Book
Tales from the trail : stories from the oldest hiker hostel on the Appalachian Trail
Publication Information
North Hampton, NH : Mindstir Media, LLC, [2021]
Physical Description
ix, 231 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
Summary
"During the 2020 pandemic, one thing held true: Scores of people headed out for a day hike on the Appalachian Trail (AT) as if being in the woods, immersed in beauty and mystery, immunized them against an invisible enemy. The AT became a hospital for souls locked up in quarantine, needing to breathe, stretch, and be nourished by the earth beneath their feet. For decades, the AT has been a sanctuary for seekers, the tired and the lost; those hungry for renewal, the broken and the grieving; and those who want to face and answer questions they have lugged around with them in invisible backpacks. Questions like, what is next for me? Is there a God? Should I live or end it all? How can I liberate my life from what weighs it down? How can I forgive God? This book pays tribute to those who dare such a grueling and soul-satisfying adventure. It tells the tales of those on a pilgrimage through insightful conversations and encounters, exploring and revealing what angels the hikers wrestle with in the wilderness who call out to name them again. This collection unveils the spirituality of any such journey in sometimes humorous, sometimes heart-wrenching portraits"--Page [4] of cover.
Contents
- In the bleak midwinter
- Rocks of ages
- Delaware water gap
- Never quit
- Longings
- Solo
- Brand equity
- Brokeback
- Trail of Tears
- Girls on the trail
- Vision quest
- Lost soul
- Salvation trail
- Hole in the heart
- Love in the time of Corona
- Father's letter
- Adopted
- All that remains
- Violence
- Cherokee
- End of the trail
- Matrimony
- Flip-flopping
- Forgiveness
- Wings
- Geography of suffering
- God who asks too much
- Gospel and guns
- Holy and unholy angels
- Injured
- Notes along the way
- No room
- Out of the woods
- Rain
- River
- Sherpas
- Skidmore
- Smiley and Meekness
- Fall of our discontent
- Tin Man and Einstein
- Trail legs
- Trees
- Trespass
- True north
- Unrequited love
- Warriors
- What's next?
- Stirrings
- What we carry
- Rattlesnake Swamp Trail
- Benediction.