The book revolves around the 172 day, 2,183 mile "thru-hike" by NANEEK (Keenan backwards) of the Appalachian Trail. Mixed in with Tim's daily recap of the highlights of the journey, are flashbacks to his one year of combat duty in Viet Nam. It was a grueling challenge for the 62-63 year old guy and it took the help of his young female hiking partner along with "trail magic" from multiple angels to get him to the finish line. The simple life of eat, drink, sleep, and hike helped the author find an inner peace and address some demons from his time in the infantry. The emotions come through in his reliving the lives lost, the physical and psychological injuries, as well as the joy of returning from a war zone. Tim even goes on to meet his commander "Grisly" and meet former Vietnamese solders to confront his hated and racism. The good hike is not for the faint of heart and Mr. Keenan has much to be proud of.
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