Since Bill Bryson unleashed his humorous everyman take on A.T. thru-hiking, A Walk in the Woods, a handful of more seasoned outdoor travelers have recounted the cultural phenomenon. Next in line is Andy Harrah with his Iron Toothpick: A Thru-Hiker Reveals Life, Legends and Oddities Along the Appalachian Trail.

The Northern Virginia-based Harrah is an Iron-distance triathlete (the source of his trail name, along with his frail frame) and accomplished mountaineer, so he is less daunted by the physical aspects of daily hiking than most would be. His tale, therefore, focuses on more of the underground culture of thru-hiking. The account reads like a journal, appropriate since Harrah accompanies his writing with pages of the journal that he kept on the trail. He avoids being overly verbose with fancy prose in exchange for more of a campfire-vibed recount of daily life on the trail from sleeping in a shelter to dealing with the flu. It feels very much like a narrated scrapbook, as it’s also filled with Harrah’s own photos, making it much easier to relate with the characters that he describes like the retired truck driver Wild Flamingo and Hoser.

He gets into the simple psychology of the mundane daily rituals that come along with hiking every day for half of a year. He makes it easy to see why this is the stuff that matters, and the main reason that most people that set out to hike the A.T. don’t make it. This is the book for those that don’t want to be dazzled with witty banter, but rather prefer to know what it’s really like to thru-hike.