On Saturday afternoon, Adam and I drove up to Big Meadows Lodge in Shenandoah National Park to hear a special guest speaker – Jeff Alt, author of A Walk for Sunshine.  Jeff hiked the entire Appalachian Trail in 1998.  He also put an extra spin on his thru-hike by making it a hike for charity – raising money to help the group home where his brother with cerebral palsy resides. Adam and I first read Jeff’s book over the summer while we were out backpacking. We took turns reading the book aloud to one another whenever we relaxed in our tent.

Jeff was a great speaker.  He was funny, informative and passionate about encouraging people to follow their dreams.  His hour-long talk followed the book and was packed with anecdotes and photos.  Afterward, he took time to sign copies of his book and answer questions. If you ever get a chance to see Jeff speak, don’t miss it!  He visits Shenandoah pretty regularly, speaking and offering a program on hiking with children.

Some of Our Favorite Books and Maps

For hikes in George Washington National Forest, we use mostly use online resources and a couple more of the National Geographic maps. (maps #791 and #792 – which cover Great North Mountain, Massanutten and Shenandoah Mountain)

The web resources we use most frequently are:

• Hiking Upward
• George Washington and Jefferson National Forests
• Mid-Atlantic Hikes
• Guide to Shenandoah National Park & Skyline Drive

There is a lot of information on Trails.com, but their site is a fee service – and we think it’s unnecessary to pay for access to trail information online.

The other way we get ideas for hikes is word of mouth.  We chat with other hikers all the time, and are constantly getting new hike ideas.