The author, a seasoned hiker and backpacker from the Adirondack Mountains, travels to Maine to spend a week trekking the northern most 60 miles of the Appalachian Trail. Along the way he meets day-packers, slack-packers, backpackers accidently hiking in the wrong direction, Banjo Man, trail names and trail magic. As it turns out, these people are the trail. The trail is about the people one meets along the way - salt of the earth types, some lost souls and still others knee deep in hilarious serendipity. With a keen eye for detail and observation, the author paints an incredible picture of life on the trail in the north Maine woods. Backpacking never sounded like so much fun.