A Slice Of Life On the Applachian Trail
by Junius R. Tate
When J.R. Tate first discovered that a free-spirited alter ego named Model-T had usurped his comfortable couch-hugging lifestyle, little did he realize what the cantankerous, obstinate shyster had in mind. Worse, by the time he belatedly discovered that Model-T had hatched up a crazy scheme to hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, it was too late to evict the culprit from his cranium. Model-T had become too powerful!
If you have ever felt the tug of the mountains or had the urge to don a backpack and experience the raw beauty of Nature firsthand, but never seem to find the time or perhaps lack the physical prowess or self-confidence to answer the call, then this is your chance! Come walk alongside J.R. and Model-T, as these two "wannabe's" take on the challenge of a grueling 2,160-mile trip over some of the roughest country east of the Mississippi River - a physical and mental trial of endurance that nine in ten will fail!
Share in their adventures (and misadventures) as they "walk on the happy side of misery." Hunker down with them while they endure the savage fury of monster storms and hypothermic delirium. Feel the sweat drip as they fight heat stroke, trudging through hundred-degree heat and sucking on pebbles to relieve maddening thirst. Taste the tea-colored water from caterpillar-infested springs; groan as gut-chewing hunger nips at the spirit; share their tears when loneliness and pain leave them wallowing in self-pity.
But it's not all adversity. Sit beside them on rock outcrops as they thrill at indescribable sunsets and wonder at The Creator's handiwork. Awaken to the softness of rosy dawns, and walk off into dew-sparkling meadows filled with splashes of the rainbow. Soak your feet in cool, tumbling mountain streams, and exhilarate in the icy, tingling wetness of a soda offered by a stranger on a hot day --- Trail Magic! Revel in the close camaraderie of the Trail Family! And exalt with them when at last they stand atop Mount Katahdin, "the greatest mountain," where in Thoreau's desperate words, "only daring and insolent men, perhance, go…"
Walkin' on the Happy Side of Misery will grip the reader in a personal, intense way that runs the gamut of emotion and sends the imagination to far horizons where uncharted thoughts dwell.
|
|
About J.R. Tate:
A retired Marine Corps officer (who as a naive second-lieutenant requested to be assigned to artillery because he had heard that "cannon-cockers get to ride everywhere"), J.R. now has three Appalachian Trail thru-hikes worn into the soles of his boots. His first journey in 1990 with his irascible alter ego, Model-T, became a life-altering experience that shook the very fabric of his soul and swept the opaque film of suburbia from his eyes. Smitten with a yearning for the mountains, he returned to the AT twice more, in 1994 and 1998; and most recently, in the summer of 2001, he hiked the 500-mile Colorado Trail. (According to Judith, his wife of forty years, he is now in dire need of a support group for recovering hikers.)
During his 1998 thru-hike J.R., or Model-T as he is known throughout the country, was featured in numerous newspaper articles, including "The Tennessean" and Clarksville's (TN) "The Leaf Chronicle." He appeared in several television segments on Nashville's CBS affiliate, WTVF, including an appearance on "Talk of the Town," which chronicled that journey. The following year he was appointed an "Honorary Ambassador" to the State of Tennessee for his role in promoting hiking and spreading "words of nature's beautiful bounty …" In October of 1999 he was featured on "The American Dream" segment of CBS Evening News with Dan Rather. In late October 2002, he was invited again to "Talk of the Town" to discuss Walkin' on the Happy Side of Misery.
J.R. is currently working on another book about the Appalachian Trail, this time an eclectic collection of tales about interesting places on or near this "national treasure" and the people who left their indelible mark.
He and Judith (and the perennial Model-T) reside in Woodlawn, TN, northwest of Nashville, where he is known to occasionally greet the dawn with a loud "OOOGA," much to the annoyance of his neighbors. The Tates have four children and nine grandchildren.
RETURN TO MAIN PAGE