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Former or aspiring thru hiker? Just love hiking and reading about other people’s adventures and experiences on the trail? This list includes over 70 books on thru hiking the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide trails among others like the Camino, John Muir, and more off the beaten path ventures. The last section includes some great how-to guides. None of these are specific trail guide books and all would make a great addition to your base weight, airplane carry on, or night stand. Are there others missing you’d recommend? Leave a comment and let us know!
*You can view more details on each book by clicking on the title. Any purchase made through the links helps to support more content on Trail to Summit
Appalachian Trail
- Hiking Through– Paul Stutzman
- The Appalachian Trail Dirt Under My Boots (and everywhere else)– Gerald Luttmann
- Lost on the Appalachian Trail– Kyle Rohrig
- Walking With Spring– Earl Shaffer
- AWOL on the Appalachian Trail– David Miller
- A Walk in the Woods– Bill Bryson
- Brother Blood on the Appalachian Trail– Alec “Brother Blood” Kohut
- Balancing on Blue– Keith Foskett
- Painted Blazes: Hiking the Appalachian Trail with Loner– Jeffrey Gray
- Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail– Jennifer Pharr Davis
- 46 Days: Keeping Up With Jennifer Pharr Davis on the Appalachian Trail– Jennifer Pharr Davis, Brew Davis
- Called Again: A Story of Love and Triumph– Jennifer Pharr Davis
- Whistler’s Walk: The Appalachian Trail in 142 Days– William Monk
- Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail– Ben Montgommery
- Between a Rock and a White Blaze: Searching for Significance on the Appalachian Trail– Julie Urbanski
- North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail– Scott Jurek
- On the Beaten Path: An Appalachian Pilgrimage– Rubin
- Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail– Bill Walker
- The Barefoot Sisters Walking Home – Adventures on the Appalachian Trail– Lucy and Susan Letcher
- In Beauty May She Walk: Hiking the Appalachian Trail at 60– Leslie Mass
- The Things You Find on the Appalachian Trail: A Memoir of Discovery, Endurance and a Lazy Dog– Kevin Runolfson
- How the WILD EFFECT Turned Me into a Hiker at 69: An Appalachian Trail Adventure– Jane Congdon
Pacific Crest Trail
- Thru Hiking Will Break Your Heart– Carrot Quinn
- Racing Winter on the Pacific Crest Trail– Kyle Rohrig
- The Last Englishman: A Thru-Hiking Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail– Keith Foskett
- Bliss(ters): How I walked from Mexico to Canada one summer– Gail Francis
- Hikertrash: Life on the Pacific Crest Trail– Erin Miller
- Dances With Marmots – A Pacific Crest Trail Adventure– George Spearing
- A Thru-Hiker’s Heart: Tales of the Pacific Crest Trail– Ray Echols
- Halfway Home: The Story of a Father and Son Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail– Donald Reavis
- Mile 445: Hitched in Her Hiking Boots– Claire Henley Miller
- The Trail Life: How I Loved it, Hated it, and Learned from it– Julie Urbanski
- Girl in the Woods: A Memoir– Aspen Matis
- A Gang of One: Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail– Lief Carlsen
- The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind- And Almost Found Myself-On the Pacific Crest Trail– Dan White
- Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail– Cheryl Strayed
Continental Divide Trail
- A Long Way From Nowhere: A Couple’s Journey on the Continental Divide Trail– Julie Urbanski
- Hiking the Continental Divide Trail: One Woman’s Journey– Jennifer Hanson
- Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76– Mary Davison
- Scraping Heaven: A Family’s Journey Along the Continental Divide Trail– Cindy Ross
Other Long Distance Trails
- Ordinary Magic: Promises I Kept to My Mother Through Life, Illness, and a Very Long Walk on the Camino de Santiago– Cameron Powell
- On Trails: An Exploration– Robert Moor
- Short Stories From Long Trails: 40,000 Miles of Braving Weather, Making Friends, Wrong Turns, and Wild Encounters– Justin Litcher
- I Hike– Lawton Grinter
- The Hidden Tracks: Wanderlust – Hiking Adventures off the Beaten Path- Gestalten and Cam Honan
- America’s Great Hiking Trails: Appalachian, Pacific Crest, Continental Divide, North Country, Ice Age, Potomac Heritage, Florida, Natchez Trace, Arizona, Pacific Northwest, New England– Karen Berger
- Great Hiking Trails of the World: 80 Trails, 75,000 Miles, 38 Countries, 6 Continents– Karen Berger
- My First Summer in the Sierra– John Muir
- The Middle of Somewhere– Sonya Yoerg
- Camino de Santiago: To Walk Far, Carry Less- Jean-Christie Ashmore
- 100 Days: Walking Te Araroa– GJ Coop
- Voices of The Colorado Trail– David Fanning
- The Achievable Epic: Thru-Hiking the Colorado Trail– Jim Rahtz
- Walking in Circles: Backpacking the Tahoe Rim Trail– Jim Rahtz
- Not Because it’s Easy: A story of pain, struggle, and reward on the Tahoe Rim Trail– David Maliar
- Along the Divide: Walking the Wild Spine of Scotland– Chris Townsend
- A thousand-mile walk to the Gulf– John Muir
- Tracks: A Woman’s Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback– Robyn Davidson
- Thousand-Miler: Adventures Hiking the Ice Age Trail- Melanie Radzicki McManus
How To Guides/Reference
- Appalachian Trials- Zach Davis
- Pacific Crest Trials- Zack Davis and Carly Moree
- How to Hike the Appalachian Trail: A Comprehensive Guide to Plan and Prepare for a Successful Thru-Hike– Chris Cage
- Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike Planner– David Lauterborn
- Backpacker Long Trails: Mastering the Art of the Thru-Hike– Liz Thomas, Backpacker Magazine
- The Hungry Spork: A Long Distance Hiker’s Guide to Meal Planning– Inga Aksamit
- Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail: 100 Tips, Tricks, Traps, and Facts– Jen Seymour
- Just Passin’ Thru: A Vintage Store, the Appalachian Trail, and a Cast of Unforgettable Characters– Winton Porter
- Stumbling Thru: Hike Your Own Hike– A. Digger Stolz
- Thru – An Appalachian Trail Love Story– Appalachian Trail Conservation
- Trail Tested: A Thru-Hiker’s Guide To Ultralight Hiking And Backpacking– Justin Litcher
Like this list? Check out these others:
13 Books on Hiking in New Hampshire
Reference and Children’s books for Exploring the Outdoors
Is audio more your style? Here are 10 Great Outdoor Podcasts to give a listen to!
Or grab the popcorn! Check out our Hiking Documentary Lineup
Last modified: July 1, 2019
Hello Allison! Thanks very much for including my book (Painted Blazes – Hiking the Appalachian Trail with Loner) in your list of 70 thru-hike books! Great job on the list and noticed several of my favorites. I would also suggest my newest book for your reference section, Appalachian Trail Who’s Who on YouTube, found on Amazon in print and eBook. http://a.co/d/iD6yHbE/. Also, Sole Searching on the Appalachian Trail by Sam Ducharme is a great read. Thanks again and happy hiking! Loner, AT Class of 2012.
thanks for the mention, Loner!
Thanks for including our “Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail — 100 Tips” book! I also just published one specifically for women wanting to thru-hike the AT: “Chicas on the Appalachian Trail — Women-Specific Tips for Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail and Conversations with Badass Women Hikers.” Thank you! — Chica (AT NOBO 2017)
Trail Mix: Notes along the Palmetto Trail by Ron Brown
As a character in this book my recommendation may be biased, but I love it and am hearing good reviews so far.
PaCT: A Journey Beyond the Horizon is a 264 page, 6.5 x 9″ perfect bound book. PaCT documents a 23 year, two-part journey with this 263 page art-book and memoir, a photo-animated flip book, with photos by Dylan Kuhn, and a zine – all by Peter Miles Bergman.
In 1996 at the age of 23, Peter and Dylan Kuhn set out to hike the 2,650 mile Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. Burned out, injured, and broke after 90 days and 1,750 miles they quit in Oregon with a pact to return for the remaining 900 miles when they were twice as old. In 2019 they reconvened at 46 to reflect on life’s journey, and race increasingly threatening storms towards Canada.
Part travelogue and part memoir, this expressively designed book weaves three non-linear text threads together into a portrait of an artist coming of age, drifting waywardly into middle age, and the profound friendship that kept him focused on staying sane, and getting sober, in order to complete their pact.