{"product_id":"9781599217437","title":"On the Beaten Path: An Appalachian Pilgrimage","description":"For anyone who enjoyed Bill Bryson's \u003ci\u003eA Walk in the Woods\u003c\/i\u003e or has a love of the outdoors in general or the Appalachian Trail in particular, here is an eloquent, wise, and witty account of how one man's six-month, end-to-end hike of the Appalachian Trail led him back home.  \u003cp\u003e  Every year, a couple thousand would-be \"thruhikers\" set out to walk the entire 2,000-mile length of the Georgia-to-Maine Appalachian Trail. About one of every ten actually makes it.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e   Robert Rubin's chances did not look good. Thirty-eight years old, overweight, dispirited, and burned out by a job he'd once loved, he dreamed of leaving mortgage and wife and cul-de-sac life behind for a journey that could take half a year-or maybe never end. But what awaited him on the wooded ridges was not the solo trek he'd imagined. Rubin soon found himself part of a strange vagrant culture of pilgrims and dropouts, a world with its own rules and rituals. As the miles accumulate, Rubin must survive the path's physical and spiritual grind, and, even more daunting, confront what he's running from . . . and what he's searching for.   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  \u003ci\u003eOn the Beaten Path\u003c\/i\u003e is not only a clear-eyed, loving look at the dwindling wilderness of the Appalachian Mountains, the history and landscape of the Appalachian Trail, and the remarkable hiker subculture that exists along it; it is also one man's captivating and beautifully written exploration of the wilderness within himself.  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Globe Pequot Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47151269019888,"sku":"9781599217437","price":10.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781599217437_p0.jpg?v=1769901959","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781599217437","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}