How It All Goes Down
- Bryson and Katz walk the remaining eighteen miles to Front Royal, Virginia, where Bryson's wife is set to pick them up in two days' time.
- They're so tired when they arrive that they crash immediately. After picking up fresh (and we mean that in every possible way) clothes, the pair ambles around until Mrs. Bryson arrives.
- Although Katz promises that they'll meet in August "for the conclusion of [their] long amble," Bryson is too focused on work to spend any time thinking about the AT (2.13.10).
- In fact, it's over a month before he rekindles this fire by taking a quick jaunt near his home. Interestingly, he finds it quite unfulfilling to hike AT within spitting distance of his front door.
- So he comes up with an alternate plan—he's going to drive down to Virginia, taking day trips on the AT. From there, he'll drive north along the trail, rinsing and repeating.
- He ends up in Harpers Ferry. It's quiet and eerie around here—by now, those two murders we mentioned have already happened. Spooky.
- After discussing the relative rarity of murders along the AT with a park ranger, Bryson returns to his ride and hits the dusty trail.