The A.T. Guide | Awol on the Appalachian Trail

At the Speed of Foot: Rez Dog on the Appalachian Trail is Mark Fleming’s memoir of an adventure that grew from maybe to real in the three decades following his return from Vietnam. The narrative escorts the reader north along the Appalachian Trail in 2002, as Mark and two long-time hiking companions follow the 2,168 mile footpath from Georgia to Maine. Mark’s spare prose vividly recounts the joy and wonder of life on the move and realistically describes the challenges of long distance hiking. Along the way the reader witnesses the abundance of nature, discovers the many moods of earth and sky and meets the people who make the Appalachian Trail an extended community. As he walks north, Mark also revisits his service as an infantry rifleman in Vietnam. More than simple travelogue, At the Speed of Foot combines the journey of a lifetime with a journey of self-discovery, a story that walks in the present to find meaning in the past.