AWOL on the Appalachian Trail Paperback – November 1, 2011

OK. This is the fourth (fifth?) hiking book I've read, written by people who have hurt their feet. So read this!I believe in boots, not shoes. Mid height, light weight Goretex boots. (Only one hook after the grommets on the foot). Also, a very light-weight gator. Worth the weight, IMHO. Your feet will stay drier, hence fewer blisters, and the extra height keeps the foot from sliding forward so much.First, buy some  Smartwool Men's Hiking Medium Crew Sock  socks - both mid weight and lightweight. When your feet are swollen, you can switch to the lighter weight socks. Make sure they are nice and SNUG. They will not shrink.Now, at night, when your feet are bigger, go to either REI or LL Bean, (and I think EMS) whose return policies are best. SAVE YOUR RECEIPT.Look at the boots on display. Then look at your feet. Are your feet narrow? Maybe a  Vasque Men's Gore-TEX Hiker Boot  boot. Are they wide? A  KEEN Men's Targhee II Mid Waterproof Hiking Boot  would be a better choice. Of course, some of the better boots come in widths.Pick a boot in about your size -these days, the sizes are all over the place. Sit down and open the laces as loose as you can. Slide in your largest foot, (usually but not always, the left foot for right-handed people). Then stand up and, with the weight on that foot, slide it forward all the way until your longest toe touches the end. Try to get a hand or finger in behind your toe. There should be a good THUMB's width of space behind your heel.Put your heel back in the socket, and lace up the boot. Check the sides of the boot. With your weight on the floor, can you move your fore-foot back and forth? If so, the boot is too wide. Pick another, or narrower boot.Can you move your fore-foot up and down inside the boot? If so, then the boot is too deep. Try adding a good Spenko rubber inner sole. (and buy extras for your hike). This boot will crease at the toes and dig in. Remember that the inner sole will take length from the boot.If everything seems OK so far, go up on the cement hill or slant board and walk, run, jump, and especially go down. Where are your feet ending up? Do they slide? Is there any pain anywhere at all? If so, that pain will be amplified ad infinitum on the trail.If the store has no mini-mountain (like Bean's flagship store) or at least a slant board, find another store.Take your time. Some experienced hikers will spend days buying their boots. Try many.If/when you have issues such as hammer toes, buy or make some kind of toe separator. Try them out under extreme conditions to make sure they work. Then mail more to yourself. Same with  Spenco 2nd Skin Blister Kit Sports . And always have bandaids, Neosporin, needles, duct tape, and plenty of  Molefoam CS6 If you have a bad bunion, have a cobbler use his "bunion buster"  FootFitter Bunion Stretcher Ball & Ring, Cast Iron . for you.Put at least 50 miles on the boots before your hike. Buy another pair -maybe larger? - and mail them to yourself. If a boot is too large, a foam inner sole is a great way to take up excess room.There are many different ways to tie a boot for break-in. If the top digs in at first, just leave the top undone for awhile. Or skip the last grommet, go up straight to the hooks and back down to the grommet. Tie it there, at the ankle. Or tie it once at the ankle, twist the laces around each other, then tie it more loosely, at the top.EDIT: You should be able to play the piano with your toes, but the rest of your foot should be pretty stationary.Mail yourself some FreeSole or  SHOE GOO-TUBE CLEAR , as well as some  Superfeet Green Premium Insoles  (or Blue - if your arch is lower) to replace a worn/collapsed inner sole. These can extend the life of a dying boot and save your hike.People who sell hiking boots should be licensed. It's just too dangerous to risk permanent injury, never mind ruining the best experience of your life!!Oh, I gave the book 5 stars, because any book about hiking that takes me along is OK by me, and anyone who completes the AT deserves 5 stars. This author is a programmer, hence the book reads a bit like pseudo code, (the "Joe Friday" of AT writers) but it gets right to the point, and I can't put it down.

After the last book I read, I had been looking for a book that really grabbed me and made me want to keep reading. Though I don't ever intend on hiking the Appalachian Trail, I do like reading about it through trail journals and books. That led me to AWOL on the Appalachian Trail, a wonderful account of one man's mid-life hike of the historic trail.It's the second book I read on hiking the trail and it gave a very good account of the hike and what you encounter during such a long thru-hike.Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It was well done and you could tell that the writer kept good details in his journal during the hike. It also probably didn't hurt that he wrote a newspaper article every week or two during his hike.As for the book...THE GOODDetails! The best way I can describe this book is that it's almost a play-by-play of his hike. The details are many and really capture the essence of a thru-hike like this. Remember, the Appalachian Trail is more than 2,000 miles long, so there are a lot of things to journal and encounter. Items such as animals, other wildlife, people, stopping in towns, injuries and everything else you can consider. Author David Miller really gives you the feel of what it's like to be on the trail. From not shaving, to days without a shower -- you can almost smell (ewww!) what it's like to be a hiker. His tribulations with hiking shoes or dealing with hikers who seem to uppity to talk to other hikers, he gives you ever piece of what his trip was like.That makes it hard to put the book down.It took me about 10 days to finish the book. There were a few days in there that I didn't read, but the book flowed well and it went quick. I looked forward to reading it each time I picked up my Kindle.Another positive to the book was it wasn't all cake and candy. By that I mean, everything wasn't "Oh yay! The Appalachian Trail rules and this was so easy!"Miller gets into the negatives of his hike. Such as being away from his wife and three kids for so many months. He takes us into the mind of a thru-hiker with the urge (though with Miller, it never seemed too big of an urge as he knew what he did to be able to hike and didn't want to leave the trail). But it's not an easy thing to do, mentally and physically. The amount of food he goes through and the constant, nagging injuries are things that he dealt with.He also shows what hikers have to go through each day. From hiking anywhere from 10-30 miles in a day, to the terrain, to having to hitchhike into towns or trying to get food and water while on the trail, Miller's account of the hike is something anyone considering this hike should read.THE BADAs much of a positive as the play-by play is, it can also be a negative, though not in a major way. There were times that I wondered how much fun he actually had. If I'm on a trail for 4-6 months and am meeting so many people and staying in different spots, I'm going to have to have some fun. At times, Miller starts to talk about the good times, but then abruptly moves on to hiking the next day. I think a few more details and some good humor in parts would have given the book a little extra oomph.Outside of that, there's not many negatives with this book. He offered a few opinions in the book that I think could have been left out and there were parts that I would have liked expanded with explanations, but overall there weren't many bad things about the book.OVERALL THOUGHTSNot many books could get me to be interested in hiking 2,000-plus miles. The reality is, this is a hike I'll likely never try to attempt as being on the trail for six months just isn't something I'm interested in doing. That being said, his account of the hike really could get someone interested in thinking about this hike. From the amount of bears he saw to the nature and people he encountered, it's a writer's dream to be on that trail.But every batch of goods had bads, including weather, rough people to deal with or running out of key items (such as water). The physical and mental toll it takes on a person is something that everyone should consider.Still, as Miller shows in the book, it's something that people from all walks of life have done and it's something many people could do, if they put their mind to it. His account isn't sugar-coated and he gives a real feel of what it would be like to take this thru-hike.I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys hiking, outdoors or just a good read about a real-life adventure.

I'm into reading trail books. By that I mean the Pacific Crest Trail, the Appellation trail and the Trans Continental Divide and having read several, this is the best so far.Such huge undertakings, monumental even, something we ordinary people can only dream of. The ever present dread of snakes or coming face to face with a bear.You find you walk every step with the author, enter his thoughts and almost walk every step with them (in your mind only.)AWOL, I found is a really pleasant guy, nobody bothers to describe their surrounds like AWOL does. At times his words almost reach the height of poetry. That's the higher accolade I can give you AWOL.All in all, a great read. Walk on dear friend.

The top rated review for this book describes it as "mundane" because it repeats much of the same - he hikes, he sleeps, he eats.My response to that would be: you're reading a book about a guy that hiked over 2000 miles. What do you expect him to do?So yes, there is a certain amount of repetition, in that he does much the same things every day. This, to me, contributes to the fact that the book stands as a good description of what it is like to hike long distances, and the day-to-day description is interspersed with information about people he meets along the way, a bit of info about the AT itself, wildlife sightings etc.I think when a book that describes something incredibly hard, almost always painful, and potentially dangerous makes you want to go out and do that something, well, then it can only be a well-written book. I personally found it uplifting, though perhaps that's something to do with the fact that I'm a 40-something in the IT world with a family - it certainly made it easy to relate to his situation, and the reasons for him going AWOL in the first place.A pleasant read, but watch out - you may want to give up your job and go and hike long distances after reading it :)

The AT is clearly a long and daunting undertaking, a great personal challenge for the people that do it, but ultimately it's all a bit mundane as the subject for a book. It's a bit like accounts of trudging up Everest from oxygen-assisted, fixed-rope riding, tourist climbers. Big personal challenges are not necessarily meaningful, or interesting, for other people.While perfectly adequate, the author is not gifted enough for the power of his descriptions to make up for my lack of interest in his undertaking. Walking the AT sounds like a purgatory of trudging carefully way-marked trails between hut-fulls of buffoons ("AWOL", "Wolverine"...seriously?!)

Having read this book and found it a very good and entertaining read. Felt like I was walking with the author and would look forward to reading anymore of this authors books.

Enjoyed this book, probably more than the Cheryl Strayed book 'Wild' as it offered more insight into the actual rigours and practicalities of long distance trail walking (in fairness Cheryl Strayed was also emphasising her psychological journey more than this author).I appreciate some reviewers have felt it to be mundane, but I felt the routine was an inevitable and necessary part of such a trek, and the author offered plenty of variety in the accounts of scenery and characters he encountered along the way.