An avid hiker and writer, Vermonter Walt McLaughlin has written what he describes as “an intimate, detailed account of a trek across the 100 Mile Wilderness,” which is the most remote section of the Appalachian Trail in northern Maine.

In “The Unexpected Trail: Taking on the 100 Mile Wilderness,” McLaughlin is accompanied by a German shepherd named Matika. He reflects upon the evolution of the trail system as well as the history of the region, while traversing mountain ranges, fording rivers and slogging through bogs. He contemplates his own inclination toward wildness while pressing southward, encountering scores of hardy, AT through-hikers on their final push to Mount Katahdin.

The book is available at www.woodthrushbooks.com and at Amazon.com.