Chapter 5-8 Summary and Analysis

In Chapter 5, Peter and Cooper turn and head toward the Appalachian Trail. While traveling through Virginia Peter decides he can't discover America by walking high in the mountains and that he must go down into the towns and meet the people. Peter and Cooper have only been walking for a few days when they begin to see signs for Thanksgiving. Peter finds a country store and buys things for him and Cooper to eat on Thanksgiving and they enjoy their feast alone. Peter reaches West Virginia and is shocked not to find hillbillies and run down shacks.

Peter and Cooper keep pushing through the cold winter in Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Peter and Cooper come to a mountain that almost makes them give up. Cooper and Peter are both weakened by lack of nourishing food and the harsh...