BROADCASTS.com

My guest today is Robert Moor, author of "On Trails: An Exploration."\n______________\nOne of my favorite things to do in life is to find and hike a trail out in the wilds. I love how a good trail gently leads you through nature. You don\u2019t have to think much about where you\u2019re going, so it gives you time to think about other things. It's great for chewing on deep issues and getting new insights, but it also causes you to take the trail for granted. For example, I sometimes forget that a group of people blazed the trail I\u2019m enjoying and that another group continues to maintain it without any fanfare.\n\nMy guest\xa0today\xa0decided to stop taking trails for granted and to explore them in-depth -- both literally and metaphorically -- after his own hike on the Appalachian Trail. His name is Robert Moor and he\u2019s the author of the book\xa0"On Trails: An Exploration."\xa0Today\xa0on the show, Robert shares why he decided to hike the entire Appalachian Trail after he graduated from college and why that experience led him to diving into the deeper meaning of trails.\n\nWe then discuss why following a trail is so existentially satisfying and how trails are embedded in human thought and communication and provide us with a sense of place and orientation in our lives.\n\nWe end our conversation talking about the idealistic origins of the Appalachian Trail, the movement to extend the Appalachian Trail to Morocco (yes, Morocco), and what a perpetual hiker named Nimblewill Nomad can teach us about the limits of freedom.\n\nIf you\u2019re a hiker, you\u2019re going to love this show. If you\u2019re not a hiker, it\u2019s going to inspire you to find a trail this weekend and become one.