Up on Cove Mountain    by Earl Swift Order:  USA  Can Mariner, 2026 (2026) Hardcover, CD, e-Book      Reviewed by Rheta Van Winkle The Appalachian Trail starts on Katahdin Mountain in Maine and travels south to Springer Mountain in Georgia. Although the author was aware of its existence from an early age, an article he read in National Geographic caught his attention in 1987 about thru-hikers who walk the entire trail. He convinced the newspaper where he worked to let him write about it. He was to walk for two weeks and interview people he met along the way. Planning, purchasing equipment, and organizing took him two years and during this time he learned all he could about the best way to accomplish his goal. He also decided that he would need more time and got a leave of absence from his job for six months. Most thru-hikers start at Springer Mountain in Georgia in the spring and finish in late summer or early fall before the weather in Maine turns too frigid, and they are called northbounders or NOBOs. A few hardy souls start at Mount Katahdin, climbing the trail's longest, most difficult ascent on the first day, followed by continuing difficulties such as biting black flies, unbridged rivers, freezing wet weather, and solitude, and they are called southbounders or SOBOs. The custom is for hikers to adopt a travel moniker, and Earl decided that his name was unusual enough to use. He purchased a lot of freeze-dried food which he packed into thirteen boxes to be sent to various post offices on the trail. He practiced setting up a small lightweight tent, broke in new hiking boots, and walked around his neighborhood carrying a fully packed backpack. In June 1990, he climbed Katahdin and began his first southward trek. He was 31 years old. After that hike he became obsessed with the trail and took short hikes whenever he could. Years later when he could afford it, he purchased a home near the AT so he could continue making short trips without too much preparation. In 2023 he decided to make another attempt at a thru-hike at the age of 65. He would flip-flop, a new way to hike, by starting in Duncannon, Pennsylvania heading south to Springer Mountain over the winter and spring. He'd then flip up to Katahdin, hiking back to Duncannon in the summer and fall of the following year. Up on Cove Mountain is his account of his two SOBO thru-hike experiences and the people he met during these hikes. I loved this book! I felt like I was hiking along with Earl, listening to the stories of the people he traveled with and met along the way. Most of the hikers were good company. He made friends with several other SOBOs, such as Timothy from Germany, Greg who was sleeping next to him when a dead tree fell between them and almost scared them into quitting, and some of the trail angels who fed him and gave rides now and then. There were a few people who were messy campers and didn't follow the rules, and some deaths. The ones that bothered him the most were the murders of Geoff and Molly, two nice young people who were shot and stabbed to death in their tent. He knew them and spent a lot of time thinking about them and the randomness of death. The deaths and his own declining health did not keep him from continuing to take short hikes. I was inspired by this book and think that anyone would enjoy reading and learning about the AT from Earl's account. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Travel books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews