Sole Searching: Recollections of an Unexceptional Hiker

This is an updated edition with added color photos and captions.. "Sole Searching" is my way of paying homage to not only the grandeur and mental refuge that nature and the mountains have given me but also to the many persons who have and continue to add to the myriad of wondrous experiences found while on the trail. While some of my recollections are humorous and even downright silly, many share my truly profound love of the woods and hopefully convey the fundamental impact they have had on my life. My wish is that reading "Sole Searching" will in some way, positively impact your life. . John Muir said: "Wherever we go in the mountains, we find more than we seek" This is your chance to go to the mountains, as "Sole Searching" takes you on a journey of geographic, historical, and deeply personal discovery. Observe the beauty of some of the oldest mountains on earth, inhale the natural scents that only nature can formulate, and feel the spiritual elation resulting from simple efforts of self-reliance within such demanding yet magnificent environs. It is my hope that "Sole Searching" will provide hope and inspiration to every out of shape, inexperienced, want-to-be outdoorsman.. With a pack on my back, I encountered the Great Smoky Mountains for the first time when I was 31 years old. It was early November and those mountains embraced me with the intoxicating perfume of fallen leaves, sights and sounds of swiftly flowing, clear mountain streams cascading over ancient boulders, the majesty of awe-inspiring, lofty peaks, and mysterious, deep plunging valleys. Each successive outing demonstrated that John Muir surely knew what he was talking about. Join me along with a few fellow and family trekking companions on most-times humorous, always insightful journeys of adventure and personal discovery spanning over twenty years. My hope is that you will find more than you seek.