"A Walk for Sunshine" by Jeff Alt

On our last visit to the Great Smoky Mountains I found a nice signed copy of Jeff Alt's "A Walk for Sunshine."  If you are looking for a signed copy, I saw a lot of them at multiple visitor centers.

in the late 90s, Jeff decides (after wanting to for a while) to hike the Appalachian Trail going the whole way from Georgia to Maine.  He works it into a fundraiser for the home where his brother lives.

If you enjoy a nice, pleasant story of someone having a great adventure this is a really fun read.  It is easy and has a good pace.  He meets some characters on the way, and even confronts some bad guys (vegetarians, obviously).  He encounters lots of critters (most annoyingly, small flies) and he stays at some iffy spots.

It was interesting learning about the norms and how things work on the trail.  I learned about "trail magic" and how you can "know" a hiker, without actually meeting them.

Again, this was a really enjoyable volume.