Trail Ways, Path Wise: An Appalachian Trail Through-Hike

by John Illig

"The hardest thing about through-hiking the Appalachian Trail is getting to the start."  So begins Trail Ways, Path Wise.  Influenced by the prose of Bukowski and Hemingway (with a smattering of Kerouac, and adoration of Cormac McCarthy), Illig is a former journalist and natural storyteller who writes with a strong voice in a conversational, lyrical   "Light on his feet, writes with tripping prose,"   says author John Hanson Mitchell.  He will have you flying down the trail, laughing as you go, eager to turn the next page to peek over the next mountaintop and around the bend.  Read TRAIL WAYS, PATH WISE alone, or as Book I in the 8,000-mile AT-PCT-CDT through-hiking trilogy that  Trail Ways, Path Wise (AT);  Pacific Dream (PCT);  and Man in the Middle (CDT).  Discover the nuances of America's three marquee hiking trails.  This trilogy is as much self-reflection and journey into maturity as it is a pondering of mountains.  

Genres: Nonfiction, Adventure

180 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1998

About the author

John Illig grew up in Rochester, New York, and graduated from the University of Rochester in 1986 with a degree in English Literature. Obsessed with bouncing balls, he has for the past 18 year worked as an intercollegiate squash coach - - most recently at Middlebury College in Vermont, where he is on the faculty. His three published books are "Man In the Middle", "Pacific Dream" and "Trail Ways, Path Wise." He has through-hiked the Appalachian Trail (1993), the Pacific Crest Trail (1999), and the Continental Divide Trail (2005). He's created a slide show and talk about his hikes and the books, which he is presenting throughout the northeast. He is currently at work on a novel.

Reviews

[Doug Harrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

decent book... a little "ranty" for my taste though...

[John Illig · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny and authentic look at life on the trail. Guy starts off carrying ridiculous things ("Abdonimizer," chess set, books) but learns to scale down as he goes along. Gets Lyme Disease, but nothing stops him. It's the first book of a trilogy, as Illig goes on to through-hike (and write about) the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail.

[Cat Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ebook full of typos, made it challenging to find the trail. Good read, good first book.