A Walk For Sunshine: a 2,160 mile expedition for charity on the Appalachian Trail, 2nd

Jeff Alt's AT book is a "must read" for any armchair hiker. It will get you off the couch and onto the trail. Whether you hike for charity or for yourself, this book will motivate you!

i love this book, and i have read many books on the AT-- this is by far the best account.

'A Walk For Sunshine: a 2,160 mile expedition for charity on the Appalachian Trail' tells the story of Jeff Alt who walked the entire 2,160 Appalachian Trail to help raise $100,000 for his disabled brother. Embarking on an adventure few people would ever think to take on, you will be inspired by his adventures and learn about the simple way of life that might be better than the hectic stress-full ones that we deal with every day. If you are a hiker or just want to be inspired to do great things, this is a wonderful read!!

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

A Walk For Sunshine by Jeff Alt is the story of his 2,160 mile trek-through on the Appalachian Trail, from the southern end in Georgia to the Northern end in Maine. This is the oldest trail in the United States, started in 1921. Jeff's dream since childhood was to walk it without interruption, but it was not until the end of his college degrees in marketing that he was able to do so and to accomplish the feat with an extended purpose. He has a mentally retarded, cerebral palsey brother who is in a care center, Sunshine, in Toledo, and Jeff decided to promote his walk and gather sponsor's money for equipment for Sunshine. With lectures, slide shows, newsletters, emails, and magazine and newspaper articles he gathered more than his goal of $10,000. He perservered through six months of blistered feet, rain, sleet, snow, heat, varmits, doubts, fears, and lonliness to go all the way to Maine. His book, a portion of which goes to Sunshine, is the fascinating detailing of the dream trek, which thousands wish to do and only several hundres accomplish. Jeff now sponsors annual fundraisers and leads short Appalachian hikes to continue to raise funds for Sunshine. He has raised now over $100,000. A really gripping and inspiring book!

Reviewed by April Sullivan for Reader Views (2/08)

"A Walk for Sunshine" is a non-fiction account of Jeff Alt's thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in Spring 1998. The Appalachian Trail, also known as the AT, is a 2,160-mile trail through forests, meadows, mountains, and streams from Georgia to Maine. Hiking from one end to the other straight through takes 3-6 months. Jeff Alt did his walk in 147 days. He did this hike not only for himself, but also as a fundraiser for Sunshine, Inc., a group home for people with disabilities, where his brother lives.

The purpose of this book was for Jeff to tell the story of his hike and how he organized it as a fundraiser. Jeff kept journals throughout the trip and mailed them back home. He did an amazing job of compiling these journals into this book. It was written in an easy-to-read style with short chapters. I felt like I was walking the trail with Jeff. In 3-4 pages we had walked 15-20 miles. His fun storytelling and friendly, easy style made me think. Maybe I could really do this too.

Jeff stresses the importance of family and friends as the inspiration and motivation throughout his journey. Jeff did his hike for Sunshine, Inc., a group home where his brother lives with cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities. Sunshine organized a short accessible day hike to correspond with Jeff's hike. They sent cards and letters to him on a regular basis. His family arranged to meet him at various points on the hike. Jeff made it clear that he could not have finished this hike without them.

The unwritten motto on the trail is "Hike your own hike." Jeff takes that motto one step further in this book. He extends it beyond the trail. Anyone can reach their goals by taking it one step at a time and doing it their own way and from their own inspiration. A Post Script in the book talks about how to organize a charity fundraiser and life lessons Jeff learned from the trail.

This book really inspired me. As someone who has always wanted to walk the Appalachian Trail, I was so excited to read each page and really soak in what the reality of a three-month hike would take. Jeff makes the point that people need to take the time now to reach our goals--not to wait for retirement or when we have more time. Take the time to make our lives what we want. I recommend "A Walk for Sunshine" to anyone interested in reading an inspiring book about reaching goals.