Up on Cove Mountain: Adventure, Tragedy, and a Quest for Meaning on the Appalachian Trail

“Hiking the 2200 miles of the Appalachian Trail is an arduous adventure. Earl Swift did it as a young man, and it changed his life. But, a double murder along the way still haunts him. Thirty-five years later, he returned to the trail to rediscover lost youth and to search for answers. A fascinating story and A HELLUVA BOOK.” — JOHN GRISHAM “In 1990, Swift was thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail when a shocking double murder brought darkness to the nation’s most storied backpacking route. Thirty-four years later, he went back—embarking on a 2,000-mile journey that combines boots-on-the-ground adventure with a search for meaning in the wake of unimaginable tragedy. The result is a new American classic.” — ALEX HEARD, former editor in chief, Outside magazine "Part hiking journal, part crime story, part personal reckoning, Up on Cove Mountain is a journey readers will love. Swift is a wonderfully engaging storyteller, and this book brings to life the Appalachian Trail—its characters, tragedies, and beauty—as well as Swift's own relationship to it. A delight to read." — SUSAN ORLEAN, author of The Orchid Thief A good book, like a good trail, offers an implicit promise: regardless of where the path may lead, it will faithfully deliver you to where you need to be, having completed a journey that leaves you enriched, elevated, and transformed in ways you might never have imagined at the start. In his marvelous new book, Earl Swift doesn’t simply fulfill that pledge; he surpasses it. In the spirit of the Appalachian Trail itself, Up on Cove Mountain offers a hymn to the glorious toil and the revelatory wonders that reside in the simple but magnificent act of deciding to go for a walk.” — KEVIN FEDARKO, author of A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon “Earl Swift’s latest exceeds all expectations. This masterful, propulsive tale contrasts his youthful thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail with a recent return to the path, along the way ruminating on aging, destiny, and the murder of hiker friends on his original trek. His evocative descriptions of life on the AT will either make you want to hike it yourself or be glad you’re reading about it.” — BETH MACY, author of Dopesick and Paper Girl “Swift’s gripping tale of hiking the length of the Appalachian Trail speaks to nature’s ability to cure what ails us—particularly now, when we so desperately need it. I was deeply moved by this heart-stirring story of a community created around a shared experience and deep respect for a rare and vanishing world.” — KRISTEN GREEN, author of The Devils’ Half Acre “Fall into the rhythm of Earl Swift’s gorgeous sentences and his evocative descriptions and you’re in for quite a hike. There’s beauty in his wilderness, and sweat, danger and fellowship, but also, in the shadow of a horrific crime twenty years earlier, a sense there is no hiding from the modern age. The life lessons from the Appalachian Trail: pay attention, keep alert to what is happening around you, be sure of where you are going and how you plan to get there.” — CHRIS TILGHMAN, Professor Emeritus and former Director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Virginia "I savored reading Up On Cove Mountain. Earl Swift offers heaping portions of trail magic from his two Appalachian Trail through-hikes 30 years apart. Colorful storytelling will inform the hiking-curious about America’s oldest long trail, while vivid descriptions will rekindle memories for veteran AT backpackers—and may inspire ambition in those who have yet to walk it." — ROMAN DIAL, author of The Adventurer’s Son “An exquisite exploration of my worst nightmare that results in the discovery of an earthly Eden. I read with envy and terror as Swift chronicled his grueling and stunning thru-hike in search of understanding. Rattlesnakes, bear cubs, blisters, beers, and trail angels pop up when they are least expected and make for a visceral and quietly surprising odyssey through mountains and memory. An immersive and poignant trail book.” — LULU MILLER, author of Why Fish Don’t Exist and Co-Host of Radiolab “The Appalachian Trail has never been investigated like this before, in the braided narrative of three separate, but deeply connected, journeys. Together they capture the trail–and the world it’s a part of–at its best and worst, at once sublimely inspiring and disturbingly dark. The result is a unique and significant contribution to the literature of the AT.” — Philip D’ANIERI, author of The Appalachian Trail: A Biography