Hiking on the Edge: Dreams, Schemes, and 1600 Miles on the California Coastal Trail

Before there was a California Coastal Trail, someone had to find out whether one was even possible.

Until John McKinney agreed to walk the length of California's coast, no one had ever attempted to connect the beaches, bluffs, headlands, coastal mountains, and hidden shorelines into a single continuous route. Could the beaches be crossed at low tide? Could passage be found around private property, military installations, rivers, cliffs, and seemingly impassable stretches of coastline? Could California's dream of a coastal trail become reality?

The intrepid trailblazer found the answers to these questions - and to more profound ones that never occurred to him until he was deep into his challenging journey of discovery.

The natural beauty of the California coast exceeded his high expectations, but what he didn't expect was hiking headlong into so many controversies on the edge of California: nature boutiqued, coastal access denied, bureaucracies run amok. Near and dear to his heart are the unforgettable people he met along the way, including the founding father of whale-watching, backcountry rangers, nuns praying for mercy for the redwoods and for us all.

On his 1,600-mile journey along the shore of the sundown sea, John explores the past, present, and the future of California's most treasured landscape. By turns hilarious, inspiring, provocative, and deeply moving, Hiking on the Edge is part adventure story, part travel memoir, part environmental narrative, and part love letter to the California coast.

More than a story about a long walk, Hiking on the Edge is the story of a place, a movement, and a remarkable journey that helped shape the dream of a California Coastal Trail.

"Powerful, edgy and often very funny..." — Susan Jordan, California Coastal Protection Network