Sixteen Miles to Somewhere Else

Everyone's heard of the Appalachian Trail. Almost no one's heard of the trail that quietly connects to it from the south, or the sixteen very different lives that unfold along its 335 miles.

Sixteen Miles to Somewhere Else is a collection of original short stories set on and around the Pinhoti Trail, the footpath winding through Alabama and Georgia's mountains that forms the southern anchor of the entire Eastern Continental Trail system. A first-time thru-hiker learns that counting her steps is the wrong way to survive the climb. A fire tower caretaker reads a hiker's whole story in the rhythm of their footsteps. A roadside neighbor becomes trail magic almost by accident. A father steals one perfect sunrise with his daughter before she grows too old to ask for it.

None of these characters is real. All of them are true to the particular, quiet magic of a long trail that most people have never heard of, built by volunteers over decades, named for a wild turkey, and populated by hikers, caretakers, trail crews, and roadside neighbors who each carry away something the trail gave them without ever meaning to.

What's inside:

- Sixteen self-contained short stories, each following a different character connected to the Pinhoti Trail

- A trail rendered with real geography, history, and atmosphere, from Flagg Mountain to Cheaha's summit to the Benton MacKaye connection

- Stories of thru-hikers, section hikers, trail crews, search and rescue volunteers, hostel owners, and the people who live alongside the trail without ever hiking a mile of it

- A closing reflection on what these small, invented lives share with anyone who has ever walked a long trail

Perfect for hikers who know the Pinhoti already, readers who love trail literature and quiet character-driven fiction, and anyone curious about the overlooked trail connecting to the Appalachian Trail from the south.