Walkin' With the Ghost Whisperers: Lore And Legends of the Appalachian Trail

The grand old 'father" of the Appalachian Trail, Benton MacKaye, challenged the nimble-footed sojourners who sought the solitude of the Appalachians 'to see, and to see what you see." Doubletalk? Not on your life! After three thru-hikes of the Appalachian Trail, I came face to face with the dismal conclusion that I really had no clue as to what the great man meant. True, I had 'seen," but I had miserably failed to rise to the second part of Mr. MacKaye's challenge. Belatedly, I discovered that I'd done the miles and had the smiles, but the real 'meat" of the trip remained in the grip of the mountains, firmly locked in a time vault to which I had no key. But there is another side of the coin. Consider the thru-hiker's 'curse": Grind out the harsh, unforgiving miles day by day, state by state, with Mount Katahdin's mid-October closing deadline always hovering in the near-consciousness like a voracious beast. What else can one expect? Most often the hiker pauses, casually remarks, 'Hmmm.I wonder what that's all about?" and continues on. Occasionally, a sparse entry is made in a dirt-smeared journal: Check this out when I get home. It seldom-if ever-happens. The 'real world" quickly grips the jubilant thru-hiker (Dang! I did it! I'm a 2000-miler!) in a mental vise that soon squeezes all motivation to pursue those little innocent journal entries into gooey mush. Over time, good intentions fade and all that's left are the 'miles and smiles"-and a guilt-gilded vacuum that bespeaks of something missing. "Walkin4 with the Ghost Whisperers" lets the reader step across the threshold of history and walk with the men and women of yesteryear, whose lives impacted on the mountains through which theTrail goes. It's all here: Native American history that crisscrossed the Trail and the myths that birthed legends which flame the imagination.the pioneers who tested the waters and paved the way for future generations of hikers .horrific Civil War battles that were fought where hikers now trod, their boots scuffing ground consecrated by blood and indomitable will.ghosts that refuse to stay buried.Mary the Elephant whose demise sullied a town.the good, the bad, and the ugly. And much more! Whether the reader hungers for a platter of historical entertainment or seeks to nourish the 'miles and smiles" from a previous hike, "Walkin4 with the Ghost Whisperers" is the book. Both trails lead to the same destination: To see, and to see what you see! Author's Note Benton MacKaye was a remarkable man. His 'beyond the horizon" vision of a footpath stretching along the high crests of America's Blue Ridge eventually became reality when the Appalachian Trail opened to 'foot travel only" in 1937. He admonished those who wound their way over peaks and valleys heretofore accessible only to the most hardy and daring to '.see, and to see what you have seen." Well, when I first read these words, they made about as much sense as dribbling mustard on a jelly doughnut. If you saw something, you just saw it. Period. What an idiot I was! On a fine summer day in 1998, on my third thru-hike, I stopped at a spring in a pretty little glade to air my aching hoofers-Pennsylvania rocks are murder, you know. While I sat there guzzling cold sweet water, my eyes strayed to a nearby aged stone marker. Its sparse wording let me know that my gratification came from Pilger Ruh Spring, where Count Zinzen-something-or-otherand one Conrad Weiser had also quenched their thirst in 1742. Model-T, my pesky alter ego, whose sole mission in life is to make mine miserable, piped up, Hey Diddlebrain, what's a Pilger Ruh? Damned if I knew, but I wasn't about to let him-or 'it" (I've never gotten a handle on our weird relationship)-have the satisfaction of calling me an ignoramus. Well Mr. Stupid, if you knew anything at all, you'd know it's a German term meaning 'place to cool your beer." And that's when the realization suddenly penetrated my Kentucky tow-headed c