Sheltered · an Appalachian Trail Story

Sheltered is a thrilling true life account of the Appalachian Trail. The two thousand mile trail spans from Springer, Georgia through fourteen states and ends on the summit of Mount Katahdin in Maine. A couple thousand people go out each year in hopes of completing the entire trail in one go, but few do. This story is filled with hiker lingo and weaves with the ins and outs of hiker culture. The stinky, bearded hikers, who hunger for burgers and thirst for beer, are the everyday comrades on the trail. In towns, hikers flock to the grocery stores where they are greeted with shocked townsfolk, who watch these mountain men with caution. At restaurants the waiters stare and their jaws drop to the floor as hikers gulp down burgers with a side of Mountain Dew. At first many of the hikers have no idea what they have stepped out to achieve. The total elevation gain on the Appalachian Trail is equal to hiking Mount Everest sixteen times. Starting out in the spring means waking up to snow. By the time hikers get to Virginia, winter is gone for good, and hikers have their trail legs. By Pennsylvania, hikers are zapped of energy from the heat and low water. They are attacked by mosquitoes in New Jersey. They get lost in the cliffs of New York. Vermont is beautiful, but is no rival against the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where hikers get to walk above treeline and experience heaven on clear days. At the border of Maine, it is so close and yet so far. Maine, wildest of all, is also the most brutal, and beautiful of all. Some hike it in sections and others in Thru-hikes. It's been said, "For a section hiker it’s a lifetime of hikes. For a thru-hiker it's a hike of a lifetime."