John R. Morris, aka Morris the Cat, was at a crossroads in his life. He had many possessions, a good job, a loving family, and a predictable future. By all rights, he should have been happy.

Disillusioned by depression, he turned to alcohol to numb his feelings. He wanted to make the stirrings of dissatisfaction go away.

At last, he came to the realization that not only did something have to change, "everything" had to change. So he deconstructed. Selling all of his possessions, bidding adieu to his friends and family, he set out on the most famous hiking trail in the country-the...