Bill Bryson Timeline & Summary

Bryson stumbles across a path to the Appalachian Trail and decides to hike it.
He brings his old friend, Stephen Katz, along and they head to Georgia.
They start hiking the AT, and it's super-tough.
After a few weeks, the men realize that they can't hike the entire thing. So they decide to take a car to Virginia to skip a difficult section of the hike.
Bryson continues climbing alone, as Katz has to return home to start a new job.
Bryson doesn't enjoy these experiences much, but eventually makes his way up to Maine.
Katz rejoins Bryson. After a few days on the trail, Bryson realizes that Katz, an ex-alcoholic, started drinking again.
They make up on the AT, but Katz goes missing.
Bryson doesn't find him until the next day. They decide to leave the trail for good.