In 1996, Hermitage native Paul Gadola hiked part of the Appalachian Trail for the first time. In 1999 he took his Golden Retriever SunDog with him on a 75-day hike.

In 2001, Gadola self-published a book, "Lie in My Grave" (Memories from an Appalachian Trail Hike). The book contains mostly stories from the 1999 trip.

The idea to write the book came from telling stories of his trip. Gadola said his friends would ask him about his trip and he would start telling a story, but the stories always became lengthy. One of his friends said, "You should write a book."

"So, I did," he said.

Gadola kept a journal during his trip, from which the anecdotes in the book originate. It is written in journal form. The goal of the book is not to teach people about hiking the Appalachian Trail, but rather to give a personal account of the people and places Gadola encountered.

Gadola said that people say his book makes them want to hike the trail. His book is one of many available to help people plan a hiking trip.

Gadola decided to hike the trail while he was staying in Vermont. He saw hikers walking through town. After the hikers piqued his curiosity, he read books about the trail and decided he had to try it. In 1996 he took a 3 1/2-month trip from West Virginia to Maine.

His 1999 trip was from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Pennsylvania -- a total of 900 miles.

Most of the stories Gadola tells are about other hikers he met on the trip. "Whether you walk with these people for a couple of hours or days on end, you connect immediately," Gadola said. "You have something in common."

Gadola said people who hike on the trail are given trail names, either by themselves or by other people. Gadola chose "Fullmoon" as his trail name and gave one hiker the name "Bat Girl." He refers to people by their trail names in the book.

Gadola plans to be back on the trail April 12, where his intention is to hike the entire thing. He said it could take anywhere from five to seven months. Gadola will take SunDog with him again.

The trail is 2,169 miles long and travels through 14 states from Georgia to Maine. Four million people visit the trail each year. A total of 2,000 to 3,000 people begin the trail each year with the intent of hiking it in its entirety, but only 200 to 300 of them finish, he said.

Though he knows he can't continue to hike long distances once he settles down, he said, "Hiking will always be a part of my life." Gadola added that he loves being out in nature as well as the simple lifestyle.

When he's not on the trail, Gadola tends bar at Quaker Steak and Lube in Sharon. He said his employers have been wonderful about letting him go for long periods of time. He is also working on a master's degree in sustainable systems science at Slippery Rock University.

Gadola said the cost of hiking the trail comes out to about $1 a mile, though he said gear can be costly and the longer a hiker spends in town, the more money he will spend.

Though nothing major, like bear attacks, happened to Gadola on his trip, he said those things could occur.

What's the biggest lesson he's learned on the trail? "Something is going to happen. Not necessarily good or bad," he said. "If you let it happen, it will work out."

Gadola's advice to anyone thinking about hiking the trail is to make the pack as light as possible.

"If you do get tired and think you want to go home, take a day or two off before you decide to come home," Gadola said. Often the day off can be enough to rejuvenate, he added.