Walking the Appalachian Trail

This book is a wonderful vehicle to take you back to trail, or there for the first time. It isn't a guide book in any way, which is actually what I wanted when I bought this... but I am very pleased that I ended up with this also (if you want a guide book, get the 'Thru-Hikers Companion')... Along with the details of planning for my upcoming thru-hike,it is great to pick this book up and instead of dealing with technicalities I can just take my mind to the finer aspects of trail life, which is nice when I'm not planning. It is one of the few books I have ever started and actually finished all the way through before getting bored. -Contains vivid accounts of famous and not so famous thru hikes of the past, some humorous and some touching, and offers an unbiased view of just enjoying the trail regardless of all variables.

Retired my backpack many years ago. I had thought about walking the A.T. but never did. Recently a work buddy suggested we thru-hike the trail on retirement in a few years. Fortunately, this was the first book I read about the trail. This is not the definitive book about the trail but is an excellent motivator for day hiking or thru-hiking it. The author discusses many aspects of planning, walking and finishing but this is not a book about details. Informative and entertaining experiences of past hikers featured after every chapter are the focus of this book. I have more reading and research to do about the A.T. Thanks to this book, the Good Lord Willing, I'll be at Springer Mountain for my thru-hike someday.

. . . unless you're willing to risk a life-altering experience. Indeed, 5 months after reading this book, I was sleeping on the ground at night and walking 15-20 miles every day. It inspired me to start a thruhike of the AT, and after finishing the first one, I did another, and then another. Almost surely I'll do it again. Life will never be the same. This book started it all for me. Not just about Luxenberg's own hiking experiences, the book distills the stories of many different hikers, from the first thruhiker (Earl Shaffer) to "ordinary" hikers of today, plus several who were not at all ordinary. Many, many books have been written about the AT. This one is a powerful classic.

I just couldn't put this book down. Before I'd even finished the book, I decided that I was going to hike the Appalachian Trail. It covers all aspects of "thruhiking" the AT, not just facts but the feel. In August, I finished my thruhike and still feel that Luxenberg's book is right-on. If you love hiking and adventure, this book will give you future dreams.

This was the first book I read about hiking the Appalachian Trail, and I was entirely transformed by it. I have bought and read thirteen books on the subject since (but found none quite as enticing), and I have now hiked several sections of the trail. My longest has been a 75-mile stretch. Hopefully, I will one day become a thru-hiker.