The idea for this book came to me on my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 1994. Every state that I walked through presented me with a different story. Some were pleasant and easy, while others were pleasant, somehow, in spite of being extremely difficult. With each passing state boundary a different realization would occur. This thing, this trail, works its stuff on everyone who walks along it, like a character in life or story. We don t affect...