A recreation area in Northern Georgia, Amicalola Falls State Park is located roughly seven miles from Springer Mountain, the southernmost starting point of the Appalachian Trail. Many hikers planning to thru-hike the AT travel to the park and stay at its Amicalola Falls Lodge before departing for Springer Mountain, as did Bryson and Katz, who flew from New Hampshire to Atlanta and then used a shuttle service to get to the lodge, where they stayed the night before setting off on their trek the following day.

In Chapter 1, Bryson writes, “Running more than 2,100 miles along America’s eastern seaboard, through the serene and beckoning Appalachian Mountains, the AT is the granddaddy of long hikes” (3). Spanning from Springer Mountain in Northern Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine, it traverses 14 states and encompasses the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Great Smoky Mountains, the Green Mountains, and the White Mountains. First envisioned in 1921 by Benton MacKaye of the US Labor Department, the AT didn’t officially open until 1937. The trail is the central focus of Bryson’s book as he and his companion, Katz, attempt an end-to-end hike during the spring and summer of 1996.