king the Appalachian Trail or just part of it, and you were put off by the thought of hefting a backpack that weighs 50 pounds or more and the dread of having to set up and break down camp each day for days on end? If so, you should take up 'slack packing' where you take only a daypack, enter and exit the trail every day, and you are ferried to a B&B, hotel, or hostel each evening where you have a bed and shower.

"The Slack Packer's Guide to Hiking the Appalachian Trail is a must have book for the curious, novice, or experienced slack packer, as well as the experienced thru-hiker, for the Appalachian Trail. More than just a resource on how to plan and prepare for your Appalachian Trail adventure, it is a travel journal of the authors' experiences slack packing the Appalachian Trail, where everybody you meet has a 'Trail Name.' If Bill Bryson had this guide, he would have finished hiking the Appalachian Trail."

-- Ray W. King, attorney at law and veteran hiker