Hiker Trash: Notes, Sketches, and Other Detritus from the Appalachian Trail

A collage of backpacking culture, Hiker Trash offers a glimpse of the off-beat, diverse community that is drawn to thru-hiking the country’s oldest long-distance trail. It features a collection of original illustrations by author and artist Sarah Kaizar, as well as color photos by Nicholas Reichard and excerpts from the Appalachian Trail’s famed shelter log books that highlight hikers’ thoughts, fears, frustrations, and joys.

Kaizar thru-hiked the AT in 2015, a six-month, 2,200mile journey through fourteen states during which she had plenty of time to reflect and heal following the death of her father. Intricate and arresting, her drawings are created in pen-and-ink with colorful acrylic washes; they capture the character of the trail and its shelters as well as the hikers who find respite under the roofs and in the log pages. Fellow AT thru-hiker and professional photographer Nicholas Reichard’s images provide another layer of perspective and community.