Trails...

If there is something you could hold against Robert Moor’s engaging and widely and wildly exploratory book On Trails, it’s that, at times, it is a touch too optimistic for a borderline cynic like me. But even I would get carried away by his trail exploits, meeting strange characters and wandering down obscure paths and connections. Sometimes, the writing would get a little clunky and sometimes the arguments would be stretched close to a breaking point, but he would inevitably bring it back from the brink. From Newfoundland to Morocco and all along the Appalachian Trail, Moor dives into everything from a fascinating braiding of language and place in Cherokee, to various ways non-humans make trails, to the wisdom of Indigenous paths and land management practices, to the fascinating history of what we today call hiking and the world’s longest hiking trail. The glimpse of the world and culture of thru-hikers of the Appalachian Trail is alone worth your time. If you are looking for a very readable piece of armchair travel, this one is definitely worth your time.

The photograph above was made along the trail just above Middle Cove Beach, a part of the East Coast Trail system.