A Good Place For Maniacs: Dispatches From The Pacific Crest Trail

by Chuck McKeever

Looking to make a radical change in his life, English teacher Chuck McKeever decides to hike the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail. The only he's never backpacked for more than a weekend before. Along this winding path from Mexico to Canada, he meets colorful characters, bears witness to some of America's most beautiful scenery, and learns unforgettable lessons about fear, perseverance, and the power of community. Set against the backdrop of the 2016 presidential election, A Good Place for Maniacs is a timely reminder that everything in American life is inherently political, and that no one ever really does anything great alone.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel

297 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 24, 2020

Reviews

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best thruhiking experiences book on the Pacific Crest Trail I've read so far. The author has a great way with words and knows exactly what to share of his adventure. I love that he meets so many nice people, and that his best memories of the trail are of the memories shared with his trail friends.
Definitely recommended, I got really absorbed by it and flew through the pages. I knew I wanted to hike the PCT one day, and now I'm sure. :-)

[Julie Young Buckler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walking With People

This is a well told true story of one person taking time off from routine to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Day after day of walking, hitchhiking and sleeping outdoors gives the soul experience outside the usual daily routine. It was enjoyable to read along and feel the experience.

This book is a great reminder that life is always evolving. A positive and enjoyable escape to the great outdoors and meeting kind and fun people along the way.

[Gina Sancricca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chuck’s work is honest and beautiful. As I read his work I felt like I was perched on his pack, experiencing alongside him the types of hardships that require you to ask yourself if you want this badly enough, that require you to dig deep to learn how much you have to give. The richness with which Chuck describes his surroundings warmed me and made me feel like I wanted to experience it all for myself one day.

One of my favorite passages from the end of the book: “I can walk beside lakes of impossibly deep blue-green and feel that I have earned the right to drink from them. I can run my fingertips across the tops of the fireweed and know that though my body and mind have burned away to stone over some 2,000 miles, my heart is softer and more full and open than it’s ever been before.”
Which illustrates my favorite lesson from this book: that even the hardest, most challenging things have a way of opening you to beauty in your surroundings and within yourself in ways you never thought possible.

[Joe Loncarich · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's engaging, but can get a bit repetitive. Still, I went from, "Maybe I should try to do that," to "Ooh, I don't know about that part," to "Nope, not for me. Hard pass." So it was very educational in that way.

[Scott Hines · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling travelogue is a difficult thing to pull off — it has to be more than just an inventory of places seen. It has to connect emotionally, and McKeever does so beautifully; reading the book this week, I’ve felt like I was there in his boots, experiencing the highs and lows of an incredible undertaking right along with him. It could get boring, but it doesn’t; it could be arrogant, but it isn’t. The emotional and spiritual struggle of staying on the trail and away from the things and people a journey like this takes you away from provides a powerful narrative to the story.

It means something when a book rekindles a fire in you, and A Good Place For Maniacs has the old restless soul inside of me itching to plan a journey again as soon as I’m able.

[Lauren Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was entranced with McKeever's journey within the first dozen pages. His style of writing is one that pulls you in and leaves you thinking. The literal and figurative ups and downs bring you along in a transparent and humanly relatable way. I am not one that would necessarily hike the PCT but I admire those like McKeever that do and am grateful for the opportunity to experience something I would not through these words. In addition to the experience itself, the openness with self-doubt, the voice and anxiety faced is one that leaves you together instead of alone. Would definitely recommend!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book soon after the summer solstice and finished the night before winter solstice (I’m a distracted reader at times). It has been a great comfort during the pandemic and recommend it to anyone.

I ended up learning things about myself along the way, which I wasn’t expecting. It was hard to put down, often continuing onto the next chapter. It reminded me of the importance of social connections and truly living in the moment, even when you eat shit in the rain.

Thank you for this treat, Chuck.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t put the book down. Read the book for hours on end, and couldn’t wait to finish work for the day to pick it up again. There’s something pretty magical about being transported to another world for a while, and this book immersed me in the sights, sounds, and smells of the PCT in a way that I’ve never read before. You won’t regret picking this one up. I miss (reading about) the trail already!

[Barbara Q · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. A wonderful vicarious experience, written with honesty, humor, with just enough introspection and rumination on why and what he was doing, written with humility and gratefulness for his fellow hikers, for his supportive family and friends and Ali. And of course the desert, mountains, creeks, lakes, critters, weather, rocks, snow, ice, heat, campsites, trail angels, food, books, beer... all the hundreds of vignettes that never once got boring or tedious to read.

[Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading this book for a number of reasons. First, it painted such an incredible picture of thru-hiking that there were moments I felt myself yearning to try it myself, but knowing that this was absolutely one hundred percent not an experience for me. There is absolutely no chance. Second, the author’s personal reflections and introspection throughout the hike are profound, thoughtful, and applicable to life outside of the hiking experience. And third, something about reading a published book by an author you’ve met in the real world is incredibly cool.

I met Chuck teaching in the Marshal Islands and am not in the least bit surprised to see him publish a book. He was (and I’m sure still is) a kind, witty, thoughtful human and all of these traits really shone in his writing. I can’t say I would ever have read a book like this of it weren’t written by someone I consider a friend.

Now, my only complaints would be that the book is long (but so is the PCT) and at times can be a bit redundant (which, again, I imagine the hike itself is too). For anyone with hiking experience or a desire to thru hike the PCT, I think this book would speak much more to you than it did to someone like me who abhors camping, sweating, and bugs, snakes, and shitting in the woods.

While the book is primarily about hiking, it’s also about so much more and the insights Chuck writes about are beautiful and inspiring and worth reflecting on.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about the author’s thru-hiking experience on the PCT. Definitely one of the best books I’ve read about this subject so far. His descriptions were great and made me feel like I was there right along with him. I even felt sad when it was over. I’ve always had a dream to do a thru-hike, but I’m pretty sure I am beyond the possibility of that now so I am choosing to live vicariously through the other people who are doing it.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Wonderful and honest feeling account of the trail. Well written by a likable author. I recommend this book to everyone.

[Seb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the author's writing style, but unfortunately politics was inserted into his writing at every opportunity which made the book hard to finish for me.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Takes its time hiking the trail. I appreciated the inner journey as well as outer.