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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.
In This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Book Is and What It Covers
- The Spiritual Through-Line
- The Human Cast of the Trail
- Scope, Audience, and Honest Limitations
- Who Will Find It Most Rewarding
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- Chronicles the full 2,170-mile Appalachian Trail across 14 states and 14 years, offering a rare section-hiker's perspective rather than a standard thru-hike account
- Grounds the narrative in specific people, named friendships, and real trail locations, avoiding the vagueness that can weaken adventure memoir
- Integrates Christian faith reflection organically throughout, making it a cohesive spiritual memoir rather than a travelogue with occasional religious asides
- Chenowith's background as a pastor, church planter, and experienced outdoorsman lends the account both theological and backcountry credibility
What Doesn't
- The episodic, section-hiking structure produces a fragmented narrative rhythm that may frustrate readers expecting the sustained momentum of a thru-hike story
- The book's consistent Christian faith framing makes it a poor match for secular outdoor-memoir readers seeking a naturalist or non-devotional trail account
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.
“Something happened there that is too rare among men: We touched the soul, and we touched heaven.”
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
is Five Million Steps: Faith Adventures along the Appalachian Trail by Lon Chenowith worth reading if i'm not religious
Probably not the best fit. The review is upfront that Christian faith interpretation is woven into every stage of the journey — it calls this "a genuine mismatch for secular outdoor-memoir enthusiasts expecting a purely naturalist or physical account," so non-religious readers looking for a straightforward hiking narrative will likely find the constant theological framing a hurdle.
What is this book actually about
It's Lon Chenowith's memoir of completing the entire 2,170-mile Appalachian Trail as a section-hiker over fourteen years — not a single thru-hike — starting at Springer Mountain in Georgia and finishing on Mount Katahdin in Maine. Alongside the trail adventure and backcountry culture, the book frames every mile as a proving ground for Christian faith and perseverance, so it's as much a spiritual memoir as a hiking one.
Is this book good for section hikers
It's a rare and genuine fit. The reviewer notes that the fourteen-year section-hiking format "reflects how many real hikers actually experience the AT," and for anyone who has completed or dreamed of section-hiking the trail alongside a faith practice, the book offers what the review calls "a rare mirror."
Does this book feel disjointed because of the section-hiking format
It can, depending on what you're expecting. The review flags the episodic structure as the book's "most natural point of friction" — readers who want the relentless momentum of a classic thru-hike narrative will find a different rhythm here, since the story moves in segments rather than building toward a single sustained climax.
Who are the people in this book
One of the memoir's highlighted friendships is with Prune Picker, a seminary friend from Texas, with whom Chenowith hiked 276 miles across three separate stints. The reviewer praises this attention to specific people and named relationships, saying it keeps the book grounded and avoids "the abstraction that can hollow out adventure writing."
Is this book good for church book clubs
The reviewer specifically calls it out as a natural fit, describing it as ideal for "church reading groups interested in narratives of spiritual perseverance framed through physical challenge." The combination of concrete outdoor adventure and consistent Christian reflection gives groups a lot to discuss on both levels.
Should i read this book if i liked A Walk in the Woods
Only if you're also open to a strong faith dimension — that's the key difference. While both books engage with the AT's culture and the people you meet along the way, Chenowith's memoir is explicitly Christian in its outlook throughout, whereas readers drawn to purely humorous or naturalist AT accounts may want to calibrate expectations before picking it up.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
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- Further reading
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abebooks.com
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