Wonderful but tough

Top of Mt. Katahdin, in Maine, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.

Top of Mt. Katahdin, in Maine, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.

''Maine is wonderful. It can be very hard. I mean, if you look at the profile maps it doesn't look it, but somehow when you get out there it's really steep and hard.''

-- Bill Bryson, author of A Walk in the Woods, about his bizarre hike along the Appalachian Trail.