On this episode of Smoky Mountain Air, we look back at an interview we recorded a few months ago with David Brill, author of the book Into the Mist, a collection of real-life stories depicting people caught in extreme situations in the Smokies and their dramatic struggles for survival. Into the Mist is published by GSMA and available at SmokiesInformation.org.
Brill has also written four other books: As Far as the Eye Can See: Reflections of an Appalachian Trail Thru Hiker (UT Press–Appalachian Trail Conservancy); A Separate Place: A Father's Reflection on Building a Home and Renewing a Family (Plume); Desire and Ice: Searching for Perspective atop Denali (National Geographic Adventure Press); and Cumberland Odyssey: A Journey in Pictures and Words along Tennessee's Cumberland Trail and Plateau (Mountain Trail Press). In addition to his books, Brill's articles on science, ecology, the environment, business, health, fitness, parenting, and adventure-travel have appeared in more than 25 national and regional magazines, including National Geographic Traveler and Men's Health. He is a regular contributor to GSMA's own Smokies Life magazine.
During our conversation, Brill shared excerpts from several of his works and reflected on how he came to be a writer after hiking the entire Appalachian Trail. We spoke to David Brill on an online video chat while he was at home in the Cumberland Mountains of East Tennessee.
Several of David Brill's Smokies Life articles can be found online in our missing issues, including an account of his grueling, 27-mile, overnight hike on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, which he reminisced about during our conversation. That story can be found in Smokies Life Volume 4, issue 1, one of the out-of-print issues online at SmokiesInformation.org/MissingIssues. Other issues of Smokies Life and the book Into the Mist are available at SmokiesInformation.org, where you can shop the Smokies and support GSMA and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.