Barry Veden Hikes and Writes

Amy Lavalley, writing in the Chicago Post-Tribune on 3 January 2008 under the headline "Author chronicles adventures on Appalachian Trail," describes the new book by Appalachian Trail hiker Barry Veden.

Veden's book "is 'Coming of Age on the Appalachian Trail,' recounting his experiences hiking the trail solo." I'm not sure about the 'coming of age' part of the title, since Veden is 64, recently retired, and only started hiking on the Trail in the 1990s.

More curious, however, is that this hiking narrative comes from the pen of a man of whom Lavalley writes that

"almost every year, he's hiked another section of the trail, usually spending about a week. He travels about 10 miles a day, a pretty good average, he said, for someone his age, and goes in the early spring, when he won't see other hikers."

And then

"Veden estimates he's walked about 600 miles of the trail, which stretches almost 2,200 miles. He hasn't hiked it in a few years; his daughter lives in Denver, so he's been hiking in Colorado.

"This spring, though, he plans to head back with a friend."