Short Stories From Long Trails: 40,000 Miles of Braving Weather, Making Friends, Wrong Turns, and Wild Encounters by Justin Lichter (2015-08-02)

Having hiked more than 40,000 miles of trails across the globe, Justin "Trauma" Lichter recounts the survival instincts, physical endurance, and mental resiliency needed to be a thru-hiker. Despite countless close calls, Trauma continues to push the limits of long distance hiking, safety and wilderness survival. Short Stories from Long Trails is at times frightening, stomach-turning, humorous, and heartwarming, including tales about: -A wide variety of characters, from over-friendly motel clerks to escaped convicts, run-ins with lions, elephants, grizzlies, and other beasts, big and small -All types of weather, from one of the wettest seasons on the Appalachian Trail to the extreme heat of Africa -Questionable decisions when food or water is scarce, like consuming uncooked meat and treating water from sludge-like pools -Losing his way in the poppy fields of Copper Canyon, Mexico, amidst heavy narcotics traffic -His history-making winter hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, described by the New York Times as "the most daring and foolhardy expedition since Lewis and Clark" Follow Trauma and his fearless hiking partners, including his dog, Yoni, on hikes through America, on the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Eastern Continental Trail, Continental Divide Trail, Great Divide Trail, International Appalachian Trail, Florida Trail, Pacific Northwest Trail, Hayduke Trail, and Long Trail, as well as hikes abroad, in the Alps, Africa, New Zealand, Iceland, the Himalayas, and beyond. Justin "Trauma" Lichter is a thru-hiker, ski patroller, and author. He and his hiking partner, Shawn Forry, were the first to successfully hike the PCT in winter. He is also a Triple Crowner, having hiked the AT, PCT, and ECT in one year. He is the author of Trail Tested and Ultralight Survival Kit.