Slow and Steady

270 Hiking Days, over 2,175 Miles — and 95 Flip-Flops

Robert A. Callaway learned about the Appalachian Trail whenhe was eight years old, while listening to his mother talkabout how his grandfather had always wanted to hike it. Thatwas in 1953, and it would be fifty-five years before Robertfollowed his grandfather’s dream of thru-hiking the trail.

In 2008, after he’d done much group cycling and taken a fewtest hikes in previous years, sixty-three-year-old Robert andhis reluctant, late-fifties brother Tommy, both retired, set offto hike the trail in its entirety. Their trail names, assigned tothem by a pair of younger and faster hikers at Fontana, wereSlow (Tommy) and Steady (Robert).

Using an old Buick and an Isuzu pickup, Robert and Tommyflip-flopped their way along the trail, taking rest days whentired or injured and enjoying Tommy’s cabin in Georgia whileon the southern part of the trail. They gained speed andstamina as they developed their “trail legs,” but Tommy wasstill slow, lonely for his family and rapidly losing enthusiasm.Tommy dropped off the trail after 300 miles, leaving Robertto continue on by himself, and he worried that introvertedRobert would not fare well alone.

But “Steady” Robertpersevered and completed the entire hike — and, despiteTommy’s concerns, made many friends and did well alongthe way.Slow and Steady: Hiking the Appalachian Trail is Robert’s
account of the journey, and it details the vehicle and hikingflip-flop sites and strategies, zero-day locations, eateries andaccommodations, injuries and equipment failures, memorabletrail details, camp adventures, characters encountered, andmore, along the fourteen-state historic trail. It’s an excellentstarting book for older and especially introverted readers whowant to do the trail but who also want ready access back into
civilization to wash up, rest and eat real food when needed.

Complete with photos.