The Trail Provides: A Boy’s Memoir of Thru-Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail
An unfiltered, raw, adventure-filled trek where thru-hiking counterculture is thoroughly illuminated and the beginnings of a messy spiritual birth are unveiled. It’s the honest inward journey that makes this hiking memoir memorable and refreshing.
Disillusioned by the corporate lifestyle, two inexperienced and unemployed college fraternity brothers set off on a soul-searching sojourn to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,650-mile continuous footpath from Mexico to Canada. David starts the trail barefoot, following the ways of his older friend Bradley, only to face the pains of walking, rising tensions, and falling behind to the coming of winter.
The Trail Provides is a story about companionship and lessons learned, dreams and reality, and leaving everything behind for the desire of transformation, insight, and self-discovery. Let’s begin the journey…
You can now purchase the book directly (Buy Paperback) or via Amazon (eBook, Paperback, Hardcover, Audiobook).
Editorial Reviews for The Trail Provides:
“Smart was a self-described, 24-year-old “boy” caught post-college in a soul-crushing life when he set out like Huckleberry Finn, subbing a 2,650-mile-long trail for Finn’s Mississippi River. Sometimes a primer for what not to do, Smart grins, bears it, and learns. You can’t help but root for David Smart as he makes his way from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. With a three-day seventh-grade campout his sum-total experience, David Smart takes us on an unfiltered, raw, adventure-filled trek in The Trail Provides.“
—Barney “Scout” Mann, author of Journeys North
“If you have ever wondered what it’s like to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, The Trail Provides offers an in-depth foray into the experience. From detailed depictions of the environment to illustrations of hikertrash counterculture, thru-hiking is thoroughly illuminated. While it recounts the very personal story of one hiker’s experience on the trail, Smart’s work also narrates a unifying theme that so many disparate personalities are seeking by walking those 2,600 miles.”
—Heather “Anish” Anderson, author of Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home and Mud, Rocks, Blazes: Letting Go on the Appalachian Trail
“David and I share a desire and knack for taking a reader along on our journeys. In The Trail Provides, there is the external adventure of strangers becoming family, the continual steps taken, and a series of auspicious events. But it is the inward journey where I think this book shines. Insights abound, beginning with letting go of the old to make room for something new, seeing ourselves in how we see others, and even embracing our own insanity. Those who take up long-distance hiking are like David’s permanently browned yellow shirt. The trail stays with us, even when we leave it behind. As you read this book, may you get a taste of this adventure and relate it to your own outlook on life, much like I found myself doing.”
—Mary E Davison, Triple Crown hiker plus other trails, author of Old Lady on the Trail and Aren’t You Afraid?
“When I read David’s book about his discovery of Stayin Alive and the madcap parallel world that unfolds when you open your life to an adventure, I am flooded with my own memories of thru-hiking: the parade of wild characters that are exposed when you take the time to truly know everyone around you, the expansive feeling of unity with all living things that follows the act of throwing yourself into an uncertain situation and finding your hopes exceeded, the hardened introspective optimism born out of intense adversity and exposure to cold, heat, wetness, and pain. I then remember how hard it is to compile that glacier of gradual revelation into a story that might make sense to anyone who wasn’t there. There are hundreds of experiences on each day of the trail that form the bricks to build the foundation of a new consciousness. Can any list of highlights do justice to the truth? Nevertheless, here it is, laid out for you to witness. David lets you into the messy process of his spiritual birth, the painful wrenching feelings that come with defining yourself away from your friends, and the ups and downs of learning to choose adventure in the face of a world seemingly designed to stifle it. You would have to take the more than half a million steps that he and the other thru-hikers took to truly understand, but the seed is here for the taking, and the truth for the sharing. Thanks for taking me right back to the edge of the razor, David. The air sure tastes good here.”
—Tanner Critz, author of End to Ending: An Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker’s Story
“An honest, entertaining, easy-to-read narrative. He begins as an ordinary 20-something, grows immeasurably, and earns my hope that this is not his last book.”
—Reg Spittle, author of Camino Sunrise and Trippin’ Through My 60’s
I have read scores of thru-hiker accounts of their PCT experience. As a result, it takes something special to make a hiker’s memoir memorable. What helps set David Smart’s The Trail Provides apart is his recognition “that the wilderness most in need of exploration was the one within me.” I appreciated the underlying humility and, at times, a guileless and enthusiastic innocence that made Smart so sympathetic and his story so enjoyable. Whether it was his account of changing his attitude after days of discouraging rain in Washington by giving up all efforts to stay dry and jumping from puddle to puddle (a story we elected to include in Crossing Paths: A Pacific Crest Trailside Reader, Mountaineers Books, 2022) or his quest to walk the trail barefoot (under the influence of his fellow hiker and friend, Bradley), The Trail Provides is a refreshing and fun read that captures the magic of the trail.
—Rees Hughes, co-editor of Crossing Paths: A Pacific Crest Trailside Reader
Special Offers:
For the audiobook version, I’ve opted into Amazon’s Audible program, which allows new Audible members to claim three books for free upon sign-up. If you’re a new member, you can join today to start your free 30-day trial and claim my book for free.
For the digital book version, I’ve opted into Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited (KU) program, Amazon’s monthly subscription service for ebooks and audiobooks. If you’re not already signed up, you can join today via this link to start your free 30-day trial, get my book for free, plus any other KU ebooks/audiobooks you can consume in 30 days. Amazon will charge you after the first month. If you’re able to find just one more book to read/listen to, then this offer is worth it.
Bonus Content Related to The Trail Provides:
Here are some more fun pieces of content related to my trail experience, which I highly recommend checking out:
The Fake Facade — Richard “Mr. Walker” Walker’s trail blog containing hundreds of amazing and exclusive photos from our time spent together on the trail, straight from the source. You can start at the April 2015 post for Mr. Walker’s PCT journey, but Bradley and I enter into the pictures around June 2015, in his post titled: And Onto The Sierras. Things pick up pretty quickly from there. 🙂
PCT 2015 Photos — Experience our 2015 PCT hike in chronological order through a Google Photos Album (300+ photos). This is a funny experience! I consider The Trail Provides to be a book of omissions, and you’ll soon discover many untold stories through this album. Enjoy!
Unboxing Video — a short YouTube video of me “unboxing” the first copy of The Trail Provides. Apparently, this is something many authors do, so I wanted to join the crowd.
Come, and I Will Provide — a short, nostalgic trail poem written by yours truly
Bradley Lovell: Vagabond, Hiker & Meditator — My first podcast episode I did with my hiking partner Bradley where we discuss what he’s learned from nearly three years of living at a meditation center.
Miles “Oz” Neslaw: The Highs and Lows of Solo Travel — A fun, story-filled podcast episode with my hiker friend Miles “Oz” Neslaw about Slab City, Southeast Asian motorbike police chases, Rainbow Gatherings, and lessons learned.
Announcements, Why I Wrote It, & What I’ve Learned — This is the original book launch day announcement. It sheds light on what I learned so far from this pursuit.
The Story Behind The Book: How I Wrote a Thru-Hiking Memoir — A more recent reflection on the story behind writing the book, the process, challenges, and insights gathered from why I wrote the book.
The Trail & Beyond, with Bradley Lovell — Bradley’s podcast episode #2 where we discuss more stories about the trail and reveal our current-day mindsets.
Chapter One — My launch-day announcement blog post + a personal reading of Chapter One from the book, The Trail Provides, plus some additional thoughts.
The Pacific “Coast” Trail — That time my college posted a short article about our hike!
How I Healed Myself Post-Trail — A blog post I wrote for Gossamer Gear about post-trail depression and healing.
Cascade Hiker Podcast — My conversation with the great Rudy Giecek, host of the Cascade Hiker Podcast, where we discuss hiking, death, and the path.
The Inspired Improvement — An interview of me speaking about the book, addressing feelings of egotism, pursuing writing, and living simply.
Kett McKenna — The amazing cover art and the interior map of the PCT were done by my talented friend, Kett McKenna. If you’d like to purchase a print of his artwork or work with him in any way, please contact him at kettmckennajr@gmail.com. I’m sure he would appreciate it.
Crossing Paths, a Pacific Crest Trailside Reader — The Trail Provides was featured in an anthology of trail stories alongside wonderful authors such as Cheryl Strayed, Carrot Quinn, Barney “Scout” Mann, and many more. All royalties benefit the Pacific Crest Trail Association.
Grace, Grits & Gardening: Book Review — A generous and favorable review of The Trail Provides by Talya Boerner, the author of The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee.
Reg’s Book Blog: The Trail Provides, My Favorite Book — “As 2020 is ushered out the door, author David Smart wins my applause for writing the best book out of the 50 or so I read this year.”
Reg’s Book Blog: The Pacific Crest Trail Provides Too — A kind review of The Trail Provides by thru-hiking author Reg Spittle of Camino Sunrise.
Begin the Adventure:
Thanks for your support and hope you enjoy the story.
Love,
David
