American Discoveries: Scouting the First Coast-To-Coast Recreational Trail
by Ellen Dudley, Eric Seaborg
Category: Sports & Recreation

Media strategist Ellen Dudley and writer Eric Seaborg left behind the security of jobs and the comforts of home to scout the route for the American Discovery Trail, a transcontinental recreational trail, stretching from California to Delaware. In American Discoveries, Dudley and Seaborg recount their 14-month, 4,835-mile hiking and biking adventure, fondly remembering the places they encountered and the people who opened their hearts and homes to them along the way. This dual, male/female narrative offers different yet complementary perspectives on the journey. One is that of a fifty-year-old grandmother who overcame a life-threatening illness just a year before. The other is that of mid-thirties writer. The two saw different details, faced different fears, felt different emotions. Join them on their journey, and meet a Native American peace activist, a solitary rancher, a seventy-six-year-old treasure hunter, a cowboy, a High Plains innkeeper, and Appalachian self-described "hillbillies". American Discoveries is a celebration of people and landscape. The authors blazed a trail across twelve states and into the heart of America. As a result of this landmark trek, legislation was introduced in Congress in March of 1996 to include the ADT in the national trails system and designate it as the first "national discovery trail".