Hiking is one of life's great joys. Turning off the screens and stepping out into nature for an extended period of time, perhaps even several days, is rejuvenating. Unfortunately, as someone with two young kids and a bad back, I'm not really able to go backpacking anymore. So I often find myself trying to live vicariously through others who write about their lengthy travails along the Appalachian or the PCT. That's what I thought I was signing up for when I picked up On Trails: An Exploration by Robert Moor. But it turned out to be so much more.
The prologue starts with Moor talking about his decision to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. And …