From Katahdin To Springer Mountain

The author's journal as she backpacked the Appalachian Trail in 2004. Starting alone from Springer Mountain Georgia, she travels over 2000 miles to reach Mount Katahdin Maine six months later. Danie Martin is a librarian now living in Philadelphia. - from jacket text.

When Thoreau ventured into the Maine woods in 1846, he was one of a handful who did so simply to see what was there. Now, hundreds of thousands of people pursue "the wildest country" either for itself, as Thoreau did, or as the terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Using Mount Katahdin as his lab, Eric Pinder contemplates what draws people to the mountains. Are the urbanites trekking the trails with cell phones, synthetic fabrics, and GPS units having remotely the same experience that Thoreau did? Pinder's interviews with these hikers create a vivid portrait of the communion with nature they seek, and of the world they are trying to escape.

Derick Lugo had never been hiking. He didn't even know if he liked being outside all that much. He certainly couldn't imagine going more than a day without manicuring his goatee. But with a job overseas cut short and no immediate plans, this fixture of the greater New York comedy circuit began to think about what he might do with months of free time and no commitments. He had heard of the Appalachian Trail and knew of its potential for danger and adventure, but he had never seriously considered attempting to hike all 2,192 miles of it. Then again, what could go wrong for a young black man from the city trekking solo through the East Coast backwoods? The Unlikely Thru-Hiker is the story of how an unknowing ambassador of one of the AT's least common demographics, unfamiliar with both the outdoors and thru-hiking culture, sets off with an extremely overweight pack and a willfully can-do attitude to conquer the infamous trail. What follows are eye-opening lessons on preparation, humility, race relations, and nature's wild unpredictability. But this isn't a hard-nosed memoir of discouragement or intolerance. What sets Lugo apart from the typical walk in the woods is his refusal to let any challenge squash his inner Pollyanna. Through it all, he perseveres with humor, tenacity, and an unshakeable commitment to grooming--earning him the trail name "Mr. Fabulous"--that sees him from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Katahdin in Maine.

A 41-year-old engineer quits his job to hike the Appalachian Trail. This is a true account of his hike from Georgia to Maine, bringing to the reader the life of the towns and the people he meets along the way.

When Terry Croteau was twelve years old, tromping around the woods on family outings, looking under leaves for frogs and salamanders, and relieving herself behind trees, she had no idea she’d end up spending over half year doing the same thing from Georgia to Maine. . . in her fifties! What causes a midlife baby boomer to leave her job, sell the house, farm out the furniture and cram all the leftovers in a ten by ten foot storage unit and carry thirty-five plus pounds on her back over 2174 miles? Well, your guess is as good as mine, but that’s what she did. Join Terry, (trail name ‘Bluebird’) as she prepares, then walks, crawls, trips, and falls her way up the Appalachian Trail, (AT) from Springer Mountain, GA to Baxter Park’s Katahdin, in ME. Allow yourself the experience of hiking the AT by living vicariously through Bluebird’s journal entries and reflections. Experience the routine and the totally unexpected, in the life of a long distance thru hiker. Learn where a good sense of humor, sweat, tears and a ‘Don’t give up!’ attitude might take you. Realize how success can be measured more keenly by your attitude than by your accomplishments, that believing in ‘you’ is half the battle, the other half is putting one foot in front of the other. According to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, approximately 1,150 northbound thru hikers began their trek in 2006 (GA to ME) of the 1,150 hikers, 659 individuals, a little over half, made it to Harpers Ferry, W.Va. (Bluebird was number 501) Maine’s Katahdin greeted 30% of the original 1,150 hikers, with a total of 349 completions in 2006. You will connect with some of those people in Terry’s journal. It doesn’t matter if you’re young, old, male or female, you will appreciate what you find between the cover pages of this book. The author reminds us that, “Life isn’t over till your six foot under and if you’re on this side of the dirt and breathing, you’re alive! So, for God sake and your own, live!”

From beginners to thru-hikers, Discovering the Appalachian Trail has something for anyone that wants a connection with the nation’s longest marked footpath at approximately 2,181 miles. Starting at Springer Mountain in Georgia and finishing far to the north in Maine’s Mount Katahdin, the A.T. crosses 14 states, 6 national parks, and 8 national forests. Taking on the A.T. is a pilgrimage because of both its beauty and accessibility. Let Joshua Niven and Amber Adams guide you across the best trails that the Appalachian Trail has to offer. Complete with full-color photography, you’ll also have hikes suited to every ability, mile-by-mile directional cues, sidebars, and maps.

Collection of highlights from twenty-one Appalachian Trail blogs.