This is a story about adventure in the southern Appalachians and a study of life about the mountaineers. Horace Kephart is the one most responsible for the existence of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park spanning the North Carolina and Tennessee border. Using all of his journals, he wrote about observations of the mountains and people during his 10 years of travels through the Appalachians. Kephart shows the Southern Appalachian Mountaineers as they were, and in some cases, as they still are. Author’s approach is balanced. He illustrating the people's good and not-so-good characteristics with facts and different stories. He gives historical and topological frameworks for the character of mountain people. For several years he lived among them, and that’s why his story is extremely realistic and true. The book is a great help in understanding people of mountains, learning their customs and traditions.