Stretching more than 2,000 miles from Georgia to Maine, the Appalachian Trail crosses 14 states, hair-raising mountain peaks and passes, and the natural habitats of wild creatures and even wilder hikers. So, when best-selling travel writer Bill Bryson discovered a path leading to the trail just metres from his house in New Hampshire, his interest was piqued and his diary hastily blocked out for the next few months. Bryson’s riotous account of the tortuous climbs, bland food and physical hardship is also an impassioned plea to preserve the trail and reveals his deep appreciation of the natural world. James Weston Lewis captures both the desperation and jubilation of the hike in his striking colour illustrations and charming black-and-white vignettes, while his newly drawn map shows the sheer scale of this seemingly endless endeavour.