Ron Strickland

The State of Determination

“In Germany there is a long tradition of the wanderjahr, a period of learning-through-travel. In The State of Determination, Aaron Nicholson walks into his own trans-Oregon PCT quest as a self-proclaimed 'reckless, under-experienced, fool-hardy individual' . . . He went on a walkabout in the wilderness and emerged having found himself. I recommend his story as an example of the transformative power of walking toward a distant horizon.”