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Five Million Steps by Lon Chenowith Review: A Faith-Driven Appalachian Trail Chronicle
Five Million Steps: Faith Adventures along the Appalachian Trail is Lon Chenowith's independently published memoir of completing the full 2,170-mile Appalachian Trail as a section-hiker over fourteen years, weaving together trail adventure, backcountry culture, and Christian faith. It is a candid account designed for readers drawn to outdoor memoir and spiritual reflection in equal measure.
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Best for
Christian readers who are active hikers or AT enthusiasts and want a spiritually integrated, section-hiker's memoir that frames a fourteen-year, 2,170-mile journey as an act of faith as much as physical endurance.
Worth it if
You are drawn to both backcountry adventure and Christian devotional reflection, and especially if you have section-hiked or dreamed of section-hiking the AT — this is a rare memoir that mirrors that slower, life-woven approach to the trail.
Skip if
Secular outdoor-memoir readers expecting a naturalist or non-devotional trail account, or those wanting the relentless momentum of a classic thru-hike narrative, will find the book's consistent faith framing and episodic, multi-decade structure a genuine mismatch.
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Five Million Steps: Faith Adventures along the Appalachian Trail is Lon Chenowith's memoir of completing all 2,170 miles of the Appalachian Trail as a section-hiker over fourteen years, weaving backcountry adventure with Christian faith reflection at every summit. The book's greatest strength is its rare section-hiker's perspective, grounded in specific friendships, named landscapes, and decades of lived outdoor and ministry experience. It is an ideal read for Christians drawn to outdoor adventure memoir — and a genuine mismatch for secular readers expecting a naturalist or non-devotional trail account.
- Is it worth reading?
- For readers who are active in Christian faith communities and drawn to outdoor adventure, Five Million Steps offers something genuinely rare: a long-term, non-thru-hiker's account of the full Appalachian Trail, grounded in specific people, named friendships, and decades of lived backcountry and ministry experience. The section-hiking format produces an episodic rhythm that differs from the momentum of a standard thru-hike narrative, and the consistent Christian framing makes it a poor match for secular outdoor-memoir readers. Those who fit the target readership — including hikers who have section-hiked or dreamed of it alongside a faith practice, and church reading groups seeking narratives of spiritual perseverance — will find it a compelling and underserved perspective.
- Similar books
- Readers drawn to Five Million Steps may also enjoy A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, the classic comedic account of attempting the AT that put long-distance trail memoir on the map for a mainstream audience. For outdoor adventure with a strong sense of place and human connection, A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko and River Hippies & Mountain Men by Patrick Taylor are both in the LuvemBooks catalogue. Belonging to the World by Barry Hoffner and She Explores by Gale Straub round out the selection for readers interested in personal journeys through wilderness and the identity questions the backcountry raises.
- Who should read this?
- Five Million Steps sits at a specific and underserved intersection: readers who are active in Christian faith communities, drawn to outdoor adventure, and curious about what a long-term, non-thru-hiker relationship with the Appalachian Trail actually looks like. It is also a natural fit for church reading groups seeking narratives of spiritual perseverance framed through physical challenge, and for hikers who have completed or are dreaming of section-hiking the AT alongside a faith practice. Readers who prefer secular naturalist trail writing, or who want the sustained momentum of a thru-hike narrative, are likely to find it a poor match.
- About Lon Chenowith
- Lon Chenowith is the author of Five Million Steps: Faith Adventures along the Appalachian Trail, a book rooted in a lifelong dream to trek the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. He has served in Christian ministry across four states as a church planter, pastor, and missionary. He and his wife have two sons, a daughter, three grandsons, and a granddaughter, and his family enjoys the outdoors.
- What are the main themes?
- The central themes of Five Million Steps are faith, perseverance, and the spiritual dimensions of physical endurance. Chenowith frames the Appalachian Trail not primarily as an athletic achievement but as a proving ground — every stretch of backcountry becomes inseparable from questions of spiritual endurance and trust. Friendship and human connection are equally prominent: the bonds formed on the trail, including a 276-mile hiking friendship with Prune Picker, a seminary friend from Texas, are presented as one of the trail's recurring gifts alongside mountain solitude and open-sky conversation.
- Is it self-published?
- Yes — Five Million Steps was independently published in December 2020. The review notes this means it arrived without the editorial infrastructure of a major imprint, and that some readers of self-published trail literature may notice differences in production that can accompany that path. That said, the review identifies the narrative's specificity, credibility, and cohesive structure as genuine strengths that hold up regardless of publishing origin.
Summarize this book
Is it worth reading?
Who should read this?
About Lon Chenowith
What are the main themes?
Is it self-published?
Summarize this book
Five Million Steps: Faith Adventures along the Appalachian Trail chronicles Lon Chenowith's fourteen-year journey to complete the entire 2,170-mile Appalachian Trail as a section-hiker, starting at Springer Mountain in northern Georgia and finishing on Mount Katahdin in northern Maine. Known on the trail by his trail name the Arkansas Traveler, Chenowith climbs at least 237 mountains across fourteen states, beginning with a preliminary hike with his two young sons from Amicalola Falls to Unicoi Gap. The memoir weaves together vivid trail culture — including the tradition of trail names and the unexpected bonds forged in backcountry shelters — with consistent Christian faith reflection, framing every mile as a proving ground for spiritual endurance as much as physical perseverance.
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Age & Reading Level
Recommended age
Adult
Reading level
Adult
who it suits
Skip if you're looking for a secular, naturalist, or non-devotional Appalachian Trail memoir.
Our Review
A spiritually grounded trail memoir rooted in fourteen years of section-hiking, Five Million Steps is squarely aimed at readers who bring both boots and belief to the backcountry.
What the Book Is and What It Covers
Back cover with synopsis, author biography, and barcode featuring a hiking boot on rocky terrain.
Five Million Steps: Faith Adventures along the Appalachian Trail is Lon Chenowith's memoir of completing the entire 2,170-mile Appalachian Trail not in a single thru-hike but as a section-hiker over the course of fourteen years. The journey begins with a boyhood dream, ignited in his teens, and takes its first concrete form in a preliminary hike with his two young sons from Amicalola Falls to Unicoi Gap. From there, the book tracks Chenowith — known on the trail by his trail name, the Arkansas Traveler — as he climbs at least 237 mountains across fourteen states, starting at Springer Mountain in northern Georgia and finishing on Mount Katahdin in northern Maine. The scope alone distinguishes the book: this is not a single season's adventure compressed into a linear narrative, but a multi-decade commitment told in accumulated segments.
The Spiritual Through-Line
Chenowith is a church planter, pastor, and missionary with decades of Christian ministry across four states, and that background shapes every mile of the narrative. The book frames the trail not primarily as an athletic achievement but as a proving ground for faith and perseverance. As one passage in the text reads, "Something happened there that is too rare among men: We touched the soul, and we touched heaven." This is the register in which the memoir consistently operates — the physical hardship of long-distance hiking becomes inseparable from questions of spiritual endurance. The subtitle, Faith Adventures along the Appalachian Trail, is not decorative; it signals that theological reflection is as central to the book's design as trail description.
The Human Cast of the Trail
One of the memoir's documented strengths is its attention to the people Chenowith encounters in the backcountry. The book depicts the AT's distinct subculture, where long-distance hikers adopt trail names and form unexpected bonds in shelters and on ridgelines. A notable friendship highlighted in the account is that of Prune Picker — a seminary friend from Texas — with whom Chenowith hiked 276 miles across three separate stints. The interplay between mountain solitude and deep conversation under open skies is presented as one of the trail's recurring gifts. By grounding the narrative in specific people, specific friendships, and named landscapes, the memoir avoids the abstraction that can hollow out adventure writing.
Scope, Audience, and Honest Limitations
The section-hiking format — fourteen years rather than one continuous push — gives the book an episodic structure that reflects how many real hikers actually experience the AT. That structure is also the book's most natural point of friction for certain readers. Those seeking the relentless momentum of a classic thru-hike narrative will find a different rhythm here; the story moves in segments rather than building toward a single sustained climax. More significantly, the memoir is written from an explicitly Christian perspective throughout. Readers who do not share that framework will find faith interpretation woven into every stage of the journey — this is a feature for its target readership but a genuine mismatch for secular outdoor-memoir enthusiasts expecting a purely naturalist or physical account. The book was independently published in December 2020, which means it arrived without the editorial infrastructure of a major imprint; some readers of self-published trail literature may notice the differences in production that sometimes accompany that path.
Who Will Find It Most Rewarding
Five Million Steps sits at a specific and underserved intersection: readers who are active in Christian faith communities, drawn to outdoor adventure, and interested in what a long-term, non-thru-hiker relationship with the Appalachian Trail actually looks like. Chenowith's background — backpacking, mountain biking, running, and international mission work — gives the writing an authenticity rooted in lived outdoor experience. For hikers who have completed or dreamed of section-hiking the AT alongside a faith practice, the book offers a rare mirror. It is also a natural fit for church reading groups interested in narratives of spiritual perseverance framed through physical challenge.
Sources & Further Reading
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- Further reading
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