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 enlarge | Author: David Miller
Publisher: Wingspan Press
Category: Book
Buy New: $15.95
New (1) Used (1) from $15.24
Avg. Customer Rating:  51 reviews
Sales Rank: 16597
Media: Perfect Paperback
Edition: 2nd
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 0.8
ISBN: 1595941096
Dewey Decimal Number: 796
EAN: 9781595941091
ASIN: 1595941096
Publication Date: October 30, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
Cubicle dweller finds freedom on the Appalachian Trail February 27, 2007
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
In 2003 David Miller is 41 with a wife and three young daughters. He rejects his computer programming job, and with the consent of his family, starts up the AT. Thus the title.
Near the midpoint of the story, there is a quote: "too much hard work, too much pain, too much time away from my family ..." but he continues. This is a success story. Though he does not say so, David is one of the stronger AT thru-hikers, big miles, day after day. All the usual injuries occur, but these are endured, rather than used as a reason to leave the trail. There is a community of hikers, and the sharing of intense experiences day after day is almost addictive
The reader begins to get a feel for the rituals of shelters and in trail towns. After reading the book, a potential AT hiker should feel much more comfortable with what they are going to encounter. As I read the book, I kept visualizing the AT trails vs the ones I have hiked in California and in Europe - the AT seems much more difficult, though you have more frequent opportunities to get off the trail.
The overall tone of the book is strongly positive. That's a little difficult to explain, since there is a lot about hardship, but trust me, you will understand when you read it.
I recommend this to any long distance hiker, and particularly to someone planning to walk the Appalachian Trail.
Stepping Out Without Skipping Out February 19, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
To read this story is to live a vicarious adventure. Pick up the book, and boom, you're there. You feel the mist in your face, the cold mountain air in the morning, the sights and sounds of the wilderness, the rough, uneven terrain over root and rock, the smell of plants and earth, the taste of spring water, the setting sun chucking its final spears of the day into pastel clouds on the horizon, the taste of camp food, the familiar smell of sleeping bags and drying socks, and the weariness of body that imparts a sound sleep (or not).
At times you're a solitary soul traversing the length of the Colonies from South to North, alone but for the company of your thoughts, and the family back home that is pulling for you, waiting for you, loving you from afar. Other times you feel the comraderie of intersecting lives on the same trek, and the shared experiences along your way. "Oases of civilization" dot the journey, replete with many ordinary and some strange characters, and urban adventures that stand in stark contrast to the life that lies just beyond the town, where the trail picks up and nature reigns again.
The book is this and more. You finish the book and the pervasive thought that transcends even the wonderful story, the description of Pop Tarts surviving a nasty fall, the love of nature and humanity, and the overpowering sense of accomplishment but not wanting it to end, is the thought that this was an ordinary person stepping out without skipping out. This thought that a regular person with a regular life and responsibilities can accomplish this extraordinary thing, starting with resolve and a few unsure baby steps, is a thought that lingers long after the book is back on the shelf. This thought is like a small voice telling you that he did it and I can do it, too. It's not about hiking the Appalachian Trail any more, even though it could be. It's about taking chances in life and realizing that the biggest chance we take is failing to take a chance, failing to live and do things that really are possible, that are worth doing.
Great "experience" on the trail February 16, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
While reading this book you almost feel like you are walking along with AWOL and feeling all of the ups and downs of the hike. Very well written and well worth the price.
A through hike without the sore feet!!! January 12, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Although I have never through hiked the AT, now I feel like I have. This book is done in a very matter-of-fact fashion, but still manages to be very interesting and informative. Loved it, first page to last!!!!!
A must read for the thru-hiker December 31, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I received the book as a gift Christmas morning. I finished it late that evening. As a future thru-hiker, I could not put the book down. I found the book refreshing in its discourse on the daily grind and challenges a thru-hiker faces. It does not sugar coat the experience. That the author finished the hike is a testament to the good outweighing the bad. It is well written and does not repeat daily mileage, food intake, weather, etc. For those contemplating a thru-hike or for those who wish to understand the joys and frustrations a thru-hiker daily faces, this book is a must read.
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