Book Idea

I have read every book about the Appalachian Trail, backpacking, camping and going ultralight that I could find.  There was one book that I read, that was particularly interesting to me because it was written by a man who thru hiked and obtained contact information from every other thru hiker he met and then came home and sent them a survey and compiled their results into an informative and enjoyable book.  However, his trip took place in 1989 and a lot has changed since then.  I looked him up and unfortunately found that he has passed away, I compiled a letter to the publishers of the book and asked them if they would be interested in creating an update of this.  Here are some excerpts from my letter:

“Even though his trip happened in 1989 much of the book is still relevant today, however much of the survey results are dated and do not reflect the changes in hiking in the last 20 years.  For example, cameras used film, cell phones were the size of bricks, alcohol stoves were scarce, external packs were more prevalent than internal packs, trekking poles were rarely used, and pots were made out of steel not titanium.  Equipment is not the only thing that has changed in that time, but so have the type of people, the trail culture and the number of people attempting to thru hike.”

“As an accountant it is my job to look at and analyze information and then present it in a compelling way that is both logical and informative.  These are the skills that are needed to be able to extract information from survey data and compile it into an informative book such as the update I am proposing.”

Unfortunately I have not heard back from the publisher, so I have decided to go forward with the book idea anyway and keep track of my trip both publicly through my blog here and privately as well.  I will also be asking others that I encounter for their contact information so that I can send them a survey at the trips end.  I don’t know if anything will come out of it, but if you never try you never succeed.