APPENDIX TWO

BOOKS ABOUT THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL

The following books are available from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, P. O. Box 807, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425, as well as outdoor retailers and bookstores.

2,000 Miles on the Appalachian Trail, by Don Fortunato. An illustrated account of an early 1980s thru-hike of the A.T.

A.T. Design, Construction, and Maintenance, by William Burchard, Bob Proudman, and the ATC Regional Staff. 2000. The definitive guide to Trail building and maintenance on the East Coast.

Appalachian National Scenic Trail: A Time to Be Bold, by Charles H. W. Foster. 1987. A history of the Trail and its public protection.

The Appalachian Trail: Calling Me Back to the Hills, by Earl Shaffer and Bart Smith. 2002. 128 pages of prose and poetry by the first-ever A.T. thru-hiker, written after his third thru-hike in 1998 at the age of 79. Shaffer’s words are accompanied by Smith’s A.T. photos.

The Appalachian Trail Companion, edited by the Appalachian Long-Distance Hikers Association. An annually updated companion to the Data Book for long-distance hikers. This on-trail guide gives details on what services are available along the Trail, and more.

Appalachian Trail Data Book, compiled by Daniel D. Chazin. An annually updated guide featuring mileages between features and facilities on the Trail.

Appalachian Trail Fun Book, by Frank and Victoria Logue. 1993. A 72-page coloring and activity book designed to introduce four- to nine-year-olds to the Appalachian Trail.

Appalachian Trail Guides, published by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The eleven official Trail guides are published by the ATC or its member clubs and are updated every two to three years in most cases. Each guide is a pocket-sized book detailing a section of the Trail and comes with up to 12 topographic maps of that section. All guides are sold in a waterproof plastic pouch.

Maine New Hampshire/Vermont Massachusetts/Connecticut

Appalachian Trail in Bits and Pieces, by Mary Sands. 1993. A recount of 16 years of hikes covering the entire A.T. with 100 Girl Scout companions.

Appalachian Trail on My Mind, by Globe Pequot Press. 2002. A 96-page compilation of words and pictures on the Appalachian Trail.

The Appalachian Trail Reader, by David Emblidge. 1997. A 1990s compendium of previously published articles and excerpts from books.

Appalachian Trail Workbook for Planning Thru-Hikes, by Chris Whalen. 1991. A rip-out-the-pages workbook of checklists, maildrops, etc.

As Far as the Eye Can See, by David Brill. 1990. A well-written and reflective account of a 1978 thru-hiker.

Backpacker magazine’s Guide to the Appalachian Trail, by Jim Chase. 1989. A history of the Trail combined with anecdotes.

The Best of the Appalachian Trail: Day Hikes, by Victoria and Frank Logue and Leonard Adkins. 2004. With 150 hikes in all fourteen Trail states, this book guides hikers to the best day hikes on the Appalachian Trail. There is an overview of the hike, point-by-point description, and complete trailhead directions for each of the hikes, which are also rated for difficulty and given an approximate length of time the hike will take.

The Best of the Appalachian Trail: Overnight Hikes, by Victoria and Frank Logue and Leonard Adkins. 2004. A companion to the day-hikes book above, this guide includes more than 70 overnight hikes along the Trail. Each hike is rated for difficulty from easy to strenuous.

Blind Courage: Journey of Faith, by Bill Irwin and David McCasland. 1992. A stirring account of a blind hiker’s 1990 thru-hike of the A.T. with his dog, Orient.

Breaking Trail in the Central Appalachians, by David Bates. 1987. The history of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.

Geology of the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania, by J. Peter Wilshusen. 1983. The geologic history of Pennsylvania’s 230 miles of Trail.

Hiking the Triple Crown: Appalachian Trail—Pacific Crest Trail—Continental Divide Trail. How to Hike America’s Longest Trails, by Karen Berger. 2001. A how-to guide to America’s three great trails from a hiker who has done the Triple Crown herself and knows how to convey the information in a direct and highly readable style.

A Journey North: One Woman’s Story of Hiking the Appalachian Trail, by Adrienne Hall. 2000. A non-romantic account of an A.T. thru-hike that shares all the woes from sore muscles to bugs and more.

Katahdin with Love: An Inspirational Journey, by Madelaine Cornelius. 1990. A couple’s story of their A.T. thru-hike begun after the death of their son.

Long Distance Hiking: Lessons from the Appalachian Trail, by Roland Mueser. 1997. Mueser surveyed 136 A.T. thru-hikers to compile this how-to guide to long-distance hiking on the A.T.

Mountain Adventure: Exploring the Appalachian Trail, by Ron Fisher, photographs by Sam Abell. 1989. Published by the National Geographic Society, this book charts a south-to-north thru-hike by talking to hikers, maintainers, and people who live near the Trail.

The New Appalchian Trail, by Edward B. Garvey. 1997. This is the latest book by the author of the popular but now out-of-print Appalachian Hiker and Appalachian Hiker II. It mixes experiences from Ed’s five-month-long A.T. hike, which he took at the age of 75, with information on gear, Trail etiquette, and more.

On the Beaten Path: An Appalachian Pilgrimage, by Robert Alden Rubin. 2000. This well-written tale gives an honest account of an A.T. thru-hike that is well worth the read.

A Season on the Appalachian Trail, by Lynn Setzer. 1997. This book follows hikers from Georgia to Maine as the writer interviews thru-hikers at a number of key locations to provide a window on the A.T. experience.

A Time to Walk: Life Lesson Learned on the Appalachian Trail, by Jay Platt. 2000. Platt distills ten life lessons from his 1998 A.T. thru-hike and illustrates the lessons with stories from his hike.

Underfoot: A Geologic Guide to the Appalachian Trail, by V. Collins Chew. Revised 1993. A guide to the geology of the entire A.T., including a history of the formation of the Appalachian Mountain chain.

A Walk for Sunshine: A 2,160-mile Expedition for Charity on the Appalachian Trail, by Jeff Alt. 2000. Alt’s book tells of his thru-hike to raise money for the Sunshine Home, which cares for 850 developmentally disabled residents.

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Bryson. 1998. A humorous account of an A.T. hike (though not a thru-hike) that is a good source of laughs, but a questionable-at-best source of reliable information on the Trail. This book was a New York Times Bestseller.

Walking the Appalachian Trail, by Larry Luxenberg. 1994. Thru-hiker Larry Luxenburg interviewed dozens of A.T. hikers to capture the thru-hiking experience.

Walking Home, A Woman’s Pilgrimage on the Appalachian Trail, by Kelly Winters. 1991. A woman’s experience of empowerment in and through a late-1990s thru-hike.

Walking North, by Mic Lowther. 2000. A well-written account of a family’s A.T. thru-hike in the 1970s.

Walkin' on the Happy Side of Misery: A Slice of Life on the Appalachian Trail, by Junius R. Tate. 2001. The story of three 1990s A.T. thru-hikes, with more than a touch of good humor.

Walking with Spring, by Earl Shaffer. 1987. Shaffer’s story of his 1948 thru-hike. Shaffer was the first to hike the entire Appalachian Trail in a single year.

White Blaze Fever, by Bill Schuette. 2003. The story of one retirees’ thru-hike, this book also contains more than one hundred hiker tips to assist future generations of thru-hikers.

Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail, by Leonard M. Adkins with photos by Joe and Monica Cook. 1999. This absolutely beautiful book is a great reference source for where to find and how to identify the many wildflowers along the Appalachian Trail.

A Woman’s Journey, by Cindy Ross. 1982. The personal story of Ross’s two-year, 2,100-mile journey on the A.T. in the late 1970s, illustrated with her charcoal sketches.