Attuning to Appalachia: Smeagol's Trail Journal

Far to the northeast lies the exalted Mount Katahdin, not in a fictional setting but in North America's Appalachians. Brandon "Sméagol" Shewmake wistfully gazed beyond the corporate window and into the woods, disillusioned by a computer-tethered workweek with weekend adventuring. It seemed to him that this framework for happiness was imbalanced, and so he put his career into hibernation such that he could learn primordial lessons from the Appalachian Trail.

During his three-season, thru-hiking journey from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine, Sméagol chronicled his varying experiences with:

• seasonally changing biodiversity, weather, and vistas
• the wayfaring lifestyle in the wilderness and in towns
• the trail community and their unique characters

Warning: this book occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children).