hiking gear.) One of our favorite tees has, as its message, "I've hiked the entire width of the Appalachian Trail." We haven't bought that one yet, but I have a feeling we will one of these days. It makes us giggle.Laughter aside, though, hiking the AT is something I've wondered about for several years - basically for as long as Tori and I have been visiting the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and hiked many of its trails. We've bumped up against it on some of our hikes and exchanged fleeting comments like, "We should do that one of these days." Yeah, we should. Or should we?The AT is more than 2,170 miles long, with its end points at Springer Mountain in Georgia and Katahdin in Maine. It touches fourteen states and climbs as high as 6,625 feet at Clingmans Dome in Tennessee. According to The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, it takes 5 million footsteps and anywhere from five to seven months to complete a thru-hike. Imagine that - five to seven months basically on your own in the wilderness.Last night I finished AWOL on the Appalachian Trail by David Miller, a man who completed a thru-hike of the AT in less than five months in 2003. He was in a job that didn't satisfy him, so he walked away from it - with the consent of what I consider a saintly wife - and headed north from Georgia. His book about his adventure is mesmerizing. I don't know if you have to be a fan of hiking to enjoy it or not, because I happen to be one. What I do know is that Miller does a phenomenal job of taking his readers on a virtual hike of the AT.Through his descriptions of the trail and his willingness to share his personal thoughts, dreams, disappointments, and his longing at times for his wife and his children, he provides what has to be an incredibly accurate depiction of what it's like to undertake a thru-hike. He encounters more than 20 bears, countless snakes, and at least one moose. His knee gives him trouble in the beginning, a blister on his foot becomes infected and costs him a few days off the trail, and he sprains his ankle, which costs him another several more "zero" days off the AT.But he enjoys the solitude, the sights that he sees as he walks, and he allows the experience to settle inside him. Along the way he befriends many other thru-hikers and enjoys getting to know them and bumping into them again and again as they make their individual ways along the trail. Miller describes "trail magic" and is the beneficiary of it many times along the trail. Now that I understand what it is, I'm going to be sure and pack some extra goodies in our cooler when we head out again to Newfound Gap or Clingmans Dome. Maybe we'll get to meet and talk to one of these intriguing people who commit themselves to this endeavor.As for me, I don't know if I could ever be a true thru-hiker. I don't know if I could really cut myself off from my family - my life - for that long. I don't know if I could get used to going for days and days without a shower. But I'd like to leave it open as a possibility. Maybe I'll be a section hiker - cut the AT into pieces and hike it over the course of a number of visits and many years. I think I could picture myself doing that.What I do know is that I'm grateful the Appalachian Trail exists and that people are still dedicated to taking care of it. I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Miller's book: "We spend an inordinate amount of time indoors, and the physical confinement limits the metaphorical bubble of our aspirations. Large rooms, like the vaulted interior of a church, are uplifting. Outdoors, we are free to reach for the sky."I intend to keep reaching. Miller's book is inspiring.

After the last book I read, I had been looking for a book that really grabbed me and made me want to keep reading. Though I don't ever intend on hiking the Appalachian Trail, I do like reading about it through trail journals and books. That led me to AWOL on the Appalachian Trail, a wonderful account of one man's mid-life hike of the historic trail.It's the second book I read on hiking the trail and it gave a very good account of the hike and what you encounter during such a long thru-hike.Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It was well done and you could tell that the writer kept good details in his journal during the hike. It also probably didn't hurt that he wrote a newspaper article every week or two during his hike.As for the book...THE GOODDetails! The best way I can describe this book is that it's almost a play-by-play of his hike. The details are many and really capture the essence of a thru-hike like this. Remember, the Appalachian Trail is more than 2,000 miles long, so there are a lot of things to journal and encounter. Items such as animals, other wildlife, people, stopping in towns, injuries and everything else you can consider. Author David Miller really gives you the feel of what it's like to be on the trail. From not shaving, to days without a shower -- you can almost smell (ewww!) what it's like to be a hiker. His tribulations with hiking shoes or dealing with hikers who seem to uppity to talk to other hikers, he gives you ever piece of what his trip was like.That makes it hard to put the book down.It took me about 10 days to finish the book. There were a few days in there that I didn't read, but the book flowed well and it went quick. I looked forward to reading it each time I picked up my Kindle.Another positive to the book was it wasn't all cake and candy. By that I mean, everything wasn't "Oh yay! The Appalachian Trail rules and this was so easy!"Miller gets into the negatives of his hike. Such as being away from his wife and three kids for so many months. He takes us into the mind of a thru-hiker with the urge (though with Miller, it never seemed too big of an urge as he knew what he did to be able to hike and didn't want to leave the trail). But it's not an easy thing to do, mentally and physically. The amount of food he goes through and the constant, nagging injuries are things that he dealt with.He also shows what hikers have to go through each day. From hiking anywhere from 10-30 miles in a day, to the terrain, to having to hitchhike into towns or trying to get food and water while on the trail, Miller's account of the hike is something anyone considering this hike should read.THE BADAs much of a positive as the play-by play is, it can also be a negative, though not in a major way. There were times that I wondered how much fun he actually had. If I'm on a trail for 4-6 months and am meeting so many people and staying in different spots, I'm going to have to have some fun. At times, Miller starts to talk about the good times, but then abruptly moves on to hiking the next day. I think a few more details and some good humor in parts would have given the book a little extra oomph.Outside of that, there's not many negatives with this book. He offered a few opinions in the book that I think could have been left out and there were parts that I would have liked expanded with explanations, but overall there weren't many bad things about the book.OVERALL THOUGHTSNot many books could get me to be interested in hiking 2,000-plus miles. The reality is, this is a hike I'll likely never try to attempt as being on the trail for six months just isn't something I'm interested in doing. That being said, his account of the hike really could get someone interested in thinking about this hike. From the amount of bears he saw to the nature and people he encountered, it's a writer's dream to be on that trail.But every batch of goods had bads, including weather, rough people to deal with or running out of key items (such as water). The physical and mental toll it takes on a person is something that everyone should consider.Still, as Miller shows in the book, it's something that people from all walks of life have done and it's something many people could do, if they put their mind to it. His account isn't sugar-coated and he gives a real feel of what it would be like to take this thru-hike.I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys hiking, outdoors or just a good read about a real-life adventure.

Books like this are difficult to write as the monotony of walking day after day can become tedious when put into words, however David (AWOL) manages to overcome this comfortably.His descriptions of the wonderful scenery, wildlife, fellow hikers and his candid observations about his own mental battles make it a great read.Probably the best walking book I've read.

I am so glad that I discovered this book. I have always enjoyed hiking and was able to do quite a bit on the Bruce Trail while living in Niagara region. This story was inspiring indeed and would have convinced me to make a similar adventure except that at 78+ years of age, perhaps something a little less demanding.Thank you David Miller for sharing th.

A volte noioso, come l'AT del resto, stando a quello che scrive l'autore, ma ti fa venire voglia di provarci e, soprattutto, ti fa pensare che sia possibile farlo.

Well written and interesting. I had no idea the trail was near so many towns and the trail so popular

Wer dieses Tagebuch von David Miller alias AWOL (Hike Name) liest, wird einen guten Einblick in die Atmosphäre, die Erlebnisse, aber auch die Routine eines Thru-hikers auf dem Appalachian Trail (AT) erhalten.Die Kritik, dass die persönlichen Beweggründe Millers für seinen Ausstieg aus der Arbeitswelt nicht zu finden wären, ist für mich nicht nachvollziehbar (z.B. Kapitel 8). Auch habe ich Millers Beschreibungen im Geiste mit meinen Erfahrungen auf dem Jakobsweg verglichen und mich über manches gewundert, aber auch gestaunt (kurz: Jakobsweg und AT sind wie Apfel und Birnen, Obst aber nur bedingt vergleichbar).Toll ist, dass man auch nach Lesen des Buches auf die Erfahrungen von Miller zurückgreifen kann. Er betreibt eine nette Homepage und sein AT Guide gehört mittlerweile zu den Klassikern des AT.Alles in allem habe ich das Buch gerne gelesen, konnte es nicht weglegen und habe mit dem Autor die Wehmut geteilt, dass der Weg/Buch eine Ende fanden....