AWOL on the Appalachian Trail

by David Miller

A 41-year-old engineer quits his job to hike the Appalachian Trail. This is a true account of his hike from Georgia to Maine, bringing to the reader the life of the towns and the people he meets along the way.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Memoir, Adventure, Nature, Outdoors, Audiobook

236 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There are more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[J.L. Sutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

“When the path is clear to pursue a fledgling goal, the path is also clear for deeper insight into your desires.”



Second reading of David Miller's AWOL on the Appalachian Trail reconfirmed my feelings that I need to get out! It is clear from my other selection about thru-hiking that it probably doesn't matter where.

David Miller's AWOL on the Appalachian Trail definitely gives you a sense of what it's like to hike this trail. You get a feeling for the solitude inherent in taking on this through hike (about 4 months of getting up every morning and strapping on your backpack and going another 15 miles or so on the trail) as well as the camaraderie of the hikers you meet along the way (who you'll keep running into during this time). Not sure when I'll get a chance to do it myself, but I want to do the AT or PCT in the not too distant future. The Te Aroroa in New Zealand looks amazing too! Any suggestions on other books that capture the flavor of these hikes is appreciated.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for any long-distance hiking anything book. They give me a false sense of "I could totally do that," even though I get cranky if I don't shower every morning and the longest hike I've ever taken was 6 hours, and that was 16 years ago, and it was ONE time, and I'm pretty sure I complained the entire way.

His matter-of-fact style of writing was really enjoyable for this type of book. It threatened to get a little dry sometimes, but I never got bored. I appreciate not having to listen to long winded explanations of the beauty of a certain stump of wood, or some rambling existentialism - they have their place in some books of this nature, but this is a succinct, anti-climactic, cut & dry "this is what happened when I walked a gazillion miles" journal thing. Can't complain, it was really interesting, he didn't overdramtize for the sake of suspense, just a solid, factual account of one guy's hike through 11 states. Worth the read if you're into this genre.

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[Jay Schutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

"...the pleasure and contentment I felt on the trail far outweighed the adversity. Even on the most exasperating days, I never considered quitting." This quote sums up the author's recounting of his 146 day/2,172 mile hike from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail in 2003. He suffered through sore knees, an infected blister that required surgery, a sprained ankle and the loss of 8 toenails.
If I had a bucket list, walking the length of the AT would be on it. What I have done instead is hike 3 different sections in my home state of Pennsylvania to help satisfy that urge.
The book conveyed what it was like to be out in the wilderness through the heat, cold, rain, the monotony of the long-distance hike and separation from his wife and 3 daughters.
If you enjoy being outdoors among nature, I'm sure you will enjoy this book. I certainly did.

[Shainlock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been trying to figure out what I want to say about this one. Hiking journals really appeal to me. I love them. I think this is something I want to do, but certainly not on my own and I want to be thoroughly prepared. This was a good hiking journal. He was, for the most part, prepared. He just didn’t get his pre-hikes in and test his pack and a few other trivial things like his shoes, but he made a lot of good decisions. Of course nothing will work out 100%.
Not sure why I am so drawn to this. I have read another about the PCT. It was interesting but this person was the opposite of prepared.
He chose an appropriate name for himself and I love that he recorded what was around him. I noted that most times he was an observer and didn’t get in the middle of anything and I thought that was smart.
It is a good and interesting book. Subjects skip really fast, but I think that is to be expected. I don’t agree with how he did this; like leaving his family; but I understand at another level. I understand the madness of cubicles. Jail cells are bigger.

I couldn’t do anything like this without my husband. The biggest experiences in my life have to include him. They just do.

I’ve been away from him enough thank you very much. Besides, that way we could each carry half the supplies and divide the camp duties. I would want him to be with me for that. No doubt. And when it comes to us; two heads are better than one. One of us always thinks of something the other might not.

It doesn’t seem like an easy thing even when you are prepared but being able to complete it seems glorious.
I liked reading this. I was glad for the footnotes. He should have included more footnotes. :)
Recommended for those who love outdoors or those who like to live vicariously.

[Theresa Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this memoir be narrated. Unfortunately, the whole time I couldn’t help but compare it A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, which is another recounting of hiking the Appalachian Trail, only that book is very funny and there seemed to be more harrowing moments. This memoir was too dry, although with vivid and endless accounts of his physical aches that made me think once again that people who attempt to do the whole trail are out of their minds.

For more reviews, please visit: http://www.theresaalan.net/blog

[Samuel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best thing about this book is that my son would easily fall asleep when I read it to him. He focuses on tedious descriptions of the less-interesting aspects of hiking while glossing over or ignoring the interesting locations and their history. There were not enough pictures and those included were of poor quality and in black and white (at least in the kindle version). His transitions were jumpy and sometimes confusing. It was really just a log of events lacking any meaningful insights or interesting facts. At most this is useful if you are thinking of hiking the AT and want a feel for what it's like from day to day. If you want to read about the AT I would recommend A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson. This book just made me want to read that one again.

[P.J. Wetzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1981 Chris Miller, having graduated from High School and not ready to go to college, took off hiking around Florida. Then after a couple weeks he hitchhiked to Georgia and started hiking the Appalachian Trail--no tent, no stove, no money, no plan. When he got to Damascus, VA, having accomplished the first 465 miles of the trail, he decided to go on and do the whole thing. And he did. That's all we're told in his brother David Miller's book 'AWOL on the Appalachian Trail'. I want to know more.

In 2003 David, then 41 years old, was having a typical mid-life crisis. After a year of planning and considering options, he quit his job and headed out deliberately, with full support of his wife and three girls, and hiked the entire Appalachian Trail (but see the last paragraph). We are never told how much his brother's hike from 21 years earlier influenced him, even subconsciously. It leaves me wondering about sibling rivalry, how close the brothers are, etc. Again I found myself craving more information.

A good story-teller might have jumped on this opportunity to add more richness to the narrative. But David Miller is not a story-teller. He's a reporter - he wrote bi-weekly newspaper articles about his hike as he was doing it, and originally never intended to write a book at all. When he did, it turned out to be essentially a long report--a chronicle of his experience.

Professionally David is a computer software engineer. And his writing style is exactly what you would expect from one who carefully writes and debugs computer code. It is free of typos and grammatical errors, heavy on simple, short declarative sentences, is written in the first person present tense, and when he discusses his emotions in his narrative he tends to describe them rather than immersing the reader in them. It left me with the overall impression of a 'workmanlike' piece of prose--it got the job done, and done pretty well, but remained very squarely 'inside the box'.

And maybe that's a good thing. As it turns out, 'AWOL on the Appalachian Trail', David's personal memoir, has become a companion to his popular yearly-updated 'The AT Guide' - a no-frills encyclopedia of data and information for the hiker who is actually on the trail living the experience for him/herself. The two books complement each other well.

'AWOL on the Appalachian Trail' contains relatively little information about David's gear or his planning. It leaps directly into his first day on the trail at Springer Mountain and concludes with his summit day on Katahdin with his wife and oldest daughter. In between it tends to focus about equally on trail description and his personal battles with various health issues, description of fellow hikers and hostel keepers and his interactions with them, and elaborate, glowing analysis (every long distance hiker identifies with this) of very ordinary food. As such, the strength of the book is that it gives the reader a good solid feel for the day-to-day reality of doing a thru-hike with enough detail to make it real, but not so much that it becomes tedious. Finding that balance is a hard thing for a writer to do, and the continuing popularity of this book is testament to the fact that David did it well.

Okay, now for the niggling little personal pet peeve: The hard-core "every white blaze" purist would say that David's hike, as described, was incomplete. When I hiked my double in 2012 I followed the marked official trail route without fail (once northbound, once southbound), and always meticulously connected my (invisible) footprints from one day's segment to the next. So this point stood out for me. David skipped a half mile around the Loft Mountain Campground in Shenandoah National Park, VA and an even shorter bit of the upper end of Crawford Path between the West Side Trail and the summit of Mt. Washington, NH. No big deal - he hiked his own hike in his own way - it does not detract one iota from my respect for the man or this book. It's just one of those peculiar things that you mention when you're reviewing a book that already has a bazillion reviews and are looking for something original to say before you utter the obligatory 'great book', 'highly recommended', 'one of the top five Appalachian Trail hiking books of all time'. David's book is all of those things. Bottom line: it's an accessible, balanced every-man's memoir which has inspired uncounted hundreds or even thousands of prospective AT hikers. Bravo!

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did start this in 2018 sort of but didn’t pick it up again until this year when I decided to deep dive reading about the AT. I enjoyed this.

[Jessaka · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The forest looks ancient. Bark on the trees has accumulated moss and has deep fissures, akin to the age-spotting and wrinkling of aged humans. The added texture gives the trees character with no loss of vitality. They look like survivors, resilient and deeply rooted.”



This was an interesting read as the author is a very good writer, but for a while I rather got stuck on the issue of his painful feet in the beginning of the book, even dreaming one night that I was walking the trail and my own feet hurt. And when I woke I wrote down these words, “If I were on the trail my trail name would be "Granny Fanny” because I would have to sit down all the time.”

I began talking to my husband about this book, asking him if he ever took long walks in Vietnam, and he mentioned how he had to walk about 8 hours every day and his feet never hurt. He even told me about the time he walked from Lake Tahoe to Oregon doing about 30 miles a day and his feet never bothered him then. I recalled walking barefoot in the jungle to the ruins of Bonampak near the Guatemalan border, walking 7 miles, mostly barefoot due to the muddy road that caused my sandals to keep slipping off. The next day my feet were fine, but my legs were like wet noodles and I wondered if I could even make it out, but as I walked they followed me. It had rained all that night, so due to the road now being completely muddy, I walked the entire road barefoot. My feet were fine. Now I would find it painful to walk far and have problems finding the right shoes.

My husband thought maybe the author needed better shoes, and I told him that he kept buying new ones, and they never worked and that he has said that his feet were tender. But as I read on, he finally found the right pair of boots and enjoyed the remainder of his trip.

What I liked about his book is that he went into detail about the people he met, the scenery, the bears, the food he ate, where he slept, his visits to towns, and then at the end of the book he answers questions, gives advice, even has a website. It is a great book if you are going to walk the trail, which often I questioned as to whether it was a trail or not when he had to climb over large and dangerous boulders. Don’t you walk around those things, even miles if you have to?

I have wanted to walk the trail since I first saw it from our car window when we were going through the Smoky Mountains. But I guess I didn’t want to bad enough or I would have done it when I was younger. But I enjoyed walking in the jungle, yet at the time I was walking I was comparing it to Dante’s Hell and said to my friend Julie, “If we ever get out of here alive it will be a great story.” I suffered the entire trip in and out of that jungle, but it was one of the most exciting trips I had ever taken, and the author of this book actually says the same thing in his own words.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good outdoor memoir, and this is an excellent account of a man who quit his job in 2003 to hike all 2,172 miles of the Appalachian Trail. David Miller has a straightforward writing style and is blunt about how punishing the trail can be; his woes during the hike included a sprained ankle, infected blisters, knee pain and blackened toenails.

Despite such setbacks, Miller was a strong hiker and often covered more than 20 miles a day -- an impressive pace considering he was carrying a 35-pound backpack and that the trail has innumerable ascents and descents. He had some nice passages on why he chose to hike the trail and what the adventure meant to him:

"Working a nine-to-five job took more energy than I had expected, leaving less time to pursue diverse interests. I grew to detest the statement 'I am a...' with the sentence completed by an occupational title. Self-help books emphasize 'defining priorities' and 'staying focused,' euphemisms for specialization and stifling spontaneity. Our vision becomes so narrow that risk is trying a new brand of cereal, and adventure is watching a new sitcom. Over time I have elevated my opinion of nonconformity nearly to the level of an obligation. We should have a bias toward doing activities that we don't normally do to keep loose the moorings of society."

"It is easiest to characterize the AT in terms of its most challenging and spectacular features. Most people have experienced the difficulty of steep uphill climbs, rocky terrain, and pestering bugs. Likewise, spectacular overlooks and scenic waterfalls have universal appeal. But I have come to recognize that most of what is memorable and pleasing about my time on the trail is ordinary moments in the outdoors. Simply sitting unhurried in the shade of leaves is an irreplaceable moment. It is a joy in itself to amble through the woods for hours, even when views are limited to the dense trees surrounding me. It is fulfilling to be saturated with the sights, sounds, and smells of the outdoors. My fond recollections of my hike are full of unremarkable moments, like the smell of a dewy morning, the crunch of leaves underfoot, the blaze of a campfire, the soothing trickle of a stream, or the rays of sun through a maze of trees."

From the Epilogue:

"As a result of my hike, I am much more inclined to do things. I will have fewer 'should have dones,' even if it means incurring some 'wish I hadn'ts.' I have changed in smaller ways, too. I am friendlier and more patient. I worry less about money. I can get by with less. It is as pleasing to get rid of old stuff as it is to get new stuff. Excess is a burden, even when you are not carrying it around on your back."

Sidenote: I am also a fan of Bill Bryson's book, "A Walk in the Woods," which is a more humorous take on walking the Appalachian Trail. However, those familiar with Bryson's book know that he didn't come close to walking the entire trail -- he only did a few sections. Part of the reason I enjoyed Miller's book so much is that it filled in the blanks on what the rest of the trail was like.

[Marlene French · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! If you have ever wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail...or live vicariously through someone who has....this book is a must read! Mr. Miller gives so much information about so many things like the towns that are frequent stops for many thru hikers, keeping on the correct trail , safety and so much more! He lived his dream and even ended up writing "The AT Trail," which is updated yearly. It talks about his decision to quit his job and all that is associated with that and how his family supported him for his nearly 5 month trek. I especially loved learning about all the nicknames of all the hikers....his of course was AWOL which he explains in the book...and all the different personalities of some of them. I really enjoyed this one....can't get enough backpacking, mountain climbing, true story books...they are my favorite genre!

[Igrowastreesgrow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook via audible.

It was ok at best. I relatively bland telling of what should be a very exciting adventure. The author is all facts and lacks a writing personality. There is no humor or terror. Just "I did this" and "I arrived here". If he put a little more of something that's entertaining into the book I'm sure it would grab a lot more people.

Also, for the audiobook, please consider a different narrator as it was incredibly monotone and hard to get through.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comparing this book to Becoming Odyssa, I just couldn't give it a higher rating. I don't think I gained any more real insight into the AT after reading this, but it definitely reinforced some of what I learned reading Odyssa and took me back to the trail in a good way. There was much less feeling and emotion in this book, though, except at the very end. I don't know if that is the difference between a man and woman author, but I felt like Odyssa did a much better job describing her emotions along the way, especially her hardships. Miller's descriptions of his injuries and setbacks were so factual, he kind of made everything sound like no big deal. That being said, I can only imagine how hard it would be to write a book like this. You've just spent five months alone in a completely different world, one you can only appreciate and fully understand if you thru-hiked yourself. It is nearly impossible to describe this experience and all that encompasses it to another person, in a book or otherwise, I'm sure. I have to say it crossed my mind more than once, what was he thinking leaving his wife and three kids to do this?! He does describe his wife's amazing support (which he acknowledges he HAD to have to do this) and at the end explains how important it is for parents to still set goals, follow dreams, and live our lives to set an example for our kids. I get it, but I still don't think I'd let Jeff do something like this, nor could I go myself. I guess I stick to my 3 Day hikes for now.

[Kurt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love hiking. I love the outdoors. I love adventure. I love the idea of just abandoning my job and my responsibilities temporarily in order to pursue a once-in-a lifetime goal. So, I should have loved this book. It was okay, but it just didn't quite do it for me.

The writing was fine. The descriptions of nature and of the author's ideas and feelings were really good. But, the real problem I had with this book was that it made me less interested in hiking the Appalachian Trail than before I had started it. First of all, the rain. It must have rained at least half of the days that the author was on the trail. Being from the inter-mountain west (in the United States) I've come to enjoy and almost depend on whole week-long outings without any rain; and getting any rain at all is generally a big downer. Second, the crowds. I love solitude. When I go backpacking or hiking I'm disappointed if I see anyone at all. On the AT it seems like you are practically never alone -- hikers everywhere. Third, the mosquitoes. I hate them, so I plan my outings to places and during times when they will be minimal. The AT seemed to be teeming with them everywhere except when it was coldest.

So, the book was good. The achievement of the author was very noteworthy, and I can fully relate to his mindset. But, the book just kind of turned me more off than on to the Appalachian Trail. Fortunately, I have tons of great trails to explore within short driving distance of my home.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was bored waiting to give my mom a ride home from work and saw this somewhere on a kindle book list and checked it out. I live in Appalachia, East TN to be exact, the most beautiful part, and have friends that have hiked sections of the AT. I DL'd the sample chapters.

I was hooked. The author's prose is fun and addictive. He is informative but it doesn't feel like he's trying to be, and he entertains seemingly effortlessly. It's a dude, hiking a trail, and his experience. How interesting could it be? Very, and fun, and cool, and there are characters both fully fleshed out and recurring.

I don't really have any complaints. It wasn't action packed, it wasn't epic, it wasn't super suspenseful like a thriller murder investigation account might be. But it was one man's insightful account of his experience in one of America's most incredible regions and he executes it nearly flawlessly.

Great nonfiction, a nice light read that'll leave you with a few gems of wisdom.

4.25

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed real-life adventure stories, and although some of the reviewers criticized Miller's writing style, I thought it was well-suited to the genre. His prose is simple and straightforward, and I was never bored. I read this book in a few days sitting on the porch of a mountain cabin, which seemed a perfect setting for getting into the spirit of an AT thru-hiker. David "Awol" Miller does an excellent job of taking what can be a feat too easy to romanticize or see through rose-colored glasses, and make it very real. From an infected heel blister to sprained ankle, to the unrelenting rainstorms, to the stench of unwashed thru-hikers he meets along the way, "Awol" made me feel like I was there, hiking along with him. And although I don't have the desire to do a long thru-hike at my age (and because I wouldn't want to deal with staying in close proximity with other thru-hikers/strangers in tight, spartan quarters along the way), he still managed to convey enough of the excitement and adventure of embarking upon such an adventure to make me think "what if...?"

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say? Ive got a terrible case of wanderlust right now. It’s the middle of winter, life at a law office is always exhausting in December, and I enjoy torturing my stuck-in-doors self with accounts of adventures amongst trees and mountains. Hiking one of the long trails is an idea I’ve been tossing around, though I have no actual plans, and it’s the dream of it that’s fun for now.

I picked this book up specifically because it was auspiciously on sale on Audible during my current 2015-2016 Winter Adventure-themed read, and I had just finished Wild by Cheryl Strayed . Its not the most well-written account, but I think for anyone who’s mind is lingering on the ACT it is a good read. AWOL spends the perfect amount of time explaining the magic-like qualities and mental fugue of the trail, but also spends a proportionate amount of time on the hardships, challenges, and drudgery. There were moments that I wished his narrative would be a little less pragmatic, but there were also moments that were laugh-out-loud funny and others that were poignant. In general it is a quick, uplifting read, that might just keep your dreams warm in the winter and your body active with the hope of someday hitting the trail.

A 3.5 read that I bumped to 4 stars because I do so love the subject matter, and damn, the dude mate it all the way to Mount Katahdin!!! I'd give him 5 stars just for making it through the whole trail!

Random facts I've learned after reading multiple trail books: You are going to lose your toenails apparently. Of everything, the snakes, bears, knee injuries, etc., its the toe nails that make me the most squeamish.

[Mie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book read like a personal journal of one man's hike through the Appalachian Trail. I enjoyed the straight-forward, non-sensational quality of the book. No hype or drama, but I felt like I was experiencing the hike with him.

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very straight forward account of one man’s experience hiking the entire 2172 miles of the Appalachian Trail. AWOL is the author’s trail name – thru hikers traditionally take one on or risk having one given to them by fellow hikers – and it refers to the fact that he quit his job instead of taking leave from it in order to do the hike. What I liked was that he shares his experience without trying to make it into something profound or literary. It's all about the trail, what it looked like and what it felt like. I had no trouble visualizing the scenery he described or getting a feel for the personalities of the hikers who shared the trail with him along the way. What I didn’t like was his rant near the end of the book about the frustration that contributed to his leaving his job – him and his wife paying such a big part of their income in taxes. He complained that he ‘was doing little better than breaking even; the compensation wasn’t enough to keep (him) motivated’. So his solution was to quit his job and spend months hiking the Appalachian Trail, which is part of the U.S. National Park Service funded by Congress with TAX DOLLARS. It struck me as just plain hypocritical. Still, this is overall a good travel book to help break the monotony of sheltering in place during the pandemic. But if that tax rant had been near the beginning, I'd be rating it dnf.

[Anthony Whitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Puts you on the trail in the author's boots. That's the reason to read it if you'll never get the chance to hit the trail. One of the best AT books I've read.

[Nicola Roux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect blend of memoir/personal experience and AT “what to expect” guide :) getting excited!! T-minus 36 days!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The good: David Miller seems like a regular middle aged dude who sets out to hike the Appalachain Trail, instead of a young trust fund mountain climber. He is detailed in his account of supplies and the ins and outs of hiking, both glorious and exceptionally mundane (diarrhea and lost toenails!). This is a hiking tale from someone who is missing his family, worrying about money and trying to find gear that works for him.
The bad: David Miller is a computer programmer and this book has about as much humor as if a computer programmer wrote it. There is also a lack of time line in terms of what month he is actually in what part of the trail. This seems like an easy fix, but has been left out. I was also turned off by the two pages of complaints about paying taxes. Dude, you are hiking through areas of this country that are funded by federal taxes! This seemed unnecessary and slightly obnoxious.
Overall, a decent and detailed account. I would recommend this especially to new or inexperienced hikers who are looking for some first hand accounts.

[Ian Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highly esteemed by AT thru-hikers, "AWOL on the Appalachian Trail" is the trail-journal of a software engineer that quit his day job to hike 2,127 miles from Georgia to Maine. While not as comical or artfully written as Bill Bryson's "Walk in the Woods," "AWOL" more authentically describes the actual experience of a dedicated thru-hiker: blisters and bunions and sodden footwear, debilitating injuries, lightning perils, insatiable hunger, and long days roller-coastering endless hills in an existential reverie. At times prone to overwrought landscape descriptions and commentary tedious as the trail itself, "AWOL" is at its best delighting in the "atavistic pleasure" of being outdoors, and describing the interesting characters met along the way: hikers of all ages and backgrounds, surly inn-keepers, leering rednecks, and trail magicians appearing like genies with beer and grilled hamburgers. A canonical book for anyone considering an AT thru-hike--vicarious or real.

[Becca Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having just finished the book, I'm willing to over look how poorly it was written because I am now so completely inspired to attempt something as remarkable as David Miller did when hiking the Trail. I realize it would have been very dull and mundane to account for every single day, but sometimes I got a little confused as to how much time and how many miles had passed. And while I realize I'm not 7 years old any more, I wish there had been more pictures. The Appalachian Mountains are home to some of the most beautiful scenery in the country, and I would have liked to see more of it. Over all though, it was a solid book and a must read for anyone who has ever dreamed of doing something even remotely crazy like quitting your job for 5 months to go hike alone in the wilderness.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Awol' is one man's story about his decision to quit his job and hike the full length of the Appalachian Trail. Told chronologically, the book follows his day-by-day exploits as he deals with the physical, mental and emotional challenges the feat imposes. From the get-go, the tale is gripping. Not so much because it's action packed - "action" is mainly limited to a too-close encounter with a mamma bear - but because it provides such insight into "thru-hiker" culture, something of which most of us aren't aware. It's a treat hearing about the various individuals author Miller – AKA "Awol" – meets during his travels, and its easy to come to care for them as well. One individual with whom Miller had long-since parted ways makes a sudden reappearance near the end of the book. It's a surprise and a happy one, for Awol and readers alike.

Through the tale we hear of the author's lows - his injuries, dealing with endless rain, running out of food, running out of water. At times it sounds abjectly miserable. But we also hear of the high points. Stunning scenery, friendships, interesting wildlife encounters, random acts of kindness by strangers ("trail magic.")It's a whole different world from the "get up, go to work, go home, go to bed" schedule many of us follow.

Minor caveats: Miller does repeat himself a number of times. In some instances, particularly regarding the large number of other hikers he encounters, this is useful, helping readers keep track of some details. Other times it's vaguely irritating. Also, some of his paragraphs aren't terribly well constructed, seeming almost stream-of-conciousness. Fortunately, there aren't too many of these, and overall the tale he has to tell is intriguing enough to set these small issues aside.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Appalachian Trail goes from Georgia to Maine and this book is David Miller's account of his 2003 hike on the AT.

Admittedly one of my life goals is to hike the AT and this book was a birthday present from a friend who also dreams of hiking the AT and it also means that I'm the target audience for this book.

It was good. We get to follow one persons hike over a five month period covering 2,172 miles. There are ups and downs, injuries, trail magic, towns, bears, rattlesnakes and lots of hiking partners.

We don't get a lot of insight into David Miller though. I'm still not sure why he left his family and friends and job to spend five months in the woods. I'm not sure if or how the hike changed him. It would have been nice to get to know him better. This book really focused on the trail and not so much on him (and that's fine).

If you weren't already interested in hiking, the AT, living in the woods etc. then I'm not sure I would recommend this as a book for you to read. But if that type of thing is of interest to you then this is a pretty good book.

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book. I got it for free from the Kindle library! It really appealed to my secret, inner desire to just say 'fuck it all' and take off for the wilderness. Needless to say, it was pure pleasure reading Awol's day to day adventures as he hiked the 2,100+ miles of the Appalachian trail from south to north. I could only imagine myself doing the same thing, preferably with my partner and/or a good friend. I feel like Awol downplayed how difficult it truly is to backpack alone. However, his story is a great testament to the backpacking and hiking culture. If you enjoy these activities, you'll know what I mean. I would have given it 5 stars, but I could not get past the gumption of a man leaving his wife and children for several months to pursue what some would describe as reckless dream. I guess I would have felt better about it if his wife had gone with him and they didn't have children yet. Setting that aside, it was a wonderful read for me.

[Mark Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time rating this book. It was very inspiring and now I really want to try out the AT. However, there were a lot of tedious details throughout each chapter about things he passed as he hiked. I could see this appealing to people who have hiked the AT or are planning on doing it and are using this book as a sort of guide but for those who are casually reading the book, it may be a little too much. 3.5 stars!

[Joshua Van Dereck · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book based on a recommendation. I'm a dedicated hiker, and I've hiked some of the mountains on the AT—I thought it would be fun and engaging to read a memoir of the trail. AWOL on the Appalachian Trail doesn't really offer up a memoir of thru-hiking though. A lot of the book is about Miller's irritation with his knees, ankles, failing toenails, his whining about hostelry, frustration with American tax policy, and concern about the status of his career. Near the end of the book he laments that if he had the writing project to do over, he might try to be more positive and less whiny about the experience of the hike, and that feels like a spot-on criticism.

I haven't done a thru hike in my own life, though I've done my fair share of overnight hikes and trekked through some extremely remote and austere places. Miller's description of the hike strikes me as very odd and unappealing, though I imagine there are plenty of people who have similar experiences. When he isn't regaling us with gripes about his toes or his many failed attempts to find good footwear or similar pieces of replacement gear, Miller spends a lot of time talking about shelters, meals in towns and at gas stations and convenience markets, visits from his family and friends, etc. He also complains about weather and exposure and steepness on the trail. The positive side of the experience for him seems to center a lot on the people he meets on the trail, though they come and go through the narrative, never fleshed out with sufficient dimension to be even remotely memorable. In my experience of hiking, the austerity is a huge part of the draw, and I can scarcely imagine days of thru-hiking fixating on sleeping in crowded shelters when a tent or hammock is a viable alternative, nor celebrating arriving in a town. To read Miller's experience, it's almost as if the AT is a vexing challenge to overcome, intermittently broken by the joy of eating ice cream in a town or sleeping in a warm bed, and one really wonders why anyone would undertake such a pitiless and miserable adventure. Moreover, Miller shares precious little knowledge or even interest in the many flowers, trees, geological formations, animals, insects, etc. that reside on the AT. For me, one of the most fascinating things about hiking in the mountains is learning about the life cycle of forests and marveling at the beauty of nature as free from the desecration of human civilization as we can experience it...

All told, AWOL on the Appalachian Trail was a profoundly disappointing read. Wandering, often structureless, and generally disagreeable to read, I give it 2 stars instead of 1 just because it's sometimes passingly diverting and never exactly offensive or infuriating, though Miller's preference for the universal "he" in lieu of a genderless pronoun to describe the average hiker or person is grating after a time. There absolutely must be better hiking memoirs than this one, and I would advise readers to look elsewhere.