In the winter of 2013 filmmaker Chris Gallaway set out to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, starting on Springer Mountain, Georgia and walking over 2,000 miles to reach Mount Katahdin, Maine.
In the course of his 7 month trek, Frost (as he came to be known on the trail) trudged through deep snow drifts on the Smoky Mountain crest, savored a brief Appalachian spring, and battled clouds of mosquitoes in a record-breaking rainy summer. He experienced grief, growth, and triumph as he faced major life events from getting engaged to a close family tragedy. Along the way he formed deep bonds of friendship with other travelers making their own journeys on the trail.
The Long Start to the Journey reveals the Appalachian Trail through the lens of one man’s journey across it. It is a personal narrative that also digs deep into the origins of the AT: the vision and values that inspired generations of volunteers to build this iconic trail. This is a story of the impact that the AT has on those who walk it and of why wilderness is something essential for humans in the modern world.