Habits of Squirrels

Livingston, Brian

The journey of a thousand miles begins with an irate squirrel.

In this charming, thoughtful meditation on all of life's journeys, Brian Livingston finds humor, grace, and sunburn on one of the country's great hikes. Gabe Jenkins spent his career driving in circles. For thirty years, his life revolved around his mail route. Upon retirement, this accumulated inertia steers Gabe onto the Great Eastern Trail, the meandering pathway running south to north through the sprawling Amicola Mountains. As he walks, he encounters the Trail's eccentric inhabitants, who will help him, challenge him, and ultimately shape his journey. As a new Gabe ambles toward the Great Eastern Trail's northern terminus, he is forced to reckon with how he has lived his life and to determine what kind of person he wants to be-as a husband, as a father, as a human being-and how he wants to spend his remaining years.