Finished September 5th, 2018 at 9:01 PM.

I'm a sucker for philosophical books that dive deeply into one, seemingly simple subject to draw deep wisdom from it's depths (see: 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance', 'Shop Class as Soulcraft', 'Tartine Bread') -- so when I saw a book that took that approach with trails, I was hooked.

It took me a few years to get around to it, but Robert Moor's debut book is wonderful. Taking a detailed approach, he looks at the history of trails and builds a teleology on the meaning and wisdom that can be found in trails; starting with pre-Cambrian fossils and working it's way to how the internet has changed our perception of networks, Moor ties a deeply philosophical essay with a strong narrative approach which pays off dividends.

My favorite part (surprise, suprise) are the middle chapters, where Moor spends time in the Smoky Mountains around North Carolina to investigate ancient Cherokee trails and how they are integral in understanding Cherokee (and largely indigenous culture) way of life and thought. An interesting section breaks illustrates how almost all highways and roads east of the Mississippi River follow old native trails -- really driving down to the idea that trails are built on generations of trailblazers before (and after you).

In addition, I found the chapters diving into the construct of 'wilderness' quite rewarding -- it takes a minute, but afterwards it's impossible to think of the 'wild' the same way again.

The idea that a trail is often an external forum of wisdom -- a way for generations to pass down knowledge is an interesting one to build on. Moor makes a good study of how this applies to all living things (Elephants, Ants, Humans) and in doing so really illustrates the interconnectedness/interdependence of the ecosystem at large.

Throw in some fun adventures with some fun characters (including a trip through Texas and Louisana with Nimblewill Nomad) -- Moor is able to balanace a driving and entertaining book with dense philosophical subject matter in a way that would make Pirsig proud.

Also -- something I respect that I have to add -- Moor added his e-mail address in the epilogue for anyone to reach out if they were to find discrepencies or improvements for future editions. I love and respect this.

Overall, highly recommend for any person who has traveled on a trail and found their mind drifting to how they got there.