Walkin' on the Happy Side of Misery

This memoir of a retired Marine corps officer’s hike on the Appalachian trial is a humorous, inspirational travel narrative of the journey of a lifetime.

“In early spring each year, an exodus takes place in this country. A cross-section of humankind makes its way singly, or by two’s and three’s, to an isolated mountaintop in northeast Georgia. These sojourners—weird looking creatures burdened with huge loads and wearing strange garments—are linked by their appearance and behavior. They share a common purpose: to hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia’s Springer Mountain to Mount Katahdin in a single season. These creatures call themselves ‘thru-hikers.’”

So begins J.R. “Model-T” Tate’s tale of his own thru-hike of the AT. As he recollects grueling climbs, knee-wrecking descents, mountaintop thunderstorms, snakes underfoot, and the myriad characters he encounters, Tate also conveys the beauty of the trail and the community that surrounds it in this inspiring travelogue.