Jim Orton has a secret. He tries to lead a simple, good life with the guilt of a horrible crime he committed shadowing his existence. He was thrust out of Montana in the late 1930s and landed in a small Midwestern town. He is haunted by a memory he can tell no one, including a nurse named Peggy, whom he loves above all else. Orton eventually comes face to face with his past when his brother finds him, demanding answers, money, and retribution. Little does Orton realize that his brother will become his final escape from his dreaded past.

“Spooner Author’s Debut Novel Set in Hayward, Other Local Ties” – Sawyer County Record

Jim Bishop Jr. is a freelance outdoor writer living in Spooner, Wisconsin. He served as public affairs manager for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for 30 years. He has worked for a newspaper, logging magazine, and as public information officer for a regional planning commission. He holds degrees in journalism and geography from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Prior to college he did four years in the U.S. Air Force in Montana. Orton is his first novel.

Every Hiker Has a Story!

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Like a modern-day Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales, Cary Segall, a former award-winning newspaper reporter, has captured the stories of the hikers, hostel owners, trail angels, volunteers and others along the nearly 2,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail. As he hiked the entire trail, he interviewed hundreds of people about their experiences, dreams and aspirations, and about their motives for attempting the scenic and arduous hike through 14 states from Georgia to Maine. His reporting skills led those 21st-Century pilgrims to open their hearts about their lives and their journeys on the venerable, public footpath along the crests and valleys of the Appalachian Mountains. And why was he on the trail? Find out for yourself, as his personal story unfolds along the way. — Terry Shelton, editor

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PRAISE FROM SECTION- AND THRU-HIKERS OF THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL

“What distinguishes this book from the many others written about the Appalachian Trail is Cary’s genuine interest in hikers’ stories. Most authors focus on their own experiences, but in this book, while we come to know Cary, we learn even more about the trail and the people who love it – thru-hikers and section-hikers, trail angels and towns the trail passes through. This book is a much-needed addition to AT lore.”

— Joanna “Seeker” Ezinga thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail once and thru-hiked about two thirds of it a second time.

“Cary has written a must-read book for anyone interested in the Appalachian Trail and the people who hike it. I love the book, which is a wonderful account of hikers and their stories and makes you feel as if you’re sitting around the campfire listening to them.”

— Andy “Captain Blue” Niekamp has section-hiked the entire Appalachian Trail five times, is the author of “Captain Blue on the Blue Blazes – The First Solo Thru-Hike of Ohio’s 1,444 Mile Buckeye Trail” and owns and runs Outdoor Adventure Connection, which provides guided backcountry trips. 

“This book is absolutely wonderful! Cary’s interactions with people really make the book stand out from most other hiking books I’ve read. I kept smiling as I read it. It’s recalled many memories for me and I felt like I was right on the trail.”

— Maury “Deacon” Hall section-hiked the entire Appalachian Trail.   

“Cary does what few other Appalachian Trail writers do. He relates his journey through the people he encounters on the trail–the legion of folks on and around the AT–rather than enumerating his 5-million steps.  His straightforward prose brings to light both the adventure of long-distance hiking and the people who make it such a ompelling journey. One doesn’t need to read the book as a journey from Springer to Katahdin, like so many others that have come before it–instead, you can drop in on almost any page to experience the richness of the other lives that make the trail what it is today.”

— Cosmo Catalano Jr. has been a volunteer on the AT in Massachusetts since 1999 and has section-hiked about 600 miles of the trail (and counting).  In addition to leadership positions within his AT maintaining club, he has served many years on the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s New England Regional Partnership Committee and Stewardship Council.  He has also written numerous articles on The Trek website about AT management and culture. 

“I read the introduction and was immediately hooked. I loved the book. It’s full of potential tips related to the Appalachian Trail and insights that would help any novice or potential hiker looking to tackle a hiking adventure. But, more importantly, this is a human-interest book with wonderful tales of the microcosm that is the AT hiking community. It’s a fantastic summary of the trail landscape, including thru-hikers, section-hikers, volunteers, ridge runners, trail angels, shuttle drivers and hiker-friendly hostel and hotel owners. This compilation weaves all these elements that make up this wonderful, caring community with real-life personal stories. The book adeptly captures the emotions, motivations and determination it takes to build this community and provide for many hikers an experience that will turn out to be the most rewarding adventure of their lives. And the book captures Cary’s own arduous journey over five years to help the reader celebrate his incredible accomplishments and heartbreaking defeats along the way. The book is easy to read and will provide valuable insights for those contemplating their own AT adventure or just seeking entertainment.”

—- Pete “NoBigDeal” Smith thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail. 

“Cary has accurately captured what life is like when hiking the Appalachian Trail through the stories he sought from the individuals who hike it, including their histories, dreams, and motivations. The stories are a true representation of what my son, Chris, and I experienced over the 18 years that it took us to complete the trail, including the ups, the downs, the good and the bad. I finished the book in a much shorter time than I anticipated, not only because it was a page-turner, but because it got me back into the backpacking mindset and brought back many good memories. I am amazed and thankful that Cary took the time to jot down the details from so many people and to research so much about the iconic places that AT hikers hear and learn about through conversations with other hikers and look forward to seeing for themselves. You won’t want the story to end.”

—- Jeffrey “Baby Steps” Johnson section-hiked the entire Appalachain Trail. 

“When I met Cary on the Appalachian Trail, I had no idea of the adventure that he would take me on as I read his story weaving amidst that of his fellow hikers in his book about people along the AT. One of the best things I can say about this book is that it’s a testament to human-interest journalism and perhaps the very best thing I can say is that it restores a sense of shared humanity to a topic that is normally rather deceptively solitary, and to a trail that is probably one of the most social in the world.” 

 — Angela “Walkie” Shirley thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cary Segall learned to love journalism and telling stories when he was growing up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he delivered the newspaper of Packers coach Vince Lombardi, was sports editor of the East High School newspaper and covered high school sports on weekends for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. He worked on the sports desk of the Wisconsin State Journal while attending the University of Wisconsin in Madison and took his first backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail with the UW Hoofers Outing Club. Cary graduated with a bachelor’s degree in wildlife ecology and spent three years as a ranger-naturalist in the National Park Service before returning to the UW and getting a law degree. He was a public-interest environmental lawyer before quitting to mainly care for his newborn son, Craig, for six years and also got a master’s degree in journalism from the UW before becoming a reporter for fourteen years and a copy editor for seven at the State Journal. He also continued backpacking and hiking on the AT and in U.S. and Canadian national parks with, and without, Craig. After retiring from the State Journal, Cary decided to pursue his longtime goal of thru-hiking the AT. He hadn’t planned to write about his hike, but he quickly found that the trail is full of interesting tales and, being a journalist at heart, he wanted to tell them. So, he interviewed hundreds of backpackers and others with connections to the trail and wrote their stories.