Walking North

Walking North is a story of discovery, a story of realizations about the natural world that come slowly, gradually, to someone who doesn't even know he is looking for anything.

Mic and Jerrianne Lowther, with ten-year-old daughter, Kyra, start optimistically one first day of spring to walk from Georgia to Maine along the Appalachian Trail. The path is more than 2,000 miles long and follows the very crest of the Appalachian Mountains. All uphill, hikers say, in either direction.

They walk through the usual conditions such an adventure brings: snow, rain, wind, cold, heat, swarming bugs. Through bogs, rocks, mud, and river crossings. And from Georgia to Maine, the backdrop is mountain scenery -- vivid, spectacular, ever-changing.

Bears, skunks, and raccoons invade their camps, along with a motorcycle gang, a helicopter gunship, and a colorful assortment of other hikers making their way casually, me-thodically, or obsessively toward Maine.

Differing objectives become evident early on. Jerri has come to see things growing and green, to follow spring north, to walk without hurry through a full change of seasons. Mic counts the miles, plotting each day as a means toward the goal: Maine. And Kyra, well, who knows what she's thinking....

Walking North is a thoughtful narrative, descriptive at times, touching at times, humorous throughout. It is a story of working the day's problems, of understanding per-sonal differences, and of slowly discovering one's place in the natural world.