This book is a work of the imagination, and it should go without saying that every character and event in it is fictitious. I drew inspiration from real places, not least of which was the town of Monson, Maine, a beautiful and big-hearted community rightly loved by AT thru-hikers. I have taken liberties in its depiction and in my rendering of other locales in and around the Hundred Mile Wilderness.
Thank you to the Appalachian Mountain Club, specifically the helpful staff at Gorman Chairback Lodge & Cabins and Little Lyford Lodge & Cabins: the best base camps for anyone wishing to explore Gulf Hagas. And thanks also to Simon Rucker of the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust for answering my last-minute questions about the area.
Certain books informed the composition of this one: Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods (of course); Michelle Ray’s How to Hike the AT: the Nitty Gritty Details of a Long Distance Trek; the Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker’s Companion, published by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy; The Maine Woods: A Fully Annotated Version by Henry David Thoreau, edited by Jeffrey S. Cramer; and finally, my trusted companion throughout this series, Robert E. Pike’s Spiked Boots. The National Geographic Channel documentary Killed by Coyotes, which tells the tragic, true-life story of Taylor Mitchell, was an important resource in my revisions.
As always, I am indebted to the Maine Warden Service, in particular to Corporal John MacDonald, who provided me with crucial information about the service’s search-and-rescue operations.
My agent extraordinaire, Ann Rittenberg, offered support and advice along the way—thank you, Ann.
I am grateful to my editor, Charlie Spicer, publisher Andrew Martin, and everyone at St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio. Thanks also to Beth Andersen for her proofreading help.
Lastly, I would like to thank my wife, Kristen Lindquist, for her encouragement, insight, patience, and love—all of which I needed during the writing of The Precipice.