An Eye on the Horizon [Paperback]

Herbert F. Eye (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1997

The author shares the sights, sounds, feelings, and the many personal adventures and challenges he experienced on his 2158.8-mile section-hike of this remarkable footpath from Georgia to Maine. Included are over 100 pictures and maps documenting his journey. Hiking the Appalachian Trail was a dream he had since childhood; and, at the age of 66, he demonstrates that through faith, patience and commitment-dreams can come true.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I liked your accurate trail descriptions, presented in a very factual and refreshingly non-psychoanalytical and non-metaphysical way. The joy you got out of hiking the trail shone through every sentence and whatever hardship the trail dished out was born quietly and acceptingly as part of the deal. No heroics, no macho, just doing it and getting it done - and enjoying every facet of the hike down to the flowers along the way and the occasional wildlife sightings. -- Dr. Reinhard Zollitsch, Professor, University of Maine

From the Author

For as long as I can remember I have had a great attraction to and respect for the natural world. I was fortunate as a child to grow up on a farm in southern West Virginia with thousands of acres of woodland providing an early outdoor exposure. I learned about the Appalachian Trail as a youngster about five years after its completion in 1937 and thought that some day I would like to hike part of it. As I approached retirement, I realized that if I were going to hike, it would have to be while my health was still good. By 1987, the year of my retirement, I had made a commitment to hike its entire length.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: Ridgecrest Pub (December 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966106229
• ISBN-13: 978-0966106220
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,864,842 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Eye to the Horizon, November 30, 1999

By 

Tom Kvach, Jr. (Avon, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Eye on the Horizon (Paperback)

My family has origins in Southwest Virginia and I always wondered when we drove south down I-77 what the sign "Appalachian Trail" meant. The author did an excellent job describing his journey. I found the book easy to read. His attention to his surroundings and his honesty made it hard for me to put the book down. I met the author and his wife this past summer before reading the book. I have a tremendous amount of respect for these people and hope to someday make this journey myself. The trip obviously takes intense planning and the author not only shares some of his resources with us, but he also shares some of the changes he made during his trek whether it be shoes he wore or the type of tent he changed to later in his journey through New England. It is not just a hiker book. It is a story of determination. It is a story of not only setting a goal, but attaining it with the help of his family. Good Book!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A journal of a man's perserverance while walking the A T., September 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: An Eye on the Horizon (Paperback)

As anyone who's ever walked for more than a few hours knows it can be hard work. Imagine walking from Georgia to Maine; over mountains and through rivers; seeing everyting from tourists to Black Bear. "An Eye on the Horizon" offers readers an opportunity to tag along with a man fufillng his dream of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail. This is a factual book, told with a voice that was raised in the country. A voice that would rather tell you what flowers to look for rather than flowery language. It's also a story of family, because no one makes the trip alone. I made me want to go put on my pack and go for a lone walk in the woods.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "No rain, no pain, no Maine.", February 18, 2001

By 

G. Merritt (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Eye on the Horizon (Paperback)

"Hiking the Trail could be compared to the journey through life itself," Eye writes in one of his book's few contemplative passages. "Both have highs and lows, steep climbs and easy climbs, bright skies and dark skies, times of joy and times of disappointment, great views and no views at all, love and sadness--and the list goes on. You might say hiking the Trail is a parallel to life's journey" (p. 280). This is not a book about thru-hiking the 2158.8-mile Appalachian Trail. Rather, according to Eye's Preface, it is his account of section-hiking and slack-packing the Trail from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mt. Katahdin, Maine "over a period of several years." Nevertheless, his 319-page Trail narrative reads seamlessly.

Eye does a terrific job conveying the "inspiration and spiritual renewal" he experiences on the Trail (p. 52), despite the seemingly neverending "hot spots" and blisters on his feet. I won't soon forget the the realities Eye's AT hike, either: his ridge-top encounters with "hurricane force winds" (p. 204), pushing up foggy "4000-plus footers--some with open rocky pinnacles" in "the Majestic Whites" (p. 229), and conquering "the Toughest Mile" through "The Notch." He writes, "at one point, I lay down on the rock's and cried" (p. 239). Another favorite moment occurs when Eye meets a fellow hiker, "The Poet," who says: "Scholars claim the Earth is round, but I'm convinced it's up and down" (p. 243). That's a poem to memorize!

This is one of several books I have read recently about hiking the Appalachian Trail. Although it is not the best of the bunch in my opinion, because of Eye's realistic descriptions and memorable moments on the Trail, it is nevertheless worth reading. Check out Bryson's WALK IN THE WOODS, Rubin's ON THE BEATEN PATH, and Hall's A JOURNEY NORTH for some other, good armchair AT thru-hiking.

G. Merritt