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Cincinnati author shares his inspirational hike of Appalacian Trail in honor of disabled brother

6:40 PM Saturday, July 24, 2010

“A Walk for Sunshine” by Jeff Alt (Dreams Shared Publications, 303 pages, $15.95)

A dozen years ago, Jeff Alt hiked the entire length of the Appalachian Trail. He went every step of the way, all 2,160 miles from Georgia to Maine. He started out on March 1. It took him 147 days to reach Maine. Alt did it all for his brother.

He recounts the story of his adventures in “A Walk for Sunshine,” which recently came out in a new expanded third edition. Alt lives in Cincinnati. His brother Aaron resides at the Sunshine Home in Maumee near Toledo. Aaron was born with cerebral palsy. He is developmentally disabled.

Alt dedicated his trek to his brother. His book is also a tribute to Aaron. In spirit, the brothers walked every step of the way together. Through his efforts, Alt raised $16,000 for the Sunshine Home. His journey lives on in this book, in a DVD, and in an annual fundraiser, “A Walk for Sunshine.”

The Appalachian Trail has garnered some media attention since Alt hiked it. The humorist Bill Bryson has sold millions of copies of his account, “A Walk in the Woods.” But unlike Alt, Bryson cheated; he skipped over major portions of it. Then there was the governor of South Carolina who claimed to be hiking it when he never actually set foot upon it. He was really in Argentina.

Alt covered every inch of the AT, and this book is a wonderful way for readers to travel vicariously along with him. Things didn’t start off that well. He developed blisters right away. He was concerned. But he dealt with it. His feet healed. He kept going. Alt will make the trek to Dayton this week to recount his hiking saga.

“A Walk for Sunshine” is laced with humorous anecdotes. There was the time when Alt was asleep and he felt an animal snuggling up alongside him. It was a skunk. They spent the night together. Alt was afraid to make any sudden movements for fear of spooking his slumbering companion.

Alt’s trail nickname was “Wrongfoot.” He earned this moniker as the result of his blistering start to the journey. He meets up with some very interesting people along the way. Experienced hikers gave him advice. Alt discarded excess baggage, and he was glad that he did.

Some of the people he met hiked with him for long stretches. He found himself yearning for the creature comforts that most of us take for granted: hot showers, clean clothes, hot food, and lots of it. Alt captures the hardships and the triumphs.

When he crosses over his first state border, he feels like celebrating. Then he realizes that the next border crossing won’t occur any time soon, so he decides that he had better find some other things to celebrate, some mundane things, life’s little pleasures, like that next hot cup of coffee.

Alt’s story will amaze and inspire you. He continues to work on behalf of the Sunshine Home, and he is in demand as a public speaker.

Contact book reviewer Vick Mickunas at vick@vickmickunas.com

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