"Published-On-Demand" Books

Many of the recent books about thruhikes have been made available through the use of print-on-demand online book publishing services such as Xlibris, Lulu, iUniverse, Booklocker, 1stBooks (now AuthorHouse)and others. In fact, I just Googled "on-demand publishers", found several lists of them, checked out a few and found a book I'd never come across before, "Dead Men Hike No Trails" by Rick McKinney at Booklocker. Here are a few of the memoirs that have come from on demand services in recent years.

Allen, Abe T. An Unfinished Odyssey on the Appalachian Trail: A Memoir. Waban, Mass.: 1stBooks, 2003.

Carver, Natasha. Walking Down a Dream: Mexico to Canada on Foot. Philadelphia, Pa: Xlibris Corp., 2002.

Eberhart, M. J. Where Less the Path is Worn: The Appalachian Mountains Trail: The Eastern Continental Trail. Bloomingdale, Ohio: Thirsty Turtle Press, 2004.

Hartley, Bob. Care to Join Me?: Day by Day on the Appalachian Trail. Victoria, B.C.: Trafford Publishing, 2003. [When you link to the Trafford website, search by the title in "Quick Search."]

Maroni, Bill. When Straight Jacket Met Golden Sun: A Journey on the Appalachian Trail. Philadelphia, Pa: Xlibris Corp., 2003.

McKinney, Rick. Dead Men Hike No Trails Bangor, Maine: Booklocker.com, 2005.

Pifher, Patrick J. One Step at a Time. Philadelphia, Pa.: Xlibris Corp., 1999.

Schuette, William. White Blaze Fever: Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail. College Station, Texas: Virtualbookworm.com Publishing, 2003.

Scott, John. To the Woods: A Journey Along the Appalachian Trail. Morrisville, NC: Lulu.com, 2006.

Guidebooks for the Appalachian Trail

Here’s information on the latest editions in a series of annual guidebooks for the A.T., plus--finally--a new edition of the planning guide, originally published way back in 1992:

Bruce, Dan. “The Thru-Hiker’s Handbook.” 2006 ed. Conyers, Ga.: Center for Appalachian Trail Studies, 2006.

Chazin, Daniel D., ed. “Appalachian Trail Data Book 2006.” 28^th ed. Harpers Ferry, WV: Appalachian Trail Conservancy, 2005.

Lauterborn, David, ed. “Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike Planner.” 2^nd ed. Harpers Ferry, WV: Appalachian Trail Conservancy, 2005.

Taylor-Miller, Cynthia and Carol Barnes, eds. “Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker’s Companion 2006.” 13^th ed. Harpers Ferry, WV: Appalachian Trail Conservancy, 2006. [online version at http://www.aldha.org/comp_pdf.htm ]

If you’re planning on thru-hiking in 2006, or even 2007, get busy and get these books now!

Happy Valentine's Day y'all!

Let's start with recent books on the Appalachian Trail

There were half a dozen new memoirs of A.T. hikes published in 2005. The authors are evenly divided between male and female. One of the hikes was not a thru-hike, as you can tell from its title. I thought I'd start off by listing those six books:

Allnutt, Rick. “A Wildly Successful 200-Mile Hike: Lessons Learned from the Appalachian Trail.” Beavercreek, Ohio: Wayah Press, 2005.

Martin, Danie. “Always Another Mountain: A Woman Hiking the Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain to Mount Katahdin.” College Station, Texas: Virtualbookworm.com Publishing, 2005.

Mass, Leslie. “In Beauty May She Walk: Hiking the Appalachian Trail at 60.” Jacksonville, Fla.: Rock Spring Press, 2005.

Pittard, Patrick. “Bearfoot, a Northbounder: E-mails from the Appalachian Trail.” Birmingham, Ala.: Will Publishing, 2005.

Richardson, James. “Once Upon a Climb: One Man’s Journey on the Appalachian Trail.” SanAntonio, Texas: Booklocker Inc., 2005.

Shepherd, Nancy. “My Own Hike: A Woman’s Journey on the Appalachian Trail.” Morrisville, NC: Lulu.com, 2005.

Click on a title to find ordering information. If you'd like to just read the book with purchasing it, and it's not available at your local library, ask a staff member about "Interlibrary Loan."