Just Passin' Thru A Vintage Store, the Appalachian Trail, and a Cast of Unforgettable Characters

Like a well-crafted stage play, Just Passin' Thru delivers one suspenseful scene after another. But in this historic setting — a store on the Appalachian Trail called Mountain Crossings — the characters who show up are no fictional creations. They are the real-life stars of the author’s new life as a backpack-purging, canteen-selling, hostel-running, bandage-taping, lost-child finding, argument-settling, romance-fixing, chili-making man of many faces. Like any good drama, there are the good guys (and gals) and the weirdos, too. Some show up once (and that’s enough), and some appear again and again. Some are friends, and some dangerous. But all are united by two things: the author’s story-capturing talent, and whatever it is that lures them to attempt (or conquer) a 2,200-mile path that climbs and plummets from Georgia to Maine.

Author Winton Porter had succeeded nicely in the outdoor retail business. His family liked living where his work took him-Atlanta, Chicago, Salt Lake City. He did not open the door to strangers at midnight. He wore clean clothes every day. He did not eat Snickers bars for breakfast. But like many people, he stared out the window a lot, wanting something different. So that's why he cashed in his 401k and ransacked his bank account to become a backpack-purging, tent-selling, hostel-running, first-aid-dispensing, lost-kid finding, argument-settling, romance-fixing, chili-making shopkeeper deep in the Georgia woods, smack on the Appalachian Trail. With humor and grace, Porter captures the daily reality show of his family's new life at the store-Mountain Crossings at Walasi-Yi. Among the parade of people who are Just Passin' Thru, some show up once and others appear again and again. Either way, the author masterfully introduces all of them to you in the pages of this remarkable book.